4 Red Flags In Taylor Swift And Blake Lively's Relationship

The bad blood could be coming to a boil between Taylor Swift and Blake Lively as Lively's legal action against "It Ends With Us" director Justin Baldoni continues to heat up. The "Gossip Girl" star and Baldoni are both deeply entrenched in a very public legal dispute with one another, but Lively's longtime friend Swift is now being dragged into the ordeal along with her. While it's always good to have your friends' back, it sounds like Swift wants nothing to do with it, with a source telling PageSix that the two "have been friends for years and Taylor cherishes genuine friendships, but she can't help but feel used at this point. Taylor really wishes Blake hadn't dragged her into this whole situation." 

But as a godparent to Lively and Ryan Reynold's children, there is a lot at stake with the spiraling feud, which makes us wonder if Swift is starting to see some red flags in her and Lively's relationship, with it even looking like Lively might be on the bubble for her spot in Swift's ever-changing squad. Besides the back-and-forth surrounding Baldoni, a source told TMZ that Lively has actually been using Swift's name for clout even before their movie, claiming that Lively once told an actor that Swift personally "cast her," which was not true. And given that PageSix's source said Taylor "wants to keep out of this drama as much as possible," we're wondering if every new bit of gossip about Lively and Swift's evolving relationship could be signaling something even more dramatic on the horizon.

Perhaps the biggest red flag in this triangle of legal drama is that Blake Lively allegedly had premeditated Taylor Swift's involvement. According to a source for TMZ, Lively had arranged for Swift to come meet her at Lively and Ryan Reynold's penthouse at a certain time but neglected to tell Swift that Justin Baldoni would be there. Swift allegedly showed up at the tail-end of a two-hour meeting between Baldoni and Lively and was innocently introduced as the two finished up talking about a scene Lively had rewritten. The source said that Swift told Baldoni that she was excited to see his and Lively's movie, offering the kind words to "her friend's boss."

The source goes on to tell TMZ that they believed that Lively intentionally scheduled Swift's run-in with Baldoni to intimidate him with her famous friend. The incident was reflected in Baldoni's lawsuit where he claimed that Lively threatened to change her mind about using Swift's song "My Tears Ricochet" in the film's trailer if she wasn't given more time editing a specific version of the movie with her own personal editor. If there's one thing friends shouldn't do, it's manipulate each other for personal gain — but it looks like Lively might have had ulterior motives in how she set her schedule. This makes us wonder if we need to explain Swift's Redemption era to Lively — because we just got the good Taylor back and we don't need to bring back her vengeful side.

To make matters worse for Taylor Swift, now that Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are headed to court, her innocent arrival at the proverbial scene of the crime could result in her having to give a deposition — which is the last thing she wants to do. According to Us Weekly, a source told the outlet that "Taylor has always been Blake's friend, but Taylor doesn't have any involvement in the case. She wasn't part of the movie. Taylor was not a producer on the film and had no creative involvement." To put a finer, more definitive point on Swift's legal responsibilities, the source added, "While she and Blake are friends, this case is now a legal matter for the courts to resolve. Dragging Taylor into it is unnecessary and misrepresents what really happened."

As for whether Baldoni's legal team will actually call on Swift to be deposed, TMZ's Harvey Levin spoke to Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman on Los Angeles magazine's "Two Angry Men" podcast and said, "I don't know if we're going to depose Taylor Swift... That will be a game-time decision. I can tell you this, anyone that reasonably has information that can provide evidence in this case can be deposed." When Levin pointed out that Swift fit the definition of someone who could "provide evidence," Freedman predicted that Lively and Ryan Reynolds would do whatever it took to make sure Swift would not be pulled further into the explosive legal battle, knowing how bad it would make her — and them — look. It's never a good sign for a relationship when one friend's meddling might require the other friend to appear in court and swear an oath to tell the truth about them.

Blake Lively also provided a cringe-inducing red flag when she offhandedly called herself Khaleesi from "Game of Thrones" and appeared to imply that Taylor Swift was one of her dragons. Justin Baldoni's countersuit against Lively revealed a text message that she sent to him saying, "If you ever get around to watching 'Game of Thrones,' you'll appreciate that I'm Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons," then adding, "For better or worse, but usually for better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine. You will too, I can promise you" (via PageSix).

Besides being a confusing metaphor or allusion or veiled threat, it appears that Swift simply didn't like the comparison, with PageSix's source saying that she "doesn't appreciate being referred to as one of Blake's dragons." Meanwhile, TMZ's source said that Swift was specifically angry about the dragon remark, though added that Lively had already apologized about it, with the two having a good cry and making up, demonstrating once again Swift's ability to be the ultimate girl's girl. But given that we know Swift is eternally competitive, we're starting to wonder if Swift was actually mad that Lively thinks that she's Khaleesi — because let's be real, if there ever was a present-day Mother of Dragons, it's probably Taylor Swift.

In the end, Blake Lively's very public spat over her new movie might be a symptom of a problem that Taylor Swift has had to deal with before. A source told the Daily News that "Taylor has tried to help tone Blake down in the past, but she now knows it's never going to happen." They expanded on their relationship saying, "Taylor saw her doppelgänger in Blake. The main difference between them is that Taylor is more subtle. Blake has always gone full-throttle about everything. She never holds back and that's what has caused the tide to turn on her."

Given Swift and Lively's origin story, it begins to sound like a friendship that may be running its course. The source told the outlet about their initial attraction, saying, "Taylor Swift admires that Blake Lively is a ballsy chick who speaks her mind, swears like a trooper and refuses to be controlled by anyone. That's the real reason they bonded and became firm friends when they first met 10 years ago." But now Lively may have taken it a step too far, and if there is one thing Swift likes to carefully control, it's her public image. Right now, being caught in the middle of legal drama over her friend's movie that she had nothing to do with is a really bad look. And with enough gossip surrounding her boyfriend potentially proposing at the Super Bowl, Swift doesn't need anything, or anyone, distracting from her future.