Justin Baldoni's team hikes up fee over Taylor Swift backlash fears

Dragging Taylor Swift into his legal battle with Blake Lively has seemed to cost Justin Baldoni more than he bargained for.

According to TMZ, Baldoni’s crisis PR firm, Street Relations Inc., requested a higher monthly fee last year over fears that Lively’s close friendship with the pop megastar could spark backlash from the singer’s fiercely loyal fan base.

In an unearthed email dated August 7, 2024, a member of Baldoni’s team wrote, “The social team are now worried about Blake activating the Taylor Swift fan base, which is a major concern… they have now changed the fee to $30,000 per month due to the uptick in social chatter.”

The next day, an invoice reportedly billed Wayfarer Studios — Baldoni’s company — the same amount.

Lively, 37, has been locked in a legal fight with Baldoni, 41, since alleging in December 2024 that he sexually harassed her on the set of It Ends With Us. He denied the claims and countersued, but a judge dismissed his $400 million case in June.

Swift, 35, was pulled into the fray when Lively referred to the singer and Ryan Reynolds as her “dragons” in a text cited in Baldoni’s January filing.

A rep for Swift later stressed she was “not involved” and focused on her Eras Tour.