Katie Joy claims Blake Lively bribed It Ends With Us cast with promised inclusion inside "Taylor Swift's inner circle" to isolate Justin Baldoni

Amid the ongoing legal battle between actors Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively, the host of Without A Crystal Ball, Katie Joy, cited a source claiming that the It Ends With Us cast allegedly turned against Baldoni because Lively had promised them access to Taylor Swift's inner circle.

On June 19, 2025, in her YouTube videocast, Katie stated that, according to the source, Lively allegedly told the cast members that once filming wrapped up in the fall of 2024, they would all attend football games with Swift. The claim also had Lively telling the cast that they would get to sit in the VIP section with the Blank Space singer.

"[Blake Lively told them] that she they could be part of Taylor's inner circle. She was promising them access to Taylor," Katie said.

Katie added another source's claims regarding Justin Baldoni's notable alienation from the It Ends With Us cast at the film's premiere. According to People Magazine, during the New York premiere on August 6, 2024, Justin, who was joined by his wife Emily Baldoni, did not pose for photos with the co-stars.

The source claimed that the reason Justin Baldoni was alienated at the It Ends With Us premiere was that his co-stars, particularly Lively, wanted to create a negative impression about him. This included rumors of him refusing to promote the movie, being difficult, and causing problems on the set.

However, the source added that Blake Lively was responsible for those issues, and she blamed it on Justin Baldoni.

"So when he wasn't promoting, then they could run and be like 'See I told you look at how little he's doing, look at how Blake has to pull everything, he doesn't want to be a part of this,' to make it look like he's lazy on top of being a predator," Katie said.

Katie's source further alleged that there was a phone call between Ryan and Baldoni around the time of the It Ends With Us premiere, during which Ryan reportedly threatened Baldoni and called him a "predator."

Additionally, Ryan allegedly claimed to know people who could "f**ck up" Baldoni's family if he dared come to the premiere.

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A source claimed that Taylor Swift will remain "furious" with Lively for dragging her into her conflict with Justin Baldoni

On June 14, 2025, a source close to Taylor Swift told Page Six that Swift, who was mentioned in Justin Baldoni's defamation lawsuit filed against Lively in January 2025, believed that Blake used her for clout.

"She will forever be furious at how Blake quite clearly was using her for clout and leverage in her dealings with Justin. She really hates that Blake would even think like that, let alone write the things she did in that text," the source stated.

The source further spoke about the "dragons" text, which Baldoni mentioned in his lawsuit. For the unversed, in his lawsuit, Baldoni mentioned text exchanges in which Lively referred to herself as Khaleesi from Game of Thrones and called Taylor and Reynolds her "dragons."

"The damage Justin did by revealing those texts— the 'dragons' text most especially, and by his initial subpoena, even though he dropped it— is lasting and probably permanent," the source added.

The source said that the "dragon" text between Lively and Baldoni was not accurate and Taylor would never think of herself as Blake's "dragon, or protector, or someone who would interfere on her behalf."

Additionally, the source stated that Swift was upset when she saw her name being dragged in the ongoing legal conflict, adding:

"For starters, Blake is a grown woman who doesn’t need anyone to do that for her. Secondly, she’s married to one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. It was never a matter of Taylor believing she’d ever have to fight any battles for Blake."

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The trial is scheduled for March 2026, following the ongoing legal conflict between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively.

Edited by Arunava Dutta