Blake Lively-Taylor Swift Messages Surface in Lawsuit Against Justin Baldoni

New York (Web News) — Text messages and emails between Blake Lively and her longtime friend Taylor Swift have been made public as part of ongoing litigation involving actor-director Justin Baldoni. Lively sued Baldoni and his hired crisis communications expert, alleging harassment and a coordinated campaign to damage her reputation after she raised complaints about his behavior on the set of the 2024 romantic drama It Ends With Us.

The documents were unsealed ahead of Thursday’s federal hearing in New York City, where a judge will consider whether to end the yearlong dispute, which has drawn attention for its potential to involve other actors, musicians, and celebrities, as well as questions about influence, gender dynamics, and power in Hollywood.

Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, countersued Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, claiming defamation and extortion. That suit was dismissed last June by Judge Lewis J. Liman, who did not indicate when he will rule on Lively’s case. The trial is currently scheduled for May 18.

Documents filed by Lively’s legal team suggest that other high-profile individuals may have information relevant to the case, including model Gigi Hadid, actors Emily Blunt, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, and Hugh Jackman, influencer Candace Owens, media personality Perez Hilton, and designer Ashley Avignone.

Swift’s Texts Critique Baldoni

Many of the messages, released by Baldoni’s lawyers, were cited as evidence that Lively allegedly leveraged her connections with famous friends to influence Baldoni’s public image. In the exchanges, Swift appears to advise Lively on navigating Hollywood’s power dynamics.

In April 2024, Lively shared a link to the trailer for It Ends With Us, which featured Swift’s song My Tears Ricochet. Swift responded, praising the song’s use and commenting, “Welcome to Hollywood Justin.” The women then discussed how the public might interpret the inclusion of Swift’s music.

Swift wrote, “If Justin was strategic/He would be like no Taylor Swift in the trailer/Because that gives you more power over the film, that’s your ally not his.”

Lively replied: “You are so right. And so wickedly smart to call it. He should’ve run from your music. I never thought about that. But holy s**t. How stupid. This was his only shot at having the appearance of an upper hand.”

After the hearing, Lively’s attorney Sigrid McCawley emphasized that the text exchange is not relevant to the case and stated that Lively has “done everything she can to protect her friends from being brought into this litigation.”