The newest spherical of legal drama between actress Blake Lively and her “It Ends with Us” director Justin Baldoni provides unimaginable perception into the help community Lively relied on throughout and after the film’s manufacturing — together with one in all her good pals, Taylor Swift.
According to unsealed paperwork filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Tuesday and obtained by NCS, Lively spoke overtly with pals in regards to the bother she allegedly skilled on the set of the 2024 film, which she costarred in alongside Baldoni.
Lively has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and coordinating a “plan” to “destroy” her popularity, in response to a go well with filed in opposition to him and his manufacturing firm, Wayfarer Studios.
In one change with Swift, with whom she has had a longstanding friendship, Lively referred to Baldoni as her “doofus director,” in response to the new submitting. A yr later, the 2 ladies texted about Baldoni once more, in response to the new submitting, this time forward of a New York Times story that burst open the drama on set for all the general public to see.
“I think this bitch knows something is coming because he’s gotten out his tiny violin,” Swift texted Lively, together with a screenshot of an Instagram publish from People Magazine, highlighting feedback from Baldoni about being “sexually traumatized” in his previous, in response to the legal paperwork. Swift likened the Lively/Baldoni scenario to “a horror film no one knows is taking place,” the paperwork present.
NCS has reached out to Swift’s consultant for remark.
“The newly unsealed evidence shows the concerns of Ms. Lively and others were documented in real-time as early as Spring 2023, and Wayfarer understood them as ‘sexual harassment’ concerns,” Sigrid McCawley, a member of Lively’s legal crew, mentioned in a assertion to NCS. “The evidence also documents how Wayfarer refused to investigate, but instead attempted to ‘bury’ Ms. Lively and others who spoke up through retaliation,” she mentioned.
Asked to touch upon McCawley’s assertion, Bryan Feldman, a lawyer for Baldoni and Wayfarer, mentioned “the evidence does not support the claims as a matter of law. A simple read of the newly released message exchanges make the truth abundantly clear. We remain confident in the legal process and clearing the names of all of the Justin Baldoni parties.”
After the New York Times printed its article, “’We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” Baldoni filed suit in opposition to the newspaper, alleging that the story was “rife with inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and omissions” and relied on Lively’s “self-serving narrative.”
The story included contents from a Civil Rights Department grievance, usually saved confidential, that Lively had filed in opposition to Baldoni in December 2024 accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliation in opposition to her.
Lively then filed a go well with in opposition to Baldoni. Baldoni adopted with a $400 million go well with in opposition to Lively and her famous person husband, Ryan Reynolds, alleging defamation and that they each “hijacked” his movie and have been making an attempt to “destroy” his profession.
A choose dismissed Baldoni’s suits against Lively and Reynolds, as well as against the New York Times, in June 2025.
Two months later, the New York Times filed go well with in opposition to Wayfarer in an effort to recoup legal charges.
In December 2025, Lively’s go well with in opposition to Baldoni was postponed from a trial date of March 9 to May 18, 2026.
Swift’s star energy first entered the case in May 2025, when it was revealed that she had been subpoenaed after textual content exchanges have been revealed to incorporate the title “Taylor” as a part of Baldoni’s go well with.
Baldoni had sought to depose Swift, and requested extra time to make that occur, but a judge ruled against it in September 2025.
Swift and Lively are recognized to have had a shut friendship and reference is made within the newly unsealed legal paperwork to the music “My Tears Ricochet” from Swift’s “Folklore” album getting used within the “It Ends with Us” trailer.
Lively directed the music video for Swift’s music “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” and the actress and her husband Reynolds steadily socialized with the singer and her now fiancé, NFL participant Travis Kelce, together with attending his video games enjoying for the Kansas City Chiefs.
In November 2024, Reynolds confirmed that Swift is the godmother to his and Lively’s three young daughters — James, Inez and Betty. The couple even have a son, Olin, born in 2023.
Swift was not the one one to allegedly complain about Baldoni, the newly unsealed paperwork present.
The legal paperwork additionally included what are mentioned to be messages from “It Ends with Us” actress Jenny Slate, who allegedly wrote in one which “this has been a really gross and disturbing shoot, and I’m one of many who feel this way,” about her time spent on set.
NCS has reached out to representatives for Slate for remark.