A series of text messages and emails sent by Blake Lively, including an exchange with her longtime friend Taylor Swift, have been made public by attorneys for actor-director Justin Baldoni as they prepare for trial.
Lively sued Baldoni and his hired crisis communications specialist, accusing them of harassment and a coordinated campaign to attack her reputation after she complained about how she was treated during the filming of the 2024 romantic drama “It Ends With Us.”
The documents were unsealed ahead of Thursday’s argument before a federal judge in New York City on whether to end their bitter year-long litigation, which has threatened to involve other actors, musicians and celebrities and raised questions about the levers of power, influence and gender dynamics in Hollywood.
Baldoni and her Wayfarer Studios production company sued Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation and extortion. Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed that suit last June. Lyman did not indicate Thursday when he would rule on Lively’s case.
At this point, the trial is scheduled for May 18, and may be star-studded. A document from Lively’s legal team said that in addition to Swift, people with knowledge of the matter include model Gigi Hadid, actors Emily Blunt, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera and Hugh Jackman, influencer Candace Owens, media personality Perez Hilton and designer Ashley Avignon.
Multiple text messages and emails unsealed Tuesday night were included in a filing by Baldoni’s lawyers, who argued they show Lively was strategically manipulating Baldoni’s public image by taking advantage of her connections to powerful and famous friends.
Swift’s messages reveal that both before and after their feud went public, she was advising Lively on how to use the power dynamics of Hollywood to her advantage.
In April 2024, Lively sent Swift a message containing a link to the “It End’s With Us” trailer – which would be publicly released a few weeks later, featuring Swift’s song “My Tears Ricochet”.
Swift replied, “Wow, I love how they use the song.” “Welcome to Hollywood, Justin.”
The women then speculated on how the public would interpret the song’s inclusion in the film.
Swift wrote, “If Justin was strategic/He wouldn’t be like Taylor Swift in the trailer/Cause he gives you more power over the movie, he’s your ally, not his.”
Lively responded: “You’re so right. And so wicked smart for saying it. She should have run away from your music. I never thought about it. But holy St. How stupid. This was her only shot at appearing to have the upper hand.”
After the hearing, Lively’s attorney Sigrid McCauley told reporters that the text exchange was not relevant, and that Lively “has done everything she can to protect her friends from getting involved.”
“What is relevant is her claim that she was sexually harassed in the workplace and the witnesses who were there to witness it,” McCauley said.
Attorneys for Baldoni and Swift did not respond to emailed requests for comment Thursday.
In another text exchange on December 4, 2024, Lively checked in with Swift and wrote that she “felt like a bad friend lately because I was a very sad person” who would only talk about her problems “for months.”
“You were generous enough to not only remain an important person to me throughout all of this, but also to free me from the bondage of being involved in this,” Lively wrote. “But still there is a feeling that maybe something is not right.”
Swift replied that she noticed a change in Lively’s language.
“I’ve been through this kind of thing before and I know how dangerous it all is,” Swift wrote. “It’s more like… and I feel bad saying anything about this because your messages have been very good in their intentions but your last few… it felt like I was reading a mass corporate email sent to 200 employees. You said the word ‘we’ 18 times.”
Swift wrote, “I just miss my dark, plain-spoken friend who talks to me as myself, not as a plural entity.”
The next day, Swift sent Lively a link to a People Magazine story titled “Justin Baldoni reveals he was sexually assaulted by an ex-girlfriend when he was ‘hoping to save himself for marriage.'” Swift wrote: “I think this B knows something is going to happen because she took out her little violin.”
Weeks later, Swift told Lively, “You won” and “You did it,” while sharing an article stating that Baldoni had been dropped by her talent agency.
After telling Lively that she has “helped so many people never have to go through this again,” Swift wrote, “I’ve never had a cancellation retracted so fast.”
“I love you so much,” Lively responded. “I wouldn’t have been able to fix any of this if it weren’t for you.”
In court Thursday, Baldoni’s attorney Jonathan Bach accused Lively of filling her lawsuit with “frivolous and minor complaints” that fall short of the legal standards for a hostile workplace claim.
The judge responded, “A whole bunch of little things can add up to a big thing.”
Lively’s attorney, Esra Hudson, responded to her allegations of repeated unwanted physical touching or abusive incidents on set, including an unscripted moment when she said Baldoni leaned in and kissed Lively, placing his face on hers.
Hudson said, “In that moment she was clearly overstepping her boundaries. It was surprising. No one had discussed it before.”
When the judge said he was “still having trouble” determining how the question of consent fit into the film set, Hudson urged him to look at “the totality of the circumstances”, which included Lively unexpectedly “creeping around” and simulating a sexual act.
Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister contributed from New York City.
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