EXCLUSIVEHow Blake Lively COPIED best friend Taylor Swift to promote It Ends with Us... before turning to singer to help crisis manage backlash and Justin Baldoni drama
- Blake, 36, has been embroiled in controversy in recent weeks
- An insider said she is taking notes from Taylor, 34, on how to handle the drama
- They added that she's hoping to 'use their friendship' to 'pull her out of the mess'
Blake Lively has been 'relying' on her best friend Taylor Swift to help get her through the recent media 'storm,' and is hoping to 'use their friendship' to distract from the drama while promoting her new flick It Ends With Us, a source has revealed.
Blake, 36, has been embroiled in controversy in recent weeks, as rumors of an ongoing feud between her and her costar Justin Baldoni, 40, continue to make headlines.
Now, an insider has lifted the lid on how the actress has taken notes from her pal, 34, when it comes to how to approach the drama.
'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,' the source told DailyMail.com exclusively. 'Taylor knows how to handle backlash better than anyone.'
The hitmaker is well known for throwing in cryptic clues about breakups or feuds in her songs, but never speaking out about them publicly, letting her fans spread theories about what the lyrics mean.
Blake Lively has been 'relying' on her best friend Taylor Swift to help get her through the recent media 'storm,' and is hoping to 'use their friendship' to distract from the drama, sources say
And it seems like Blake is taking a similar approach to the Justin drama, subtly throwing shade towards the actor by unfollowing him and partaking in interviews with every cast member but him - but failing to actually disclose what allegedly went down.
The source also claimed that the actress is 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.'
'Blake is trying to get Taylor to help pull her out of this mess by using their friendship for interviews and other promotional work directly related to the film amid the current backlash that she is getting,' they said.
During a BBC Radio One interview earlier this week, Blake and the interviewer spent a while discussing Taylor's Eras Tour after a fan called in and shared her 'unpopular opinion' about the setlist.
Plus, while speaking to Hits Radio days earlier, Blake was asked to pick three of Taylor's 'eras' to describe her character's arc in the film.
In addition, the film - for which Blake also served as one of the producers - has used Taylor's songs in multiple promotional videos.
Her track My Tears Ricochet was featured in the trailer, while the movie's official Instagram posted a video showcasing the cast attending various events in the UK accompanied by her hit So Long, London.
There's also many similarities in the way that Blake has dressed throughout the It Ends With Us promotional tour and the ensembles that Taylor often wears at events.
Blake, 36, has been embroiled in controversy in recent weeks, as rumors of an ongoing feud between her and her It Ends With Us costar Justin Baldoni, 40, continue to make headlines
Now, an insider has lifted the lid on how the actress has taken notes from her pal Taylor, 34, when it comes to how to approach the drama
Blake has donned a series of floral looks - something the pop sensation is also a huge fan of.
In addition, Blake posted multiple videos of herself and her castmates baking while promoting the flick, which is a hobby that Taylor often uses when she promotes her own projects.
'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,' the source told DailyMail.com exclusively
The source claimed that Blake 'constantly name-dropped' Taylor at 'any chance' she could during filming.
'She would call her on speaker and make sure that everyone knew she was talking to Taylor,' they revealed.
They also said it was the Cruel Summer songstress who 'advised' Blake and her husband Ryan Reynolds to release movies at the same time; Ryan's flick Deadpool & Wolverine came out just weeks before Blake's It Ends With Us.
And while they explained that Taylor and Blake 'thought' the movie would turn her and Ryan into a Hollywood power couple - like the time couple Bruce Willis and Demi Moore both had movies dominating the box office - it has totally 'backfired' amid the scrutiny Blake has received over her 'tone deaf' promotion of the movie.
'Taylor advised her and Ryan to release these movies at the same time which not everyone agreed on,' dished the insider.
The source also claimed that the actress is purposely bringing up her friendship with Taylor in 'interviews and other promotional work' in the hopes that it will 'help pull her out of this mess'
During a BBC Radio One interview, Blake and the interviewer spent a while discussing Taylor's Eras Tour after a fan called in and shared her 'unpopular opinion' about the setlist
Plus, while speaking to Hits Radio days earlier, Blake was asked to pick three of Taylor's 'eras' to describe her character's arc in the film
'They thought it would be like the Bruce Willis and Demi Moore moment in history but it backfired on them.'
Taylor previously promoted Ryan's film on her Instagram Stories, gushing over the flick and sharing a link to buy tickets with her millions of followers.
In the gushing post, she described the film as an 'actual joy portal, a wild escape from reality, and an abs sandwich.'
She also made a shocking announcement in the post - that she was the godmother to Blake and Ryan's four kids - ensuring that it would catch the world's attention.
Rumors of a divide between Blake and her costar Justin first arose after fans noticed that they failed to do any press together leading up to the film's release, and didn't interact at the movie's red carpet premiere.
Amid the speculated feud, both of the stars have faced immense fury online.
The actress, for her part, was heavily slammed for the way she answered certain interview questions throughout the press tour - particularly one about the movie's very serious themes.
The film, which is based off Colleen Hoover's novel of the same name, follows a woman named Lily Bloom, played by Blake, who becomes embroiled in an abusive relationship with a man named Ryle Kincaid, portrayed by Justin.
But when a reporter asked the Gossip Girl alum how people who related to what her character went through could talk to her about it if they saw her in person, her sarcastic response left people outraged.
Rather than encouraging domestic violence victims to seek help from professionals or sharing resources available to them, Blake laughed at the concept of making herself available to them.
There's also many similarities in the way that Blake has dressed throughout the It Ends With Us promotional tour and the ensembles that Taylor often wears at events
In addition, Blake posted multiple videos of herself and her castmates baking while promoting the flick
The source told DailyMail.com that 'Blake thinks she's getting set up by people around Justin so he doesn't have to come clean about his behavior' on set.
'Junior cast members are keeping quiet because none of them want to get sucked into this,' they added. 'It blew up much bigger than they thought it would.
Baking is a hobby that Taylor often uses when she promotes her own projects
'Blake is being advised to just keep quiet and take a step back. [But] this entire situation did not turn out the way that she wanted it to.
'Instead of cementing her as a movie star it has served only to show how out of touch she is.'
A separate source previously told DailyMail.com that Blake and Justin clashed over his 'dismissive' attitude to her 'input' while they were filming scenes that involved abuse.
The insider claimed that Justin only focused on 'what he believed was the abusive male viewpoint' and had a very 'chauvinistic' approach to the topic.
'During scenes depicting abuse, Justin failed to consider Blake's character's perspective, instead focusing solely on what he believed was the abusive male viewpoint,' they said.
'His approach was very chauvinistic, creating a tense atmosphere on set.'
They also claimed it was the Cruel Summer songstress who 'advised' Blake and her husband Ryan Reynolds to release movies at the same time
Rumors of a divide between Blake and her costar Justin first arose after fans noticed that they failed to do any press together leading up to the film's release
The source claimed Justin was 'borderline abusive' on set, and said he 'almost became the character.'
'Justin almost became the character in the sense that some women on set felt he was borderline abusive to them and that he was unprofessional and unapologetic,' they said.
'Directing a film so serious and so important about domestic abuse without allowing the women to be included in this process is disturbing.'
Days later, TMZ reported that Blake felt 'fat-shamed' by Justin on set while they were preparing for a scene that saw him lift her off the ground.
Insiders told the website that Justin suffers from back problems and sought assistance from a trainer prior to the lifting scene.
He allegedly asked the trainer how much Blake weighed and asked for help preparing his back to avoid incurring an injury.
When Blake learned about his comments, she allegedly felt fat-shamed by him.
