Taylor Swift tried to ‘tone down’ Blake Lively's ‘never holding back’ attitude years before Justin Baldoni fiasco

Blake Lively's ongoing legal dispute with Justin Baldoni has created tension with Taylor Swift, who once advised Lively to adopt a more restrained approach.

Taylor Swift once tried to “tone down” her close friend Blake Lively, years before the actress disputed with Justin Baldoni, per Daily Mail.

Taylor Swift previously encouraged Blake Lively to temper her outspoken nature.

The Gossip Girl star is currently facing a highly publicized legal battle with Baldoni, her It Ends With Us co-star. She accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her, filing a lawsuit last year.

Following the allegations and huge backlash, Baldoni has countersued both Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, seeking $400 million in damages. He also alleges that Lively attempted to use Swift’s influence to pressure him during a meeting with Reynolds regarding script changes. Swift’s presence made him feel as though he “needed to comply with Blake’s direction for the script,” Baldoni said.

Swift caught in the middle of Lively and Baldoni's legal feud

And with this scrutiny of Lively’s past behavior has intensified. “Taylor Swift admires that Blake Lively is a ballsy chick who speaks her mind, swears like a trooper, and refuses to be controlled by anyone,” a source told Daily Mail.

“That’s the real reason they bonded and became firm friends when they first met 10 years ago.”

“Taylor saw her doppelgänger in Blake. The main difference between them is that Taylor is more subtle. Blake has always gone full throttle about everything. She never holds back and that’s what has caused the tide to turn on her.”

“Taylor has tried to help tone Blake down in the past, but she now knows it’s never going to happen,” the insider told Daily Mail. “Right now, while they’re still close, there’s a slight shift because of the It Ends With Us drama. Taylor doesn’t like the fact that she’s been dragged into it.”

Baldoni's lawsuit further alleges that Lively likened herself to the Game of Thrones character Khaleesi, referring to Reynolds and Swift as her “dragons” in a veiled threat toward Baldoni.

Daily Mail earlier cited a source who claimed that Swift was taken aback by the way she had been portrayed in the lawsuit. The Cruel Summer singer's presence at the meeting was unplanned—she had merely arrived at Lively’s New York penthouse while the discussion was still ongoing.

“For the time being she is taking a step back from Blake because she doesn’t want to get tangled in this more than she already has – which is far more than she ever needed to be,” the source added.