Taylor Swift has decided not to publicly defend her best friend Blake Lively amid the ongoing It Ends With Us drama because she wants to ‘steer clear’ of ‘bad press,’ a source has claimed. Rumors of a feud between Blake, 37, and her It Ends With Us costar Justin Baldoni, 40, have dominated headlines in recent weeks, sparking a furious backlash for both of the stars.
Blake, for her part, was blasted as ‘tone-deaf’ for the way she answered a press question about the serious themes in the film – and was called a ‘bully’ by a reporter over a ‘rude’ comment that she made in a resurfaced interview.
Amid the immense scrutiny, the actress’ close pal Taylor, 34 – who very-publicly supported Blake’s husband, Ryan Reynold’s new Deadpool movie weeks earlier – remained suspiciously tight-lipped.
Now, an insider has shared the real reason why the Cruel Summer songstress chose not to come to her longtime friend’s defense, explaining that the popstar didn’t want to get involved because she feared it might negatively impact her own image.
They claimed that while she was ‘more than willing to help promote Ryan’s movie,’ she wanted nothing to do with the ‘wave of bad press’ surrounding It Ends With Us. ‘When it comes to the wave of bad press around It Ends with Us, Taylor did not want to get involved,’ they said.
‘She has stayed clear of drama, including anything political, and she knew that this was not going to go well if she jumped in to defend her.’ But the source added that Blake completely ‘understood’ Taylor’s perspective, and knows the singer ‘will always be there’ for her as a ‘best friend and mentor.’
‘Blake understood this and knew she had to navigate this on her own. Taylor will always be there for Blake in her role as a best friend and mentor,’ they continued. ‘She was there to help her through production of It Ends With Us and was flattered to be included in the soundtrack.’
While Taylor may not have publicly spoken out about the drama, she did subtly show her support for Blake by throwing an enormous birthday bash for the mom-of-four at her Rhode Island home last week. The two women, as well as a slew of other stars, were photographed partying it up on the balcony of the hitmaker’s stunning beachside mansion on Sunday.
And according to the insider, the celebration was ‘exactly what Blake needed’ to get through the onslaught of criticism. ‘When Taylor opened her home in RI for her birthday, it was exactly what Blake needed,’ they dished.
‘She was able to talk to people and get their opinions on how she should handle this and she got some great advice from her friends.’ They said Taylor gave Blake some ‘honest’ advice on how to handle the situation. And they believe the actress will continue to handle the drama similarly to how Taylor faces negative headlines: by staying silent.
‘Blake knows that the best way to get through this is not to do anything at all for the time being and let it blow over. People will forget,’ they concluded. A previous source told DailyMail.com that Blake was ‘relying’ on Taylor behind-the-scenes to get through the media ‘storm.’
‘Blake has been relying on Taylor to get her through this storm in the same way that she relied on her every step of the way during the filming of It Ends with Us,’ they said. ‘Taylor knows how to handle backlash better than anyone.’
They also claimed that the actress was purposely bringing up her friendship with Taylor in ‘interviews and other promotional work’ in the hope that it will ‘help pull her out of this mess.’
It Ends With Us, which is based off Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name, follows Lily Bloom, played by Blake, who becomes embroiled in an abusive relationship with Ryle Kincaid, portrayed by Justin.
