By SAFIYAH RIDDLE, SARAH BRUMFIELD and REBECCA BOONE Associated Press
A trove of text messages and emails sent by Blake Lively, including exchanges with her longtime friend Taylor Swift, have been made public by actor-director Justin Baldoni ‘s lawyers as they prepare for trial.
Lively sued Baldoni and his hired crisis communications expert alleging harassment and a coordinated campaign to attack her reputation after she complained about his treatment of her while filming the 2024 romantic drama “It Ends With Us.”
The documents were unsealed ahead of Thursday’s arguments before a federal judge in New York City about whether to end their acrimonious yearlong litigation, which has threatened to suck in other actors, musicians and celebrities and raised questions about the levers of power, influence and gender dynamics in Hollywood.
Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios production company countersued Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation and extortion. Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed that suit last June. Liman did not indicate Thursday when he would rule on Lively’s case.
At this point, the trial remains scheduled for May 18, and could be star-studded. A document from Lively’s legal team says people likely to have information about the case, besides Swift, include 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 appears to criticize Baldoni in texts
Many of the text messages and emails unsealed Tuesday night were included in filings by Baldoni’s lawyers, who argued that they show Lively was strategically manipulating Baldoni’s public image by leveraging connections with her powerful and famous friends.
Swift’s messages show that before and after their feud became public, she was advising Lively how to use Hollywood’s power dynamics to her advantage.
In April 2024, Lively sent Swift a message containing a link to the “It Ends With Us” trailer — which would be released publicly weeks later, featuring Swift’s song “My Tears Ricochet.”
“Wow I love how they use the song,” Swift replied. “Welcome to hollywood Justin.”
The women then speculated about how the public would interpret the song’s inclusion in the film.
“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,” Swift wrote.
Lively responded: “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(asterisk)(asterisk)t. How stupid. This was his only shot at having the appearance of an upper hand.”
After the hearing, Lively’s attorney Sigrid McCawley told reporters that the text exchange isn’t relevant, and that Lively has done “everything she can to protect her friends from not being brought into that.”
“What’s relevant is her claims that she was sexually harassed in the workplace and the witnesses that were there to see that,” McCawley said.
Attorneys for Baldoni and Swift did not respond Thursday to emailed requests for comment.
The stress of public scrutiny
In another text exchange, Dec. 4, 2024, Lively checked in with Swift, writing that she felt “like a bad friend lately because I was such a sad sack” who only talked about her own problems “for months.”
“You were generous to not only be the key person there for me during all of it, but also to let me off the hook for being so in it,” Lively wrote. “But still have a feeling something may not be right.”
Swift replied that she did perceive a shift in Lively’s language.
“I’ve been through things like this before and I know how all consuming it is,” Swift wrote. “It’s more like… and I feel really bad saying anything about this because your texts have been so nice in their intent but your last few… it’s felt like I was reading a mass corporate email sent to 200 employees. You said the word ‘we’ like 18 times.”
“I just kinda miss my dark, normal-speaking friend who talks to me as herself, not like. A plural unit,” Swift wrote.
The following day, Swift sent Lively a link to a People magazine story with the headline “Justin Baldoni Reveals He Was Sexually Traumatized by an Ex-Girlfriend When He Was ‘Hoping to Save Myself for Marriage.'” Swift wrote: “I think this b(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) knows something is coming because he’s gotten out his tiny violin.”
Weeks later, Swift told Lively, “You won” and “You did it,” while sharing an article saying Baldoni had been dropped by his talent agency.
“Never has a cancellation been reversed so fast,” Swift wrote, after telling Lively that she “helped so many people who won’t have to go through this ever again.”
“I love you so much,” Lively responded. “I would not be ok through any of this if it weren’t for you.”
Judge considers dismissal
In court Thursday, Baldoni attorney Jonathan Bach accused Lively of filling her lawsuit with “trivial and petty grievances” that fall short of legal standards for a hostile workplace claim.
“A whole bunch of little things can add up to a big thing,” the judge responded.
Lively’s lawyer, Esra Hudson, countered with her allegations of repeated unwanted physical touching or humiliating incidents on the set, including an unscripted moment when she said Baldoni leaned in and kissed Lively, putting his face on her face.
“She’s clearly having her boundaries crossed in that moment. It was a surprise. No one discussed it before,” Hudson said.
When the judge said he was “still having trouble” determining how the question of consent fits on the set of a movie, Hudson urged him to look at the “totality of circumstances,” including when Lively was unexpectedly made to “crawl on all fours” and simulate a sex act.
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Associated Press Writer Larry Neumeister contributed from New York City.