Can I ask the Swifties something? Have any of Taylor Swift’s albums ever had leaks like this? I remember just a week before The Tortured Poets Department came out, there were some leaks of the songs and the lyrics, and people started to figure out that many of the songs were about Matt Healy, much to the Swifties’ chagrin. But The Life of a Showgirl isn’t coming out until October, and there are SO MANY leaks. Several of the cover-art photos were leaked a week before Taylor even announced the album. Last week, the Daily Mail had a big exclusive about how TLOAS’s songs. They said that Taylor has a song about the accusations that her relationship is a PR stunt, a few political songs (which might even be anti-Trump) and at least one song about her friendship breakup with Blake Lively. I saw that Mail piece and I was like… damn, who leaked all of that? Well now People’s sources are suggesting that Taylor’s new song “Ruin the Friendship” is absolutely about Blake, and the two women are not speaking.
Taylor Swift and Blake Lively are currently not in communication. Their longtime friendship has been under public scrutiny since Swift’s name was brought into Lively’s ongoing legal battle with her It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni, which began in December 2024.
Now, a source close to the situation tells PEOPLE, “Taylor and Blake aren’t speaking.”
Swift, 35, has come up several times during the actress’ legal war with Baldoni, 41. The superstar’s name was first brought into the mix when Baldoni’s legal team alleged that Swift had pressured him to accept Lively’s rewrites on the movie in a complaint Baldoni filed in January that has since been dismissed. Later, in May, Baldoni’s legal team dropped the subpoena they’d issued to Swift. Swift’s rep claimed the subpoena was “designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
On Aug. 13 Swift announced the upcoming release of her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, which will include a song titled “Ruin the Friendship,” that fans are speculating is about her relationship with Lively, 37.
In April, a source told PEOPLE that Swift “was really hurt” after she was implicated in Lively and Baldoni’s legal case, and in May a source told PEOPLE that her friendship with Lively “has halted.” At that time, another insider said that while the pair were “taking some space,” they were “not no longer friends.” Two months later, a source told PEOPLE that Lively and Swift were working toward being “on good terms,” though their friendship “isn’t the same as it was before.”
That last part of People’s article is hilarious, because they’re quoting their own coverage and trying to hide the fact that Blake’s publicist and Taylor’s publicist are both pushing stories about the friend-split, but the publicists are contradicting one another. I’ve believed for months that Taylor was and perhaps still is quite pissed with what Blake did, and how Blake was clearly parlaying her relationship with Taylor behind-the-scenes. Taylor feels used, and she has every right to feel that way. I’m interested in hearing “Ruin the Friendship” – Taylor is usually at her most savage when she’s writing/singing about women, not men. I will die if the song is basically Bleach Blonde Bad Blood Butch Body.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid and Cover Images.
- New York, NY – Music sensation Taylor Swift, actress Blake Lively and “Game of Thrones” star Sophie Turner were spotted arriving at Emilio’s Ballato, one of New York’s hottest restaurants. The trio attracted the attention of onlookers as they arrived at the exclusive restaurant. Pictured: Taylor Swift, Blake Lively, Sophie Turner BACKGRID USA 30 SEPTEMBER 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
- New York, NY – Taylor Swift, Blake Lively, Sophie Turner and Brittany Matthews arrived at Emilio’s Ballato Italian pizzeria in SoHo for a nice dinner. The trio, known for their distinctive styles and individual accomplishments, drew stares as they entered the popular restaurant. Pictured: Taylor Swift, Blake Lively, Sophie Turner BACKGRID USA 30 SEPTEMBER 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: roka / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
- New York City, NY – Music icon Taylor Swift celebrated her 34th birthday in style, joined by close friend Blake Lively, actor Miles Teller and his wife Keleigh Sperry in New York City. The group enjoyed a festive dinner at Freemans, followed by celebrations at The Box, with Swift receiving a grand bouquet earlier in the evening, marking the joyous occasion. Pictured: Taylor Swift, Blake Lively BACKGRID USA 13 DECEMBER 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: JosiahW / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
- New York, NY – Singer Taylor swift and her actress bestie Blake Lively are spotted arriving for dinner at hotspot Lucali this evening in Brooklyn, New York City. Pictured: Taylor Swift, Blake Lively BACKGRID USA 10 JANUARY 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: North Woods / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
- Celebrities attend Taylor Swift’s 34th birthday celebrations in New York Featuring: Blake Lively, Taylor Swift Where: New York, United States When: 13 Dec 2023 Credit: Roger Wong/INSTARimages
- Celebrities attend Taylor Swift’s 34th birthday celebrations in New York Featuring: Taylor Swift, Blake Lively Where: New York, United States When: 13 Dec 2023 Credit: Roger Wong/INSTARimages
I don’t see how it could be? She talked about recording this while on the European leg of her tour, which was last summer (? I thought? Not Swiftie enough to keep track). All this stuff happened December of ‘24, that would mean she like went back and added after the tour wrapped up, which I guess is possible. I just would’ve thought she would be taking a break right then. But if the power of spite compels you 🤷🏼♀️
I agree Lucy. My guess is this song is about breaking a friendship in the sense of going from friends to lovers. The above People article doesn’t even read like real leaks – it just reads like someone read posts of Swifties speculating.
I am on this train — and I don’t see her writing a song about this, ok I see her writing one, but not putting in an album. She is close to the children as well — agree this seems more like wild speculation than leaks.
I also don’t believe every story published is being pushed by someone’s PR — sometimes it is tabloids being tabloids.
Taylor is petty as hell(and I mean that as a compliment) so that wouldn’t surprise me but i’m not sure the timelines match. Also, I feel like she would be slightly more subtly and it could generally be a song about all the times she has been betrayed or used for her fame.
A compliment? Ira a reason why I’m not a fan
I do mean it as a compliment, like in the sexual assault trial(when that dj groped her then tried to sue her for defamtion after she reported it and he lost his job), she countersued for 1$.
Or due to the long kayne saga and the edited video, by naming her new album “the life of,” now Taylor becomes the number one search result.
“Ruin the friendship” sounds more like a romance-themed song though? Isn’t that one of those things people say when they hook up (or want to hook up) with a friend?
I think the fact that most artists stopped doing physical editions first week and only releasing them for streaming prevented a lot of leaks. Since Taylor is doing a lot of physical drops (because they sell well), her album is more open to leaks during delivery, shipment, etc.
I doubt this is about Blake. Taylor made it known multiple times she doesn’t want to get involved in legal situation and she is gonna publish a song about this before the case is closed? I don’t know, that doesn’t make sense. If I remember correctly, the PR company working for Justin was bragging about having access to reporters at People as well as tabloids. I don’t trust much People nowadays. They are re-reporting tabloids articles about royals too.
Since the album isn’t even out yet, I’m going to laugh if none of these songs even exist and the tabloids are just making up stuff. But there’s no way to know till October. Guess we will see how much was real or not. Till then I’m just like meh, we’ll see. Although I didn’t realize the cover art was leaked.
The songs do exist, because Taylor read the tracklist during the New Heights podcast. Who knows, however, what any of the songs are actually about until the songs are released? I’m leaning towards it not being about Blake simply because Taylor seems to want to steer clear of that legal mess.
Ah got it. Sorry so the titles were not leaked and Taylor read the tracks out loud and now people are extrapolating what the songs are about? huh. I mean that would be inevitable after getting the track titles.
@Jais Both things happened, the titles and visuals were leaked and then Taylor put them out and announced them. Likely someone who works at the companies making the physical vinyl records or cds leaked them.
But yeah, the speculation would be there regardless of how people found the track list.
Okay thank you. I haven’t been following so I’m truly just learning. There were leaks, then she announced anyways on the podcast and now there’s speculation, got it.
It seems as though Blake did parlay her friendship with Taylor—but this is something Taylor does All. The. Time. She collects friends and acquaintances for years. When Matt dissed Ice Spice, Taylor was attached at her hip—more than likely because she thought it reflected on her because she was dating him.
If there is a song about Blake or not—friendships change, evolve and end all the time.
The timing is not right.
She wrote the album last summer in Europe. So. No.
Also, Baldoni and his “crisis pr team” who is still effectively running a smear campaign against Blake Lively, would LOVE to be able to use Taylor Swift’s name- and he does.
If Taylor were to make a public or quasi public statement supporting Blake- Baldoni’s team would call it out as two “mean girls” in a “coordinated attack” on poor Baldoni.
Once all of this is over, we will see if it effected their friendship in the long term. We will not know until it is over.
Baldoni literally just file a motion to compel against a minor actress from the movie in the suit- complaining she is dodging service of a subpoena for records for them.
In the girl’s response she notes- Blake filed a subpoena first, and all Baldoni’s subpoena was essentially word for word what blake’s was, so filing it was unnecessary and redundant.
They actually had not attempted to service this girl at all, but what they had done is delay her response to Blake.
In her movie contract the Wayfarer (defendant) studios owe her indemnification- meaning they have to pay her legal fees on this. But they were delays agreeing to it, causing the delays, and refusing to indemnify unless she entered some sort of quid pro quo with the defendant studio about how her document production will be handled.
My point- Baldoni lies in court documents so he can create headlines that favor him.
This is all so shady.
And one more time, as a victim of sexual harassment/assault, please recall, Taylor was sued by a guy who groped her – she countersued for $1.
And won.
For me the silence of Taylor is very telling : she was, as you said, a victim of SA… If she had believed her friend, she would have jumped on that occasion to defend her (as she did for Sophie Turner during her divorce). A simple outing to a restaurent would has been enough to show that she was supporting her…
It’s obvious they’re no longer friends. Taylor has been avoiding Blake like the plague.
This comment is full of misinformation. For instance, the “minor” that Baldoni is trying to serve with a subpoena is an adult, age 24. After trying to serve her at several physical addresses and repeatedly asking her lawyer to accept service, Baldonis lawyers petitioned the court for permission to try alternative means of service—just as Lively’s lawyers requested for several witnesses that they couldn’t locate. The fact that this adult female actress already responded to a subpoena from Blake Lively, who requested all documents she had provided to other parties via subpoena, does not mean it’s improper for Baldoni’s lawyers to subpoena her as well. The fact that she was negotiating with Baldoni’s company to cover her legal bills (which they agreed to do, upon review of her invoices by an independent judge to determine the charges were covered by her contractual indemnification clause), doesn’t mean that it was improper in any way for Baldoni’s lawyers to subpoena her. She’s a material witness to the matters in dispute in this lawsuit, and she was mentioned several times in Lively’s complaint. It would be legal malpractice for Baldoni’s lawyers not to subpoena her. How else are they supposed to defend themselves?
There is no way the song could be about Blake because she recorded the entire album during the European leg of the tour and well the stuff with Blake hadn’t happened. I do believe they are no longer friends and she is pissed and felt used, but people have to listen to Taylor when she speaks instead of creating narratives. She wrote this album while in Europe touring, it is about her behind the scenes life during that time. It isn’t the made up Karma album, it isn’t about stuff that happened after the tour ended. It is about that time.
Also this narrative that TTPD was all about Matty is just wrong. There are three maybe 4 songs about him, but the majority aren’t and if anything they are looking at her pattern so a bunch of relationships are mixed in to songs. But the album as a whole is about Taylor and her choices and patterns so she can break the cycle. Which is normal after ending a 6 year relationship with the person you thought was the one only to see it fail and fall for the love bombing.
Anyway this new album can’t be about Blake, though I am sure there will be a song about that in the future it isn’t on this album. I need some Swifties to stop making up their own stuff and refusing to let it go after she clearly states they are wrong- looking at the Gaylors and Karma Truthers.
Eh. Being stingy, I count at least twelve songs about Healy on TTPD. I do agree, however, that the album itself is more about her patterns than about a single relationship.
Why do people continue to claim that Justin is running a smear campaign when it’s actually Blake running the smear campaign? And there is still no proof that Blake experienced SH. Everything her attorneys leak contradict her SH claims and point more to the fact that she’s upset about her reputation from her horrible marketing of the film. But back to Taylor, from what I’ve learned from this whole Blake/Justin mess is the Blake learned from Taylor to drop little queues and then be quiet while others create narratives whether positive or negative and you play innocent with your hands clean. Except Blake’s hand’s aren’t clean and she’s not innocent and she assumed that the Swifties would be on her side and Taylor would support her. Taylor supported Kesha in her situation but Taylor is quiet about Blake’s situation. Taylor’s friends have ignored Blake and Travis unfriended whoever he unfriended because Taylor apparently doesn’t follow anyone. It’s so high school-ish. I’d drop her as a friend also if you were giving paparazzi access to my property so you could photograph yourself with me. It’s time for the Blake fans to admit that they’re not friends anymore and it’s not because of Justin. It’s because Taylor is tired of Blake using her to get what she wants. Taylor, being Taylor, is going to play into the controversy because she is obviously a bigger star with a stronger fan base than Blake and her husband put together.
🎯🎯🎯
I am not touching the Blake Lively mess even a little. Those texts are a problem. Full stop. And she did use Taylor Swift (who I doubt knew) to threaten Justin Baladoni. It doesn’t matter if he was being a POS. The whole thing was weird and if I were Taylor Swift I would not like someone using my name to invoke me in anything and then I have to deal with the fall out on something I didn’t know they freaking did. And it seems to me that the texts about Taylor were not complimentary to Taylor. Blake called herself the Khalessi and Ryan and Taylor her dragons. Eyeroll.
Only tangentially related, but I’ve always thought it was super weird that Blake asked Taylor to be the godmother of ALL of her four (?) children. That’s unusual, right? Or is it just me? I’ve never been a huge Blake fan, so maybe I’m reading into it, but it always seemed really odd to me. Most people I know ask different people to be godparents to each of their children.
And Blake looks SO smug to be photographed holding hands with Taylor in that one photo 🙄 If the friendship is in fact over, Blake is devastated.
Taylor and her people are smart. Baldoni is suing Lively and Reynolds about Nicepool (talk about the Streisand effect). No way would they put any song on an album that may be released during the trial that could even slightly be related to that mess.
I dunno, but I watched the whole New Heights podcast and didn’t get a vibe that this album is gonna be heavy like that. She wrote the songs and recorded during last summer’s tour. Reunion with Max Martin + Shellback. She and Travis had been going for a year and having fun when they could. Etc.
It was a good summer!
To quote Louis B Mayer: Nobody knows nothing