A New York judge allowed Justin Baldoni’s lawyers to obtain messages between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift during the discovery process, ruling that they were “relevant” to the filmmaker’s legal battle with the actor.
Lively had filed a motion last week to prevent Baldoni from getting her text messages and other communications with the pop superstar, arguing that his legal team’s “continued focus on Ms Swift is a media strategy, not a litigation strategy” that was intended purely to generate headlines rather than deepen their understanding of the case.
However, US district judge Lewis Liman found on Wednesday that Lively’s conversations with Swift were pertinent to the case as the actor herself had identified the pop star as someone with likely knowledge and information about the working conditions on the sets of It Ends With Us.
“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,” the judge ruled.
“Lively alleges that Baldoni and Heath harassed her in numerous ways during work on It Ends With Us, that her concerns about their behavior began ‘early in the preproduction and production process’ and that she expressed these concerns in ‘contemporaneous messages’.”
The ruling continued: “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.”
Liman additionally placed a protective order over the discovery to ensure these messages would not be leaked to the press.
On Lively’s claims that Swift was being involved only as a “media strategy”, Liman ruled “this concern doesn’t justify denying the Wayfarer parties relevant discovery”.
As part of the discovery process, Baldoni’s legal team had subpoenaed Swift for her communications with Lively. That subpoena was dropped in May after Swift’s representative hit back by saying it had been “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 Independent has reached out to Lively and Baldoni’s representatives for comment.
In May, a spokesperson for Swift told The Independent that the singer’s only connection to the film was her song "My Tears Ricochet", which was used on the soundtrack.
The spokesperson continued: "Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history.
“The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, ‘My Tears Ricochet.’
“Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
Lively sued Baldoni and his publicists last December arguing that they had secretly smeared her online and in the press for raising complaints about sexual harassment on the sets of the 2024 film It Ends With Us, based on a TikTok sensation novel by Colleen Hoover. Baldoni’s countersuit, accusing her of smearing him, was dismissed last week.
Rumors of an on-set feud had been percolating online as the pair appeared to avoid each other during the film’s promotional tour.
Lively was called out for a “tone-deaf” approach to the film as some felt she failed to treat its heavy subject matter with the appropriate solemnity.
Before the dismissal of Baldoni’s suit, the latest update in the saga came just days ago when Lively withdrew emotional distress claims.
The decision is thought to be a response to attempts by Baldoni’s legal team to obtain Lively’s medical records, including therapy notes and other health details, as part of the discovery process.
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