Taylor Swift and Blake Lively: from BFF goals to bitchy blackmail
Taylor Swift and Blake Lively are no longer the Hollywood besties who bake cupcakes together and go to trendy clubs in high heels. But now there is a big fat fight that is so bad that Taylor's father is getting involved.
What is going on between Taylor and Blake?
Taylor Swift and Blake Lively: for years they were the textbook example of celebrity BFFs. Blake's children were even immortalized in Taylor's songs. And if you get a permanent spot in the Swiftie lyrics, you know: you are thick as thieves. Or were.
But now there is a significant clash going on. The rumor is that Blake Lively is forcing Taylor Swift to publicly support her in a lawsuit with director Justin Baldoni. And what if Taylor doesn't do that? Then Blake threatens to leak messages in which Tay doesn't exactly come off as the sweetheart of the class. Oops.
BFF with conditions?
It all started when Blake got embroiled in a legal conflict with Baldoni, known for among others Jane the Virgin and the upcoming adaptation of Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us. Blake allegedly tried to invoke her friendship with Taylor a bit too eagerly in court, and Taylor? She certainly wasn't interested in that.
Swift has reportedly completely withdrawn from the drama – much to Blake's frustration. And then it started: rumors of blackmail, messages, and now even interference from Taylor's father Scott Swift, who seems to have more influence than many PR agencies combined.
The message drama: receipts incoming?
According to a podcast episode of The Spill Blake allegedly has messages from Taylor ready to go public if Tay doesn't break her silence. In those messages, Taylor not only disses Blake but also gives other celebs a jab. And that could, especially with her current girlboss-on-top image, be quite damaging.
Swiftie silence and Kelce karma
The consequences are already being felt in their mutual friend circle. For instance, Travis Kelce (Taylor's boyfriend) has unfollowed Blake's husband Ryan Reynolds (!) on Instagram. For Hollywood standards, that's roughly equivalent to cutting off a pinky. In short: it's serious. Blake still follows Taylor Swift though, and Taylor follows 0 people at all. And Ryan doesn't follow Travis. No idea if he ever did and this is a statement, but they are certainly not thick as thieves.
And then there's dad Swift…
Enter: Scott Swift. Taylor's father, and – as it turns out – an important player behind the scenes. According to insiders, he has informed Blake (and her legal team) that there are boundaries. And if Blake actually starts throwing around those private messages, then there will be consequences. Which ones? We don't know yet, but you really don't want to mess with the Swift PR machine.
What does this say about celebrity friendships?
Let's be honest: we love it. But this kind of drama also shows how fragile celebrity friendships are. One wrong move, a bit of bad timing – and the friendship turns into a legal ticking time bomb.
What does Taylor think about this?
For now? She is silent. And that often says the most.
So this is how it all started: the friendship between Taylor and Blake
It was 2015 when Blake Lively first entered the Swiftie universe. No official red carpet or shared film set, but a spontaneous Instagram post in which Blake subtly dropped a Swift song title. Taylor, who of course doesn't miss an opportunity for a celeb friendship, immediately responded. The DMs were opened, the friendship was born.
From that moment on, they were inseparable. Blake became a regular guest at Taylor's iconic Fourth of July parties (complete with matching swim outfits), joined her on the 1989 World Tour and stood next to Taylor at award shows and backstage. They celebrated birthdays together, shared Christmas traditions, and – perhaps the biggest Taylor compliment – Blake's daughters earned an honorary place in her song lyrics. James, Inez, and Betty were immortalized in the folklore era, and Betty even got her own song.
And then there was the friendship square of dreams: Taylor & Blake, Ryan Reynolds & Joe Alwyn (yes, Taylor's ex). Four beautiful people, a kitchen full of homemade pasta, and cozy villas in upstate New York. It seemed like a fairy tale.
But like with many fairy tales… it can suddenly end in a drama of Shakespearean proportions. And that is where we seem to have landed now.
