Blake Lively and Taylor Swift's texts declared 'relevant' to Justin Baldoni lawsuit

Perth Now

19-06-2025

Justin Baldoni's legal team will have access to messages between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift.
The 37-year-old actress is suing her It Ends With Us co-star for harassment and accusing the director of creating a hostile work environment on set, which he has denied, while his countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation was recently dismissed by Judge Lewis L. Liman.
Now, E! News has reported that the New York judge has ruled texts between Lively and her friend are "relevant" to the case.
However, any correspondence between the pair will be under a protective order to stop them being leaked to the press.
In an order filed on Wednesday (18.06.25), the judge wrote: "Lively herself has identified Swift as someone likely to have knowledge about complaints or discussions regarding the working environment on the set of It Ends With Us.
"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."
Baldoni and his team had previously tried to subpoena Swift, as he alleged she was used by Lively to gain more creative control over It Ends With Us.
The Anti-Hero hitmaker's spokesperson claimed at the time that she was "not involved in any casting or creative decisions", and the order was withdrawn by Baldoni's attorneys.
Although his countersuit was dismissed, it was noted Baldoni's legal team have until June 23 to amend claims of breach of implied contract and tortious interference with contract, if they want to.
His attorney Bryan Freedman has stressed they still have things to fight for and will be amending their complaint.
He told Us Weekly in a statement: 'While the Court dismissed the defamation-related claims, the Court has invited us to amend four out of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which will showcase additional evidence and refined allegations.
"This case is about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign, which Ms. Lively's own team conveniently describes as 'untraceable' because they cannot prove what never happened.'
Following the judge's ruling, Blake vowed to keep fighting for other women.
She wrote on Instagram: "Like so many others, I've felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us.
"While the suit against me was defeated, so many don't have the resources to fight back.
"I'm more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman's right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story."