Why Blake Lively called herself Khaleesi from Game of Thrones and Taylor Swift her ‘dragon’ amid Justin Baldoni feud
Popstar Taylor Swift has inadvertently gotten involved in her friend Blake Lively’s legal battle with It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni.It Ends With Us actor and director Justin Baldoni sued his co-star Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds for defamation and extortion last week in the latest move in a bitter legal battle surrounding the dark romantic drama. The suit was filed in federal court in New York by Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios, which seeks at least $400 million in damages, including lost future income. It alleges that Lively and Reynolds hijacked the production and marketing of It Ends With Us and manipulated the media to smear Baldoni and others on the production with false allegations of sexual and other harassment. (Also Read: Taylor Swift claps back at Justin Baldoni after he ‘dragged’ singer in $400 mn defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively)
Taylor Swift dragged into the mess
There’s a familiar yet unlikely name who has been named in Justin’s lawsuit, though not as a defendant – Taylor Swift. The pop star, who is good friends with Blake and Ryan, was apparently a part of a contentious rewriting session that took place at the couple’s residence, which also involved Justin. The scene in question was the key rooftop sequence from the film.
Justin alleged that he “felt obliged to text Lively to say that he had liked her pages and hadn’t needed Reynolds and her megacelebrity friend to pressure him.” That the ‘megacelebrity’ in question is Taylor is clear from Justin’s text to Blake back then: “Also was working on rooftop scene today, I really love what you did. It really does help a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor) You really are a talent across the board. Really excited and grateful to do this together.”
However, Blake’s response to Justin is rather curt – “They also know I’m not always as good at making sure I’m seen and utilized for fear of threatening egos, or fear of affecting the ease of the process. They don’t give a sh*t about that. And because of that, everyone listens to them with immense respect and enthusiasm.” She called her husband and friend “absolute titans as writers and storytellers outside of their primary gig.”
Game of Thrones reference
For effect, Blake even slid in a reference from the popular HBO fantasy show Game of Thrones in her text response to Justin. “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. 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,” she wrote.Justin’s lawsuit comes about two weeks after Blake sued him and several others tied to the film, alleging they retaliated against her for coming forward about her treatment on the set. It Ends With Us, based on the bestselling 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover, was released in August and exceeded box office expectations with a $50 million debut. It begins as a standard romantic drama before taking a dark turn into domestic violence. The fallout in its aftermath has made major waves in Hollywood and led to discussions of the treatment of female actors both on sets and in media.
