Taylor Swift was reportedly a major inspiration on the set of It Ends With Us.
Justin Baldoni directed the 2024 adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, starring Blake Lively as protagonist Lily Bloom opposite himself as Ryle Kincaid. The film chronicled the characters’ abusive relationship.
Months after the movie came out in August 2024, Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment and trying to destroy her reputation. He denied the claims before filing a defamation lawsuit against the actress, name-dropping Swift. (The two women have been friends since 2015 and the pop star is also godmother to Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds’ children.)
In his court petition obtained by Us Weekly, Baldoni included a text message screenshot where a Sony executive allegedly revealed that Lively personally called Swift to “approve” the use of her song “My Tears Ricochet” in the trailer. Screenshots of an alleged text exchange with two Sony executives seemingly showed the studio’s concern about getting the rights to Swift’s song.
“Blake is calling Taylor to approve the song. She of course reached out saying she is asking for time with … her editor,” read a message from a contact named Sony Executive No. 1. “We know it was conditional on signing contract – but asking if you’ll reconsider so … can release this trailer and Blake does not change mind re calling Taylor Swift.”
A couple of hours later, a contact named Sony Marketing Exec allegedly wrote, “You don’t want to play ball—you are going to delay and greatly hurt the movie. Good luck.”
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Insiders, however, say that Swift had no “creative involvement” in the film’s production.
“Taylor has always been Blake’s friend, but Taylor doesn’t have any involvement in the case. She wasn’t part of the movie,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in February 2025. “Taylor was not a producer on the film and had no creative involvement.”
A second insider, meanwhile, told Us that Swift never saw the film — or “a single scene” — until the movie hit theaters.
Keep scrolling to read what the It Ends With Us cast said and claimed about Swift’s influence:
Justin Baldoni Says He ‘Had Nothing to Do’ With Using Her Song in Trailer
Swift’s 2020 song “My Tears Ricochet” is prominently featured in the trailer for It Ends With Us.
“That’s all Blake,” Baldoni told Entertainment Tonight in May 2024. “I have no idea [how she did it] but Blake knows everybody. Her and Taylor are very good friends. I’m so happy that they agreed to have a song in the trailer, it’s so perfect for the movie.
Blake Lively Explains Using ‘My Tears Ricochet’ in Trailer
In June 2024, Lively revealed how she selected the Folklore song in the trailer.
“Them together made a lot of sense,” she said at Hoover’s Book Bonanza festival. “Colleen is able to tell something that’s deeply personal and intimate but is able to resonate with so many people. And Taylor, she’s such an incredible writer. She writes from such personal experiences and vulnerability.”
Lively later told CBS Mornings that she “went back and forth” with Sony to add the 2020 song in the trailer.
“It’s a big, beautiful summer movie, but it’s actually a pretty intimate movie,” Lively said, claiming it was a small-budget project. “We never thought, like, our eyeballs were not that big to think that we could put one of her songs in the movie. It had to be and there was a moment in the movie that was missing this emotional gravitas and, as soon as we put the song in, I was like, ‘That’s the spot’ because it’s the moment in [Lily’s] life where something happens and … that changes the course of her life.”
According to Lively “nothing would have” punctuated the moment better than “My Tears Ricochet.”
Where Blake Lively and Taylor Swift Stand Amid Justin Baldoni Lawsuit
Blake Lively Says Taylor Swift Was ‘With Me on This Experience The Whole Time’
During an August 2024 panel for the film, Lively said “there were a lot of favors and begging” for song usage since there wasn’t a large budget to work with in the first place. The moderator then specifically asked whether Lively persuaded Swift to agree to license the song for the trailer.
“Honestly, she was with me on this experience the whole time,” Lively said, per social media footage. “She really lived this with me, so she’s a person who shows up for you. I’m so grateful to have that love and that support.”
Blake Lively Says She Reunited With ‘I Bet You Think About Me’ Editor on the Movie
Lively, who made her directorial debut on Swift’s “I Bet You Think About Me” music video off 2021’s Red (Taylor’s Version), worked with some of the same crew on It Ends With Us.
“We had an incredible music supervisor, Season Kent, and one of our editors Shane Reid who, fun fact, was my editor on Taylor’s music video I directed,” Lively told the UK’s CapitalFM in August 2024. “And I was obsessed with him, I was like, ‘This guy is amazing!’ He’d never edited a movie before, he’d just finished Deadpool and Wolverine [with my husband] and he came on and helped us with this one. He has incredible taste in music — and we share the same composer from Deadpool and Wolverine. There’s a lot of sharing happening.”
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Isabela Ferrer Claims Taylor Swift Had a Hand in Her Casting
Ferrer plays the younger version of Lively’s Lily in It Ends With Us, later telling Extra at the August 2024 premiere that Swift helped her land the role.
“She was a helpful part of the audition, which I found out later when I got it,” Ferrer said. “And that rocked my world.”
Justin Baldoni Echoes Isabela Ferrer’s Casting Story
In his own interview with Extra that month, Baldoni revealed that he “showed [Isabela’s] casting tape” to Lively and Swift.
“I was casting and I had actually brought in and showed her casting tape to Blake and Taylor and they were both like, ‘Yes, her!’” Baldoni recalled to Extra. “And that’s a true story, but she just blew me away.”
Justin Baldoni Seemingly Refers to Her in a Text
When Baldoni sued Lively and her husband, Reynolds, for $400 million, he appeared to reference Swift in a text message submitted with the legal filing, which was obtained by Us Weekly in January 2025.
“Was working on rooftop scene today, I really love what you did. It really does hep [sic] a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor),” Baldoni’s apparent text read alongside a winking face emoji. “You really are a talent across the board. Really excited nd [sic] grateful to do this together.”
What Sources Said
Multiple sources told Us exclusively that Swift is “not relevant” to the It Ends With Us movie or subsequent legal drama.
“Taylor has always been Blake’s friend, but Taylor doesn’t have any involvement in the case. She wasn’t part of the movie,” one insider shared in February 2025. “Taylor was not a producer on the film and had no creative involvement.”
They 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.”
Where Blake Lively and Taylor Swift Stand Amid Justin Baldoni Lawsuit
The same source said that Swift “never even saw” any part of the movie until it was released.
Taylor Swift’s Reaction to the Legal Drama
She “wasn’t happy with being brought into the legal mess,” a separate source told Us in March 2025.
Taylor Swift Gets Subpoenaed
Swift was subpoenaed in the Lively and Baldoni legal battle in May 2025.
“Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film,” a rep told Us in a statement at the time. “She did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history.”
The statement continued: “The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, ‘My Tears Ricochet.’ Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
