As Taylor Swift headed into Arrowhead Stadium Saturday, you’d never know that she’d just been named in what might have been the biggest news story of the day. She was just another woman at the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Houston Texans, albeit one in an extremely kicky coat.
As you, of course, understand, Swift was at the game to cheer on her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Swift has been skipping the team’s away games this year, reportedly because her security team is better able to consistently ensure her safety at the Chiefs’ home stadium. Knowing that, crowds were primed for Swift to alight at yesterday’s matchup, especially since she’d been spotted in Kansas City earlier that week, for a Kelce-engineered surprise party celebrating the end of her blockbuster Eras tour.
On Saturday, Taylor Swift had even more to celebrate, as the Chiefs beat the Texans 27-19. Video shot by a spectator and posted on social media shows Swift’s excited reaction at the conclusion of the game. She’s seen hugging her mom, Andrea Swift, and Kelce’s mom, Donna Kelce, in a group embrace inside the family’s private box.
Looking at Swift’s relaxed and happy demeanor, or extremely snazzy outfit (per Page Six, “a red Charlotte Simone coat ($404) and black Chanel bucket hat with black argyle tights by Sheertex and knee-high Veronica Beard suede boots ($695)”) you might be hard pressed to align that person with how she was allegedly characterized by the crisis comms team retained by the producers of This Ends With Us, the notoriously troubled 2024 domestic violence drama starring Blake Lively and directed by co-star Justin Baldoni.
According to a blistering legal filing from Lively that was widely reported on Saturday, the film’s production company, Wayfarer Studio, retained a crisis communications team to allegedly coordinate a smear campaign damaging Lively’s credibility, after she pushed back against alleged sexual harassment and misconduct from Baldoni and fellow producer Jamey Heath.
The 80-page filing, which details emails, text messages, and other documents from the studio and PR reps that Lively’s team obtained via a subpoena, argues—among other things—that Lively’s well-documented friendship with Swift was one of the things the crisis comms team allegedly attempted to leverage against her.
One email from the PR strategist to Wayfarer Studio sent just days before the film’s August 9 release reads, “We have seen the most innocuous issues turn giant due to socials or the hugest crises have no effect on social whatsoever. You just cannot tell at this stage. But, BL does have some of the same TS fanbase so we will be taking it extremely seriously.” (It’s assumed obviously, that “BL” refers to Lively and “TS” to Swift.)
In a separate “scenario planning document” referenced in Lively’s filing, the PR strategists wrote that “our team can also explore planting stories about the weaponization of feminism and how people like Taylor Swift, have been accused of utilizing these tactics to ‘bully’ into getting what they want.”
It’s unclear what the strategists were allegedly referring to when this angle was proposed, but it’s not the only time institutional misogyny was allegedly leveraged by the team. “Socials are really really ramping up…. In his favour, she must be furious. It’s actually sad because it just shows you have people really want to hate on women,” one of the studio’s strategists allegedly said in a text message exchange referenced in Lively’s filing. (The full filing, which Vanity Fair has obtained, can be read here.)
According to the Hollywood Reporter, following the news of Lively’s filing, Baldoni was dropped by agent William Morris Endeavor (WME). (Vanity Fair was unable to independently confirmed that news as of publication time.) Also on Saturday, author Colleen Hoover, whose novel provided the basis for This Ends With Us, spoke out in support of Lively, People notes.
“You have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met,” Hoover wrote to Lively via a public Instagram story. “Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
In a statement to Vanity Fair on Saturday, Bryan Freedman, the attorney for Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and all its representatives denied Lively’s claims, characterizing them as “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media … The representatives of Wayfarer Studios still did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity.”
Vanity Fair has reached out to Swift’s representative for comment on the case, but has not received a response as of publication time. In a statement shared with media Saturday, Lively said, “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”
The Year in Review
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Richard Lawson Ranks the Year’s Best Movies
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The Top TV Shows of 2024
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The Performances That We Couldn’t Take Our Eyes Off
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The Biggest Celebrities We Lost
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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Most Iconic Outfits This Year
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The 10 Books That Famous Bookworms Loved
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Meghan Markle’s Year in Style
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Plus: the 67 Best Christmas Movies of All Time
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From the Archive: the War Behind the Making of The Godfather
The post Taylor Swift Rolls Into Kansas City Chiefs Game Hours After Justin Baldoni PR Team Allegedly Accuses Her of Bullying appeared first on Vanity Fair.
