MAUREEN CALLAHAN: The Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni lawsuit scandal exposes an ugly secret about Taylor Swift and her female friends that she seems desperate to keep hidden

Is Taylor Swift America's worst champion friend?

It definite seems so. Swift's one-time BFF Blake Lively, present astatine a vocation and reputational low, looks to beryllium getting the heave-ho.

Radical thought: Lively whitethorn beryllium amended disconnected without her.

No celebrity, apparently, is much transactional than Taylor Swift.

Not 1 seems much cold-blooded, much lizardly, much consenting to permission loved ones down should they endanger her alleged 'Miss Americana' brand.

So overmuch for each those meal dates with Blake, holding hands for the paparazzi. So overmuch for Swift being godmother to 3 of Blake's children, oregon hosting Blake and her arsenic insufferable husband, Ryan Reynolds, astatine each those shot games, cheering connected Swift's tight-end fellow Travis Kelce.

No more!

For a pistillate who built a monolithic fanbase connected sisterhood — resulting successful the scourge of middle-aged 'Swifties' flaunting inexpensive plastic-elastic 'friendship bracelets' past twelvemonth — it turns retired not 1 adjacent pistillate person is safe.

Lively's days successful Swift's squad were numbered the infinitesimal she filed a monolithic suit against Justin Baldoni, her co-star and manager of their movie 'It Ends with Us', alleging intersexual harassment.

When Baldoni fought back, releasing substance messages successful which Lively referred to Swift arsenic 1 of her 'dragons' and noting that Swift had been contiguous during a important gathering with Lively and Reynolds — well, it appears that was the decease knell.

The alleged substance successful question: 'If you ever get astir to watching 'Game of Thrones',' Lively wrote, 'you'll admit that I'm Khaleesi, and similar her, I hap to person a fewer dragons.'

(Let's not archer Blake that Khaleesi, a warrior who had an incestuous narration with her nephew, besides burned a civilization to the crushed aft going insane!)

Lively continued: 'For amended oregon worse, but usually for better. Because my dragons besides support those I combat for. So truly we each payment from those gorgeous monsters of mine. You volition too, I tin committedness you'.

Surely, Swift doesn't admit being called a 'monster', nary substance however gorgeous. Though, I situation say, it does track.

Lively is present damaged goods, allegedly resented by Swift for dragging her into this PR nightmare.

No substance that Swift appears to person had an progressive manus successful 'It Ends with Us', contempt her protestations. According to these filings, Swift gave notes connected the script, was contiguous — by accident, a root claims — astatine a gathering called by Lively and Reynolds to allegedly bully Baldoni, and allowed 1 of her songs to beryllium utilized successful the film.

But don't blasted Taylor for anything! She's thrown Blake nether the proverbial autobus and tally implicit the assemblage a fewer much times conscionable to beryllium safe.

Swift is simply a 'friend' astir of america would happily lose. She intelligibly lives successful a binary satellite of black-and-white — nary greys, nary nuances, conscionable radical who are either with her oregon against her.

Or who go liabilities, similar Blake.

On Friday, a root adjacent to Swift told the Mail that, dissimilar past year, Lively volition not beryllium joining the vocalist successful her VIP Super Bowl box.

No much cosplay arsenic caput cheerleader for Blake — who, by the way, is 37 years aged to Swift's 35.

So a weary federation volition beryllium spared these middle-aged women acting similar tweenagers, rooting for Taylor's fellow with varsity jackets falling disconnected their shoulders conscionable so, squealing and hugging and shoving their alleged cleanable lives and cleanable relationship successful our faces.

Consider this icy remark from a Swift insider to the Mail, 2 days earlier the large game:

'Blake is not attending the Super Bowl with [Taylor]. Taylor wants thing to bash with this proceedings and this tribunal case'.

Savage. A ten-year-old relationship seemingly ended publicly, successful a connection surely meant to humiliate.

That was connected apical of Thursday's grenade, different Swift root saying the vocalist 'feels used' by Lively.

Right. Because Taylor Swift, a self-made billionaire, is ever the victim.

More: 'Taylor truly wishes Blake hadn't dragged her into this full situation,' the root said. 'Taylor cherishes genuine friendships' — HA! — '[but she] wants to support retired of this play arsenic overmuch arsenic possible.'

Taylor Swift wants thing to bash with drama?

This is the child-woman who villainizes each ex-boyfriend successful a song.

The pistillate who inserted herself into the Sophie Turner-Joe Jonas divorcement — Jonas different ex of Swift's — making definite we each knew that Turner was staying astatine Swift's Tribeca loft.

Who spent each summertime re-releasing versions of 'The Tortured Poets Department' and keeping pistillate rivals, notably Billie Eilish and Charli XCX, from hitting Number One.

So Blake's metaphorical assemblage goes connected the heap of different discarded BFFs specified arsenic Karlie Kloss, Lorde, Katy Perry, Dianna Agron and Lena Dunham — the second often trotted retired among long-legged supermodels arsenic proof, somehow, that Swift wasn't a superficial mean girl.

Sure.

Weep not for Lively, who seems rather the mean miss herself. In this sense, she and Taylor were well-matched.

Swift, however, seems to suffer much friends than she keeps. She ever cuts a lonely fig astatine awards shows, trying to beryllium she's having the astir amusive portion looking awkward and out-of-place.

Remember her repeated attempts, astatine past year's Grammys, to enactment 1 of her trophies connected apical of people's heads? She seemed to deliberation it was cute oregon collegial. Really, it was conscionable cringe.

Or adjacent years back, erstwhile she dated RFK Jr.'s lad Conor for a blistery infinitesimal and past bought a location close adjacent doorway to the Kennedy Compound?

Taylor Swift is weird and, to my mind, a shameless user.

If she were truly smart, she'd clasp connected to her closest friends alternatively of casting them aside. She'd recognize that friendships substance astir erstwhile things are hard — that the highs are the casual part. And she'd person assurance that her fans wouldn't wantonness her for showing immoderate loyalty.

In fact, they'd astir apt respect her much for it.

Taylor Swift whitethorn look to person everything. But to promiscuously formed speech trusted friends is to person nothing.