February 12, 2025 • 22 mins
In this episode of 'The PR Breakdown,' Molly delves into the intricate PR maneuvers and power plays behind the rift between Taylor Swift and Blake Lively. Taylor Swift reportedly feels used in the ongoing legal tussle between Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Justin Baldoni. The episode covers the strategic leak by Swift's team to distance her from the drama, involving lawsuits over defamation, sexual harassment, and privacy invasion. McPherson explains why timing and reputation management are crucial in such high-profile disputes, and predicts the impact of this crisis on the careers and personal lives of those involved.
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Episode Transcript
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Harvey Levin - TMZ (00:00):
We just broke a shocking story.
There is a rift and I thinkthat is an understatement of a
word a rift between Taylor Swiftand Blake Lively.
Taylor feels like she's beenused.
Yeah, used in the middle ofBlake Lively's war with Justin
Baldoni, and there's certainthings that we know Blake has
(00:25):
said about Taylor in referenceto that battle that do not sit
well with Taylor at all.
Molly McPherson (00:34):
TMZ's Harvey Levin with a very bold statement
.
Why would he feel free to makesuch a huge claim about a
private friendship Okay, onethat's been shoved into the
public eye, but still, how onearth are they supposed to know
how Taylor really feels?
The answer, my friends, ispretty simple Because Taylor let
that slip, or her team did.
(00:57):
Hey there, welcome back to thePR Breakdown, where I break down
the biggest PR moments andcrises in the news this week and
figure out what's really goingon behind the headlines.
In this episode, the TaylorSwift, blake Lively, justin,
yada, yada, yada crisis Again.
(01:18):
Yes, why?
Because it won't go away and,after all, come on, that's why
you're here right.
And that's why I'm still here.
Last Friday I was doing myinternet rounds checking in on
the headlines of the week,breaking news, but also what
gets fed to me by the algorithm.
(01:39):
Naturally they decided to serveme a headline from TMZ about
Blake Lively in her war withJustin Baldoni.
I've spent weeks looking atthis case.
Is it because I'm interested init?
Not necessarily, but I'minterested in the power moves
and the power plays behind thescenes.
It's not for the celebrityaspect, but naturally it's for
(02:01):
the power moves behind thescenes, but naturally it's for
the power moves behind thescenes.
But it was the story aboutTaylor Swift being re-injected
into the Blake and Justin andRyan story last Thursday that
got me thinking.
There's more to this story.
(02:21):
Last Friday I quickly wrote anarticle and published it to
Substack Wait, did I saySubstack, yes, please become a
subscriber today.
Just download the app, it'sfree.
Look for the PR breakdown withMolly McPherson.
But it was a quick article.
The title was Taylor Swift's PRdragon slaying how Blake
(02:41):
Lively's in parens former PRweapon is orchestrating her exit
from the it Ends With Us drama.
I get itchy focusing oncelebrity crises too long.
I get itchy talking aboutcelebrities at all, because more
and more people come up to meto discuss these cases with
their caveat I don't follow popculture, yet that's what they
(03:04):
want to talk about, and it'slike they're ashamed to admit
that they're following it.
And I get it.
Don't you think that talkingabout celebrities online on
TikTok and Instagram and socialmedia is a challenge for me,
while I'm trying to retain somecredibility as a strategic
thinker in the art ofcommunication credibility as a
(03:24):
strategic thinker in the art ofcommunication?
But I am drawn into thembecause one I know that my
followers like to discuss it,but also I know what drives
people to this conversation it'sthe human drama.
Now, apart from the super fansthe stans like the Swifties,
(03:49):
fans, the stans like theSwifties no one really, really
cares about these celebrities.
We all have our celebrities whowe love like we get that right,
but we're not a society ofsycophants who need to connect
with these celebrities on adaily basis about every single
thing that they do.
It's part curiosity, partschadenfreude and also just
genuine curiosity about humanbehavior, and that's what
brought me to this case andthat's what keeps me here.
(04:10):
This ends with us.
Fiasco is similar to otherdeeper dives that I've done with
celebrities lizzo, joe jonasit's the human flaws hidden
behind the bulldog legal tacticsand slick PR moves that draws
me in.
Like Joe Jonas is not my vibe,but following his Friday
(04:35):
afternoon news dump announcinghis divorce from Sophie Turner
to the public, and apparentlySophie Turner herself, over the
US holiday weekend of Labor Day,that's strategic PR and that's
the carrot dangling in front ofall of us.
With every new celebrity crisis, people are becoming more media
(04:56):
literate, more PR literate, tospot the deceptive and
manipulative tactics and thesneaky power grabs that lack
integrity that they see frompeople in the headlines.
Which brings us back to thiscase.
Let's talk about where we arewith the court case as of the
time of this recording.
(05:16):
The legal disputes involvingBlake Lively, ryan Reynolds,
justin Baldoni are ongoing andhave escalated significantly.
Here is the current status atthe time of recording.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynoldshave formally notified the court
earlier allegations of sexualharassment against Baldoni
(05:47):
during the filming of it EndsWith Us.
Their legal team has yet tofile the official motion for
dismissal but has indicated thatit is forthcoming.
Their publicist, leslie Sloan,is also named in the Baldoni
lawsuit.
She has filed for a similarnotice.
On February 3rd, a New Yorkjudge declined Lively and
(06:08):
Reynolds' request to issue a gagorder against Baldoni's
attorney, brian Friedman, whohas been accused of making
prejudicial public statements.
The judge warned both partiesagainst litigating the case in
the media, in other words, usingPR as a retaliatory tactic,
which is the case that BlakeLively is putting against Justin
(06:29):
Baldoni, the meta of thiscrisis.
That's why I'm drawn in thetimeline for the trial.
Both lawsuits Lively's sexualharassment claims against
Baldoni and his $400 millioncountersuit is scheduled for
March 9th 2026.
Both parties have agreed toconsolidate their federal cases
into a single proceeding.
(06:51):
The key allegations again livelyaccuses Baldoni of sexual
harassment, inappropriateworkplace conduct and launching
a retaliatory smear campaign.
Baldoni is saying that he'sdenied these claims and he
alleges that Livelymisrepresented their
interactions and used herinfluence to harm his career by
pressuring his agency to drophim.
(07:12):
And that's where it intersectswith Taylor Swift.
It's all about that wordpressuring.
Pressuring, I believe, is goingto come into this case
throughout and touch a lot ofthe different players.
For example, colleen Hoover,the author of it, ends With Us.
She's dropped out of sight,dropped Instagram.
(07:32):
I think it's going to beinteresting to see if she felt
pressure from Blake and Ryan aswell.
Now let's move on to the TaylorSwift piece.
When I saw the headline fromTMZ about the Taylor Swift bad
blood, I immediately knew thatthis was a public relations
(07:56):
strategic play.
In that article TMZ againexclusive source they heard from
a well-connected source closeto Taylor.
That is language that meansit's from Taylor Swift's side,
likely at the behest, ordirectly from Tree Payne.
(08:16):
She is the mega uber publicistwho's managed Taylor Swift's
reputation.
We're going to talk aboutdragons.
Tree Payne is the dragon inthis scenario, but in the
article discussing how Taylorcame to Blake's apartment at the
time because Blake told her toshe is stating that she didn't
know anyone else would be there.
(08:36):
In other words, taylor had noidea there was going to be a
meeting going on with Justin.
We don't know if this is trueor not, even though it's being
stated.
We don't know if it's true ornot, but strategically it should
be stated.
It would be very hard to provethat Taylor did not know unless
there were text messages fromBlake or Ryan indicating that
Justin was going to be there andit said hey, tay-tay, I need
(08:59):
your help.
We're going to ambush Justinper Ryan's recommendation.
The source said that Taylorbelieved that Blake timed her
meeting with Justin so Taylorwould arrive before he left, and
is baffled by Blake latercharacterizing her as a quote
dragon in our Game of Thronesreference.
The source adds, quote it'sweird to say that about a friend
(09:23):
.
End quote.
Yeah, it kind of is weird tosay that the Taylor Swift source
is really painting Blake assomeone who strategically used
her quote good friend, taylorSwift, in whatever interaction
or power play she was havingwith Justin Baldoni.
(09:43):
I think was all prompted by RyanReynolds, which I think this is
just one big ploy to cover forRyan Reynolds' jealousy.
This is a huge falling out.
Taylor is the godmother to oneof Blake and Ryan's kids and
many, many people mentioned thaton my live On Friday, I put
(10:03):
together a live on YouTubeopening it up to everyone, just
so you know.
If you want to check out myYouTube weeklies about whatever
the top headline story is of theweek, go over to my YouTube
channel right now.
Just look for at MollyMcPherson and you'll get
notifications when these liveshappen.
But on that chat there were anumber of Swifties on there
(10:25):
defending Taylor, which I canunderstand why they would want
to do that.
Now here are the reasons why Ithink this TMZ article is part
of a bigger but short strategicplay to distance Taylor Swift
from Blake Lively.
Here are a number of reasonswhy One the timing.
(10:48):
If you follow me, you know Ialways mention timing is
something that's never discussed, but timing always, always is a
factor in a crisis, always,always is a factor in a crisis.
This is not what I think.
This is what I know because Ido crisis management full time.
I am always looking for whathappened, when and why does that
(11:12):
matter.
In this case, the timing tellsme everything.
The Sunday before last, the 2025Grammys.
This past Sunday, the SuperBowl.
Taylor Swift had two key eventson her calendar where it would
be high profile events.
(11:33):
Publicity from both events wasgoing to bleed into the week,
which meant it was a perfecttime to drop a story that
Taylor's team really did notwant to talk about.
It wasn't a Friday afternoonnews dump.
This was dumped on Thursday.
Then subsequent storiesfollowed.
(11:55):
Overall, this still counts as aFriday afternoon news dump.
Two, taylor wants to distanceherself from Blake for
reputation and legal reasons.
The reputation risk beingassociated with a high profile
legal dispute, even as a witnesscan lead to negative publicity
and unwanted media scrutiny.
(12:16):
Taylor Swift and her team havespent years making sure her icon
status prevents her fromgetting swallowed up in these
little PR squirmishes thathappen With any public
perception that may link thecelebrity to a controversy.
It potentially harms areputation or a brand.
That means money.
(12:38):
Regardless of their actualinvolvement, they don't want to
be involved.
Three there's privacy concerns.
Legal proceedings often exposepersonal details or professional
interactions that the celebritylikely prefers to keep private.
For instance, lawsuits can leadto the disclosure of
communications, taxed behaviorson set of communications, taxed
(13:04):
behaviors on set, behind thescenes, backstage, or reveal
other sensitive information.
Taylor has a highly curatedreputation, almost to the point
of perfection.
She does not want this messycourt case to involve any type
of messiness from her backgroundas well.
Number four professionalrelationships.
Mentioning a celebrity in alawsuit can strain the
relationships within theindustry.
(13:25):
For example, being listed as awitness in disputes involving
colleagues or collaboratorscould create tension or affect
future opportunities.
What if Colleen Hoover wantedto use a Taylor Swift song?
Not likely.
If Taylor Swift is involved insome other movie or has an
affiliation with some otheractress, what if it calls to
(13:47):
mind her relationship with BlakeLively and the whole ends with
us fiasco.
There could be people right nowsaying should we ask Taylor
Swift about this?
Like she's a little tainted atthe moment, let's just wait.
Next there's the legal andfinancial implications.
Being named in legal documentsmight require the celebrity to
hire their own legalrepresentation and dedicate time
(14:08):
to depositions and courtappearances.
It could be costly, it could bedisruptive.
Costly to Taylor Swift drop ina bucket, but it is disruptive
to her schedule.
Every Swifty knows this, andeven the casual Swifty fan.
She's coming off her Erez tour.
She's now going to lie low andtake it easy.
Being involved in a court casenext March is not going to be
(14:30):
something that Taylor Swiftwants to be a part of right now.
So that's why she's sayingright now, don't get me involved
.
Six avoiding polarization.
Associating with one side in acontentious lawsuit could
alienate fans or colleagues orbusiness partners who sympathize
with the opposing party.
This is particularly relevantin cases involving sensitive
(14:50):
issues like harassment anddefamation.
Look at what Taylor Swift did.
Regarding politics.
It's easy for Travis Kelsey ata press conference to say he is
going to respect President Trump.
Coming to the game.
Travis Kelsey can address it inthe context of a football game.
Taylor Swift can address it inthe context of a football game.
Taylor Swift, with legions offans in her Swifties.
(15:13):
She doesn't know how peoplefeel politically.
She doesn't know their beliefs,their bias politically, how
they affiliate, what theirideology is.
She has to walk that line andit's a gray line constantly.
It's not easy.
The same applies to who youbuddy up with.
If Justin Baldoni comes outwhole with a brand that he tried
(15:38):
to buttress before all thishappened that he is a supporter,
and a vocal supporter, of women, he puts his name and his money
and his efforts behindsupporting women.
This court case with BlakeLively is trying to blow that
out of the water, but let's sayin the end he's redeemed.
Does Taylor Swift really wantto be on the opposite side of a
guy who himself was bullied andabused?
(16:02):
She doesn't want anything to dowith that.
Next, the Travis factor.
Last Sunday's Super Bowl wasanother key milestone for
publicity for Taylor Swift,though not fabulous publicity.
Priya Sridhar - NBC News (16:16):
Global pop star Taylor Swift receiving
a not-so-warm welcome at lastnight's Super Bowl.
Swift, trying to shake it offas many in a crowd of 65,000
people in the Superdome booedwhen she was put on the
Jumbotron.
Molly McPherson (16:32):
We all saw the clip where she was booed by
Eagle fans and she gave everyonethe side eye.
She actually looked a littlesurprised to hear the booing,
but she was there as agirlfriend, as a fan.
She was dressed a little down.
That was smart on her part.
She was in the Kelsey suite.
(16:54):
But if you notice, thebroadcast was not as focused on
Taylor Swift.
Big reason, likely too, is thatthe Chiefs got whomped by the
Eagles, particularly in thebeginning.
So cutting to Taylor Swift wasnot going to benefit anyone in
that broadcast.
Namely, taylor Swift Next 2025Grammys.
(17:19):
She was nominated in sixcategories Album of the Year,
record of the Year, song of theYear Best Pop Vocal Album, best
music video, best pop duo groupperformance.
Six nominations she won zero,nothing.
Had she won one, six, three,her publicity could have been
(17:46):
focused on the win.
Instead she had to draw thepublicity to her red dress.
A nod to Travis Kelsey and theChiefs.
She also had a little charm, atea charm on her legs.
She was posing with her legssticking out.
Is the tea for Taylor?
Is the tea for Travis?
We don't know.
That's not the point.
The point is we're supposed tonotice it and talk about it.
(18:07):
So that arc about the Grammys,even though she lost it,
couldn't be about Taylor being aloser.
No, no, no, no, no.
It had to be that Taylor waslooking forward to the Super
Bowl and if you looked at thepress, there was not a lot of
Taylor's a loser press.
So once again, kudos toTaylor's side.
Those are the reasons why Ibelieve this quote quote
(18:29):
well-connected source and quotefrom Taylor Swift's side is
behind these TMZ drops, because,you'll notice, no one else has
the exclusive.
It's not from people, it's fromTMZ, because TMZ not only has
the website, it also hassyndicated programming, has
primetime programming as well,but it has their lives.
(18:50):
I've interviewed with HarveyLevin.
I have been on TMZ multipletimes, primetime and on these
lives.
I know how they get theirinformation.
I speak to producers at a timeI know when they have dropped
information in their hands.
They don't speculate and talkto me.
No, they bring information tome.
Tmz has this information andit's solid, all right.
(19:14):
What happens next?
In the next few weeks andmonths, we are going to see this
court case take twists andturns, but ultimately,
personally, I think Blake andRyan are going to retreat.
They have to.
There's no way they can go totrial with this.
There is no way.
If they go to trial one, Idon't think they could ever win
(19:36):
with the evidence against themand also the damage to their
reputation will be massive oftheir careers.
I don't think it's the end ofanyone's career at all.
Anyone in Hollywood,particularly if you're A-list.
(19:57):
You will always live anotherday to do something else, but I
think it's going to hurt them.
Where it hurts you is in thepocketbook For money.
Ryan Reynolds makes a lot ofmoney, not just as an actor, but
also as an investor, as acorporate speaker.
Someone asked on the live willMint Mobile drop Ryan Reynolds?
You'll see him in all the ads.
No, because Ryan Reynolds is aco-owner of Mint Mobile and it's
(20:18):
funny.
On the live a number of peoplesaid they had to watch a Mint
Mobile ad before they could comeon my live.
Talk about the algorithm atplay.
Ryan will continue, blake willcontinue, but it will be
difficult for Ryan to be thisquippy, funny, clever type of
actor who we know and love.
(20:38):
It's not going to work anymore.
Deadpool, that whole vibe isgoing to fall flat, particularly
now in the last movie, justinBaldoni is alleging that a lot
of it was poking fun at himbecause it was filmed during the
time that Justin and Blake wereworking together.
For Blake Lively.
Will she still act?
Yeah, but she's still a mom offour young kids and growing kids
(20:59):
.
We might not see her act asmuch, and I also predict that
the Ryan-Blake union may beshaky for a bit.
It may survive or it may not.
Like union may be shaky for abit.
It may survive or it may not.
All I know is this will continue, and these types of crises do a
lot of damage when there'spower behind it and when people
(21:20):
don't want to relinquish thatpower, and they will do anything
, anything to retain that power.
In the end, it's to their owndetriment.
So we shall see, but I wouldlove to know how you feel as
well.
If you found this episodeinsightful, don't forget to
subscribe, leave a review andshare with anyone who's as
obsessed about these PRstrategies and crisis
communication tactics as we are.
(21:41):
As I mentioned earlier, you cannow follow me on Substack.
Just go to the websiteprbreakdownmedia.
That will bring you directly tomy Substack publication, where
you will find weekly articles aswell as the podcast Articles
with audio drops in them as well, links to my live and a new
(22:03):
feature.
Ask Molly, where I answer allof your PR questions and PR for
people questions.
You'll find it atprbreakdownmedia.
It's a great app, but I hope tosee you there.
Thanks for listening.
Come back for next week's bigstory.
Bye for now.
We just broke a shocking story.
There is a rift and I thinkthat is an understatement of a
word a rift between Taylor Swiftand Blake Lively.
Taylor feels like she's beenused.
Yeah, used in the middle ofBlake Lively's war with Justin
Baldoni, and there's certainthings that we know Blake has
(00:25):
said about Taylor in referenceto that battle that do not sit
well with Taylor at all.
Molly McPherson (00:34):
TMZ's Harvey Levin with a very bold statement
.
Why would he feel free to makesuch a huge claim about a
private friendship Okay, onethat's been shoved into the
public eye, but still, how onearth are they supposed to know
how Taylor really feels?
The answer, my friends, ispretty simple Because Taylor let
that slip, or her team did.
(00:57):
Hey there, welcome back to thePR Breakdown, where I break down
the biggest PR moments andcrises in the news this week and
figure out what's really goingon behind the headlines.
In this episode, the TaylorSwift, blake Lively, justin,
yada, yada, yada crisis Again.
(01:18):
Yes, why?
Because it won't go away and,after all, come on, that's why
you're here right.
And that's why I'm still here.
Last Friday I was doing myinternet rounds checking in on
the headlines of the week,breaking news, but also what
gets fed to me by the algorithm.
(01:39):
Naturally they decided to serveme a headline from TMZ about
Blake Lively in her war withJustin Baldoni.
I've spent weeks looking atthis case.
Is it because I'm interested init?
Not necessarily, but I'minterested in the power moves
and the power plays behind thescenes.
It's not for the celebrityaspect, but naturally it's for
(02:01):
the power moves behind thescenes, but naturally it's for
the power moves behind thescenes.
But it was the story aboutTaylor Swift being re-injected
into the Blake and Justin andRyan story last Thursday that
got me thinking.
There's more to this story.
(02:21):
Last Friday I quickly wrote anarticle and published it to
Substack Wait, did I saySubstack, yes, please become a
subscriber today.
Just download the app, it'sfree.
Look for the PR breakdown withMolly McPherson.
But it was a quick article.
The title was Taylor Swift's PRdragon slaying how Blake
(02:41):
Lively's in parens former PRweapon is orchestrating her exit
from the it Ends With Us drama.
I get itchy focusing oncelebrity crises too long.
I get itchy talking aboutcelebrities at all, because more
and more people come up to meto discuss these cases with
their caveat I don't follow popculture, yet that's what they
(03:04):
want to talk about, and it'slike they're ashamed to admit
that they're following it.
And I get it.
Don't you think that talkingabout celebrities online on
TikTok and Instagram and socialmedia is a challenge for me,
while I'm trying to retain somecredibility as a strategic
thinker in the art ofcommunication credibility as a
(03:24):
strategic thinker in the art ofcommunication?
But I am drawn into thembecause one I know that my
followers like to discuss it,but also I know what drives
people to this conversation it'sthe human drama.
Now, apart from the super fansthe stans like the Swifties,
(03:49):
fans, the stans like theSwifties no one really, really
cares about these celebrities.
We all have our celebrities whowe love like we get that right,
but we're not a society ofsycophants who need to connect
with these celebrities on adaily basis about every single
thing that they do.
It's part curiosity, partschadenfreude and also just
genuine curiosity about humanbehavior, and that's what
brought me to this case andthat's what keeps me here.
(04:10):
This ends with us.
Fiasco is similar to otherdeeper dives that I've done with
celebrities lizzo, joe jonasit's the human flaws hidden
behind the bulldog legal tacticsand slick PR moves that draws
me in.
Like Joe Jonas is not my vibe,but following his Friday
(04:35):
afternoon news dump announcinghis divorce from Sophie Turner
to the public, and apparentlySophie Turner herself, over the
US holiday weekend of Labor Day,that's strategic PR and that's
the carrot dangling in front ofall of us.
With every new celebrity crisis, people are becoming more media
(04:56):
literate, more PR literate, tospot the deceptive and
manipulative tactics and thesneaky power grabs that lack
integrity that they see frompeople in the headlines.
Which brings us back to thiscase.
Let's talk about where we arewith the court case as of the
time of this recording.
(05:16):
The legal disputes involvingBlake Lively, ryan Reynolds,
justin Baldoni are ongoing andhave escalated significantly.
Here is the current status atthe time of recording.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynoldshave formally notified the court
earlier allegations of sexualharassment against Baldoni
(05:47):
during the filming of it EndsWith Us.
Their legal team has yet tofile the official motion for
dismissal but has indicated thatit is forthcoming.
Their publicist, leslie Sloan,is also named in the Baldoni
lawsuit.
She has filed for a similarnotice.
On February 3rd, a New Yorkjudge declined Lively and
(06:08):
Reynolds' request to issue a gagorder against Baldoni's
attorney, brian Friedman, whohas been accused of making
prejudicial public statements.
The judge warned both partiesagainst litigating the case in
the media, in other words, usingPR as a retaliatory tactic,
which is the case that BlakeLively is putting against Justin
(06:29):
Baldoni, the meta of thiscrisis.
That's why I'm drawn in thetimeline for the trial.
Both lawsuits Lively's sexualharassment claims against
Baldoni and his $400 millioncountersuit is scheduled for
March 9th 2026.
Both parties have agreed toconsolidate their federal cases
into a single proceeding.
(06:51):
The key allegations again livelyaccuses Baldoni of sexual
harassment, inappropriateworkplace conduct and launching
a retaliatory smear campaign.
Baldoni is saying that he'sdenied these claims and he
alleges that Livelymisrepresented their
interactions and used herinfluence to harm his career by
pressuring his agency to drophim.
(07:12):
And that's where it intersectswith Taylor Swift.
It's all about that wordpressuring.
Pressuring, I believe, is goingto come into this case
throughout and touch a lot ofthe different players.
For example, colleen Hoover,the author of it, ends With Us.
She's dropped out of sight,dropped Instagram.
(07:32):
I think it's going to beinteresting to see if she felt
pressure from Blake and Ryan aswell.
Now let's move on to the TaylorSwift piece.
When I saw the headline fromTMZ about the Taylor Swift bad
blood, I immediately knew thatthis was a public relations
(07:56):
strategic play.
In that article TMZ againexclusive source they heard from
a well-connected source closeto Taylor.
That is language that meansit's from Taylor Swift's side,
likely at the behest, ordirectly from Tree Payne.
(08:16):
She is the mega uber publicistwho's managed Taylor Swift's
reputation.
We're going to talk aboutdragons.
Tree Payne is the dragon inthis scenario, but in the
article discussing how Taylorcame to Blake's apartment at the
time because Blake told her toshe is stating that she didn't
know anyone else would be there.
(08:36):
In other words, taylor had noidea there was going to be a
meeting going on with Justin.
We don't know if this is trueor not, even though it's being
stated.
We don't know if it's true ornot, but strategically it should
be stated.
It would be very hard to provethat Taylor did not know unless
there were text messages fromBlake or Ryan indicating that
Justin was going to be there andit said hey, tay-tay, I need
(08:59):
your help.
We're going to ambush Justinper Ryan's recommendation.
The source said that Taylorbelieved that Blake timed her
meeting with Justin so Taylorwould arrive before he left, and
is baffled by Blake latercharacterizing her as a quote
dragon in our Game of Thronesreference.
The source adds, quote it'sweird to say that about a friend
(09:23):
.
End quote.
Yeah, it kind of is weird tosay that the Taylor Swift source
is really painting Blake assomeone who strategically used
her quote good friend, taylorSwift, in whatever interaction
or power play she was havingwith Justin Baldoni.
(09:43):
I think was all prompted by RyanReynolds, which I think this is
just one big ploy to cover forRyan Reynolds' jealousy.
This is a huge falling out.
Taylor is the godmother to oneof Blake and Ryan's kids and
many, many people mentioned thaton my live On Friday, I put
(10:03):
together a live on YouTubeopening it up to everyone, just
so you know.
If you want to check out myYouTube weeklies about whatever
the top headline story is of theweek, go over to my YouTube
channel right now.
Just look for at MollyMcPherson and you'll get
notifications when these liveshappen.
But on that chat there were anumber of Swifties on there
(10:25):
defending Taylor, which I canunderstand why they would want
to do that.
Now here are the reasons why Ithink this TMZ article is part
of a bigger but short strategicplay to distance Taylor Swift
from Blake Lively.
Here are a number of reasonswhy One the timing.
(10:48):
If you follow me, you know Ialways mention timing is
something that's never discussed, but timing always, always is a
factor in a crisis, always,always is a factor in a crisis.
This is not what I think.
This is what I know because Ido crisis management full time.
I am always looking for whathappened, when and why does that
(11:12):
matter.
In this case, the timing tellsme everything.
The Sunday before last, the 2025Grammys.
This past Sunday, the SuperBowl.
Taylor Swift had two key eventson her calendar where it would
be high profile events.
(11:33):
Publicity from both events wasgoing to bleed into the week,
which meant it was a perfecttime to drop a story that
Taylor's team really did notwant to talk about.
It wasn't a Friday afternoonnews dump.
This was dumped on Thursday.
Then subsequent storiesfollowed.
(11:55):
Overall, this still counts as aFriday afternoon news dump.
Two, taylor wants to distanceherself from Blake for
reputation and legal reasons.
The reputation risk beingassociated with a high profile
legal dispute, even as a witnesscan lead to negative publicity
and unwanted media scrutiny.
(12:16):
Taylor Swift and her team havespent years making sure her icon
status prevents her fromgetting swallowed up in these
little PR squirmishes thathappen With any public
perception that may link thecelebrity to a controversy.
It potentially harms areputation or a brand.
That means money.
(12:38):
Regardless of their actualinvolvement, they don't want to
be involved.
Three there's privacy concerns.
Legal proceedings often exposepersonal details or professional
interactions that the celebritylikely prefers to keep private.
For instance, lawsuits can leadto the disclosure of
communications, taxed behaviorson set of communications, taxed
(13:04):
behaviors on set, behind thescenes, backstage, or reveal
other sensitive information.
Taylor has a highly curatedreputation, almost to the point
of perfection.
She does not want this messycourt case to involve any type
of messiness from her backgroundas well.
Number four professionalrelationships.
Mentioning a celebrity in alawsuit can strain the
relationships within theindustry.
(13:25):
For example, being listed as awitness in disputes involving
colleagues or collaboratorscould create tension or affect
future opportunities.
What if Colleen Hoover wantedto use a Taylor Swift song?
Not likely.
If Taylor Swift is involved insome other movie or has an
affiliation with some otheractress, what if it calls to
(13:47):
mind her relationship with BlakeLively and the whole ends with
us fiasco.
There could be people right nowsaying should we ask Taylor
Swift about this?
Like she's a little tainted atthe moment, let's just wait.
Next there's the legal andfinancial implications.
Being named in legal documentsmight require the celebrity to
hire their own legalrepresentation and dedicate time
(14:08):
to depositions and courtappearances.
It could be costly, it could bedisruptive.
Costly to Taylor Swift drop ina bucket, but it is disruptive
to her schedule.
Every Swifty knows this, andeven the casual Swifty fan.
She's coming off her Erez tour.
She's now going to lie low andtake it easy.
Being involved in a court casenext March is not going to be
(14:30):
something that Taylor Swiftwants to be a part of right now.
So that's why she's sayingright now, don't get me involved
.
Six avoiding polarization.
Associating with one side in acontentious lawsuit could
alienate fans or colleagues orbusiness partners who sympathize
with the opposing party.
This is particularly relevantin cases involving sensitive
(14:50):
issues like harassment anddefamation.
Look at what Taylor Swift did.
Regarding politics.
It's easy for Travis Kelsey ata press conference to say he is
going to respect President Trump.
Coming to the game.
Travis Kelsey can address it inthe context of a football game.
Taylor Swift can address it inthe context of a football game.
Taylor Swift, with legions offans in her Swifties.
(15:13):
She doesn't know how peoplefeel politically.
She doesn't know their beliefs,their bias politically, how
they affiliate, what theirideology is.
She has to walk that line andit's a gray line constantly.
It's not easy.
The same applies to who youbuddy up with.
If Justin Baldoni comes outwhole with a brand that he tried
(15:38):
to buttress before all thishappened that he is a supporter,
and a vocal supporter, of women, he puts his name and his money
and his efforts behindsupporting women.
This court case with BlakeLively is trying to blow that
out of the water, but let's sayin the end he's redeemed.
Does Taylor Swift really wantto be on the opposite side of a
guy who himself was bullied andabused?
(16:02):
She doesn't want anything to dowith that.
Next, the Travis factor.
Last Sunday's Super Bowl wasanother key milestone for
publicity for Taylor Swift,though not fabulous publicity.
Priya Sridhar - NBC News (16:16):
Global pop star Taylor Swift receiving
a not-so-warm welcome at lastnight's Super Bowl.
Swift, trying to shake it offas many in a crowd of 65,000
people in the Superdome booedwhen she was put on the
Jumbotron.
Molly McPherson (16:32):
We all saw the clip where she was booed by
Eagle fans and she gave everyonethe side eye.
She actually looked a littlesurprised to hear the booing,
but she was there as agirlfriend, as a fan.
She was dressed a little down.
That was smart on her part.
She was in the Kelsey suite.
(16:54):
But if you notice, thebroadcast was not as focused on
Taylor Swift.
Big reason, likely too, is thatthe Chiefs got whomped by the
Eagles, particularly in thebeginning.
So cutting to Taylor Swift wasnot going to benefit anyone in
that broadcast.
Namely, taylor Swift Next 2025Grammys.
(17:19):
She was nominated in sixcategories Album of the Year,
record of the Year, song of theYear Best Pop Vocal Album, best
music video, best pop duo groupperformance.
Six nominations she won zero,nothing.
Had she won one, six, three,her publicity could have been
(17:46):
focused on the win.
Instead she had to draw thepublicity to her red dress.
A nod to Travis Kelsey and theChiefs.
She also had a little charm, atea charm on her legs.
She was posing with her legssticking out.
Is the tea for Taylor?
Is the tea for Travis?
We don't know.
That's not the point.
The point is we're supposed tonotice it and talk about it.
(18:07):
So that arc about the Grammys,even though she lost it,
couldn't be about Taylor being aloser.
No, no, no, no, no.
It had to be that Taylor waslooking forward to the Super
Bowl and if you looked at thepress, there was not a lot of
Taylor's a loser press.
So once again, kudos toTaylor's side.
Those are the reasons why Ibelieve this quote quote
(18:29):
well-connected source and quotefrom Taylor Swift's side is
behind these TMZ drops, because,you'll notice, no one else has
the exclusive.
It's not from people, it's fromTMZ, because TMZ not only has
the website, it also hassyndicated programming, has
primetime programming as well,but it has their lives.
(18:50):
I've interviewed with HarveyLevin.
I have been on TMZ multipletimes, primetime and on these
lives.
I know how they get theirinformation.
I speak to producers at a timeI know when they have dropped
information in their hands.
They don't speculate and talkto me.
No, they bring information tome.
Tmz has this information andit's solid, all right.
(19:14):
What happens next?
In the next few weeks andmonths, we are going to see this
court case take twists andturns, but ultimately,
personally, I think Blake andRyan are going to retreat.
They have to.
There's no way they can go totrial with this.
There is no way.
If they go to trial one, Idon't think they could ever win
(19:36):
with the evidence against themand also the damage to their
reputation will be massive oftheir careers.
I don't think it's the end ofanyone's career at all.
Anyone in Hollywood,particularly if you're A-list.
(19:57):
You will always live anotherday to do something else, but I
think it's going to hurt them.
Where it hurts you is in thepocketbook For money.
Ryan Reynolds makes a lot ofmoney, not just as an actor, but
also as an investor, as acorporate speaker.
Someone asked on the live willMint Mobile drop Ryan Reynolds?
You'll see him in all the ads.
No, because Ryan Reynolds is aco-owner of Mint Mobile and it's
(20:18):
funny.
On the live a number of peoplesaid they had to watch a Mint
Mobile ad before they could comeon my live.
Talk about the algorithm atplay.
Ryan will continue, blake willcontinue, but it will be
difficult for Ryan to be thisquippy, funny, clever type of
actor who we know and love.
(20:38):
It's not going to work anymore.
Deadpool, that whole vibe isgoing to fall flat, particularly
now in the last movie, justinBaldoni is alleging that a lot
of it was poking fun at himbecause it was filmed during the
time that Justin and Blake wereworking together.
For Blake Lively.
Will she still act?
Yeah, but she's still a mom offour young kids and growing kids
(20:59):
.
We might not see her act asmuch, and I also predict that
the Ryan-Blake union may beshaky for a bit.
It may survive or it may not.
Like union may be shaky for abit.
It may survive or it may not.
All I know is this will continue, and these types of crises do a
lot of damage when there'spower behind it and when people
(21:20):
don't want to relinquish thatpower, and they will do anything
, anything to retain that power.
In the end, it's to their owndetriment.
So we shall see, but I wouldlove to know how you feel as
well.
If you found this episodeinsightful, don't forget to
subscribe, leave a review andshare with anyone who's as
obsessed about these PRstrategies and crisis
communication tactics as we are.
(21:41):
As I mentioned earlier, you cannow follow me on Substack.
Just go to the websiteprbreakdownmedia.
That will bring you directly tomy Substack publication, where
you will find weekly articles aswell as the podcast Articles
with audio drops in them as well, links to my live and a new
(22:03):
feature.
Ask Molly, where I answer allof your PR questions and PR for
people questions.
You'll find it atprbreakdownmedia.
It's a great app, but I hope tosee you there.
Thanks for listening.
Come back for next week's bigstory.
Bye for now.
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