Blake Lively and Taylor Swift’s text messages will have to be handed over in litigation over the movie It Ends With Us, with a judge determining that the friends’ conversations about the working environment on set are relevant to Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation claims against co-star and director Justin Baldoni.
Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, prevailed Wednesday (June 18) on the issue of Swift’s text messages, which have taken center stage in Lively’s It Ends With Us lawsuit over the past month. Baldoni first tried to get the texts directly from Swift herself, but then dropped his subpoena on the pop superstar, opting instead to seek the messages from Lively in the normal discovery process.
Lively’s lawyers fought that request last week, saying the actress’ texts with Swift have no place in court and Baldoni is just trying to make headlines. But Judge Lewis J. Liman says these messages are indeed relevant, citing Lively’s own discovery disclosures that identified Swift as someone who would know that Baldoni sexually harassed her on set and then orchestrated a retaliatory smear campaign after she complained.
“Given that Lively has represented that Swift had knowledge of complaints or discussions about the working environment on the film, among other issues, the requests for messages with Swift regarding the film and this action are reasonably tailored to discover information that would prove or disprove Lively’s harassment and retaliation claims,” writes the judge.
As for Lively’s claim that Baldoni is only involving Swift in the case to prop up a public relations narrative, Judge Liman says “this concern does not justify denying the Wayfarer parties relevant discovery.”
“A motion or request may be, and in this case often has been, both a legitimate litigation tactic and an attempt to maneuver in the broader court of public opinion,” writes the judge. “The mere fact that the request has been discussed in the press does not render it illegitimate.”
A spokesperson for Lively reacted to the decision on Wednesday by noting that the actress has “produced far more documents in this case” than Baldoni. Lively’s rep also says Baldoni and his publicity team have been trying to “drag Taylor Swift” into the debacle since they launched their alleged retaliatory smear campaign last summer.
“We will continue to call out Baldoni’s relentless efforts to exploit Ms. Swift’s popularity, which from day one has been nothing more than a distraction from the serious sexual harassment and retaliation accusations he and the Wayfarer parties are facing,” adds Lively’s spokesperson.
A rep for Baldoni declined to comment on the decision.
Swift’s reps did not immediately return a request for comment on the matter. In a previous statement from May, the singer’s team said she had no involvement in It Ends With Us and that Baldoni’s subpoena against her was “designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
The exchange of documents in Lively’s harassment and retaliation lawsuit, which has also dragged in Swift’s public opponent, Scooter Braun, is geared towards preparing for a trial in 2026. Baldoni has tried to bring a countersuit accusing Lively and her inner circle of defamation, but Judge Liman threw out those claims as legally invalid last week.
