Blake Lively was nowhere to be seen at Super Bowl LIX alongside friend Taylor Swift — but there’s a reason why.
“She was hoping to do some traveling before A Simple Favor 2,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “And she and Ryan [Reynolds] are keeping a low profile at the moment.”
Lively, 37, was memorably by Swift’s side in Las Vegas as they cheered on the Kansas City Chiefs at the 2024 event. Her absence comes amid her ongoing legal battle with It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni. Lively, who has been friends with the pop icon since 2015, asked (and was granted) permission to use Swift’s song “My Tears Ricochet” in the trailer for It Ends With Us.
Baldoni, 41, and his legal team have since claimed that Swift, 35, could be deposed during the forthcoming trial. In one of Baldoni’s legal filings, he provided alleged text messages between himself and Lively, one of which seemingly mentioned Swift and Reynolds commenting on changes for the movie’s famous rooftop scene between their characters.
Last week, an insider exclusively told Us that, despite the alleged texts, Swift was in no way involved in the production of It Ends With Us. “Taylor has always been Blake’s friend, but Taylor doesn’t have any involvement in the case. She wasn’t part of the movie,” the insider told Us. “Taylor was not a producer on the film and had no creative involvement.”
The insider added, “While she and Blake are friends, this case is now a legal matter for the courts to resolve. Dragging Taylor into it is unnecessary and misrepresents what really happened.”
A second source reminded Us that Swift was “on tour” while the 2024 movie was in production, headlining the worldwide Eras Tour between March 2023 and December 2024. “Taylor never even saw the film or a single scene from it until the movie was in theaters,” the second insider told Us. “She is not relevant to the case.”
A trial date has been set for March 9, 2026, but federal judge Lewis J. Liman ruled earlier this month that the date could be moved up if the complaints continued to be “litigated in the press.”
Lively attended the Super Bowl with Swift in 2024, where they watched the musician’s boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, play and win against the San Francisco 49ers from a private suite in Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. Her other famous friends in attendance included Ice Spice, Ashley Avignone, Lana Del Rey, and Miles and Keleigh Teller.
While Lively was absent for Super Bowl LIX, Swift was joined on Sunday, February 9, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans by The Haim sisters (Alana, Danielle and Este), Ice Spice, Avignone, Ross Travis, Aric Jones, Donna Kelce and brother Austin Swift. (The Chiefs went on to lose to the Philadelphia Eagles 40-22.)
