Gigi Hadid (left) and Blake Lively 'haven’t been in touch much this year and it does have everything to do with the lawsuit,' an insider claims. Photos: AFP, AP
Blake Lively’s legal battle with Justin Baldoni hasn’t just rocked the boat of her friendship with Taylor Swift but with mutual pal Gigi Hadid, who appears to be following the pop star’s lead by taking a break from Lively.
“As Taylor has begun to distance herself from Blake, Gigi has naturally done the same,” an insider told Us Weekly, pointing to the “closer friendship” the supermodel shares with the Grammy winner.
While the source said Hadid hasn’t “hasn’t necessarily chosen sides,” the status of her friendship with Lively is a reflection of her loyalty to Swift.
Hadid and Lively “haven’t been in touch much this year and it does have everything to do with the lawsuit,” the insider claimed.
Another source told the outlet that Swift and Lively’s “friendship is not what it used to be” and that things have been “strained” when they’ve spoken. People magazine similarly reported the relationship has come to a halt.
News of a rift in the larger friend group comes roughly a week after Swift was subpoenaed as a witness in the legal battle between Lively and Baldoni, her director and co-star of It Ends With Us.
Baldoni’s attorneys are seeking for Swift to reveal any information she has that pertains to the case, citing her presence during a heated meeting over rewrites to the script and text messages from Lively in which she appears to refer to Swift as one of her “dragons.”
Swift was “shocked to be referred to in work messages sent to Blake’s director and to be brought into this,” an insider told Us.
The legal saga started in late December when Lively filed a lawsuit accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set and waging a subsequent smear campaign.
Weeks later, Baldoni countersued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane, alleging defamation and civil extortion in a US$400mil lawsuit.
Among his many accusations, he claims the Gossip Girl alum used nearly any and all means to pressure him into giving over creative control of the film – including leveraging Swift’s star status. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
