{"id":532971,"date":"2026-01-21T20:49:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T20:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/532971\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T20:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T20:49:10","slug":"blake-lively-justin-baldoni-legal-battle-taylor-swift-texts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/532971\/","title":{"rendered":"Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni Legal Battle: Taylor Swift Texts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tBlake Lively<\/a>\u2018s unsealed text messages with\u00a0Taylor Swift<\/a>, email to Ben Affleck and statements from Jenny Slate<\/a> and Isabela Ferrer\u2019s depositions\u00a0about\u00a0Justin Baldoni<\/a> have been unveiled\u00a0amid the ongoing\u00a0It Ends With Us<\/a>\u00a0legal drama.<\/p>\n

\n\tLively first filed a complaint against her It Ends With Us co-star and director<\/a> in December 2024 for sexual harassment and an alleged coordinated effort to destroy her reputation. Lively also alleged that Baldoni and company engaged in a \u201csocial manipulation\u201d campaign to \u201cdestroy\u201d her reputation. Meanwhile, Baldoni\u2019s legal team slammed the complaint as \u201cshameful\u201d and one that includes \u201cserious and categorically false accusations.\u201d\u00a0Baldoni responded with his own lawsuit, but that was\u00a0dismissed in June<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tAmid the drama, much speculation arose about the thoughts of those who worked on the film and a possible inclusion of Lively\u2019s close friend Swift. On Tuesday, a transcript of Slate\u2019s deposition<\/a>, held on Sept. 26, 2025, in New York, and Ferrer\u2019s deposition\u00a0were unsealed, along with other evidence and documents including unsealed text messages between Lively and Swift about Baldoni.<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, THR compiles the various texts, depositions and emails unsealed earlier this week. A trial for the case is set for May 18.<\/p>\n

\t\tJenny Slate\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring her deposition, several of the Slate\u2019s texts were read aloud, and she addressed on-set issues working with Baldoni and Wayfarer producer Jamey Heath. (Slate played Allysa, Baldoni\u2019s onscreen sister, in\u00a0It Ends With Us.) She also claimed that she and Lively \u201cboth complained directly\u201d to the studio.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn one message, Slate stated that filming the movie \u201chas been a really gross and disturbing shoot, and I\u2019m one of many who feel [this] way.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cJustin is truly a false ally and I\u2019m unwilling to do anything that promotes the image that he\u2019s crafting as a \u2018male feminist,\u2019\u201d she wrote in one message. \u201cHonestly I have no words to describe what a fraud he is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn another text Slate said of Baldoni, \u201cI honestly have never ever encountered anything like this dude. He\u2019s the biggest clown and the most intense narcissist. Lots of lessons learned!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn one message to her former agent in May 2023, during production on the film, Slate wrote, \u201cThis week was really intense for a few reasons. It\u2019s like fascinating and also so shitty. Justin and Jamey are truly unfit. I\u2019m not scared or anything, just repulsed and deeply irritated, and I know Blake is experiencing that on a much more serious level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI feel like it\u2019s about to get really bad and I\u2019m not sure what Blake\u2019s limit is but she\u2019s really taken a lot of crap from them, like crazy shit, and I\u2019m not kidding when I tell you that Justin and Jamey me freak me out. Like they tell really weird lies and Justin is astoundingly wrongheaded.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tShe also referenced Baldoni\u2019s TED Talk in 2018 about empowering women and redefining masculinity in another message: \u201cI really don\u2019t get how he did a TED Talk. He is worse than the bros I\u2019ve encountered, not because he\u2019s predatory but because of his general fragility and misogyny, like not seeming to be aware of any of the obvious no-nos.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tTaylor Swift \t<\/p>\n

\n\tLively\u2019s longtime friend Swift\u2019s name has come up repeatedly in the ongoing legal battle between Lively and Baldoni given Lively previously identified Swift as a person in her orbit that would have knowledge about discussions regarding working conditions on the set of the film. Baldoni also alleged that Swift, along with Lively\u2019s husband Ryan Reynolds, helped Lively pressure him to make script changes to one of the film\u2019s scenes. Baldoni\u2019s legal team\u00a0attempted to subpoena Swift<\/a> in May. At the time a spokesperson for Swift said the subpoena was a bid to \u201cdraw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI think this bitch knows something is coming because he\u2019s gotten out his tiny violin,\u201d Swift wrote in a message to Lively while sending a screenshot of a People magazine story<\/a> about Baldoni. The\u00a0New York Times expos\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0about Baldoni and Lively\u2019s feud was also set to be published at the time. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s rings different when he doesn\u2019t end the story by saying \u2018Did I always listen when they said no? No.\u2019 like he did with me. But that must not\u2019ve tested well in the focus group,\u201d Lively wrote. \u201cHe\u2019s being honored at the vital voices for women event on Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is so disgusting, and I hate that he\u2019s clever about this shit,\u201d Swift wrote.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis inspiring event celebrates men who are using their platforms, influence and leadership to elevate women, combat gender-based violence and promote gender equality worldwide,\u201d Lively explained of the event.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWell not him, her,\u201d Swift responded. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe\u2019s not. He just has a team. Yeah. Her. And his publicist Jennifer Abel. And the comms people at his studio,\u201d Lively added.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe needs to be beaten by his OWN words,\u201d Swift wrote in a message. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn another message Lively wrote, \u201cCan you imagine feeling as confident as these predators that you\u2019re going to always get away with it. Him accepting an award as an ally for women. <\/p>\n

\n\tAnd Scooter going about he world with his head held high as he co owns and funds a crisis PR company that silences women.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s like a horror film no one knows is taking place,\u201d Swift wrote in a message.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOh but they will. It\u2019s the only thing that can come of this. The good that protects other women from this happening to them,\u201d Lively responded.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn messages a year prior, Lively referred to Baldoni as the \u201cdoofus director of my movie\u201d in a message to Swift, adding that he is a \u201cclown\u201d who \u201cthinks he\u2019s a writer now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn another message, Lively asked Swift \u2014 who was allegedly already on her way to visit while Baldoni was present in Lively\u2019s home \u2014 to endorse a revised version of the script she was proposing and didn\u2019t need to read it if she couldn\u2019t. (In Lively\u2019s deposition, she said, \u201cI sent Taylor the script on her way to my apartment because Justin was still there, and I asked her to read them. I told her she didn\u2019t have to, I didn\u2019t want her to feel pressure to do that, but I hope that she would.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\n\tSwift allegedly replied \u201cI\u2019ll do anything for you !!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a later message, Lively allegedly wrote to the singer that she was \u201cso epically heroic today\u201d and that she \u201crecapped every moment\u201d to Reynolds. \u201cI kept remembering stuff- You making shit up about me and lenses. And referring to yourself as my doll. This clown falling for all of it. But also resisting it. You are the worlds absolute greatest friend ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Dec. 4, 2024, Lively and Swift seemingly discussed a changing friendship dynamic in other messages. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHey, just checking in,\u201d Lively writes. \u201cI have no reason to ask, but I donno, l\u2019ve been feeling like I should\u2026 is everything OK? I felt like a bad friend lately because I was such a sad sack who only talked about my own shit 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. But I still have a feeling something may not be right. I told Ryan. He said to just ask you. But I felt so stupid and like it sounded needy and awkward for everyone, especially be I can\u2019t explain why I have this feeling. And you know I have toxic masculinity so I can\u2019t be needy. But also, I do want to know everything is good so I\u2019m asking. I always want the opportunity to be a better friend if there\u2019s something | unintentionally did. I know how busy and taxed you are \u2013 physically, emotionally, practically, so I don\u2019t expect any more from you ever. Just want to make sure all is good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSwift\u2019s response: \u201cNo you\u2019re not wrong, but it\u2019s also not a big deal. I think I\u2019m just exhausted in every avenue of my life and in recent months had been feeling a little bit of a shift in the way you talk to me. Yes there has been a lot of the Justin stuff but I\u2019ve been through things like this before and I know how all consuming it is. It\u2019s more like\u2026 and I feel really bad saying anything about this because your texts have been so nice in their intent but your last few\u2026 it\u2019s felt like I was reading a mass corporate email sent to 200 employees. You said the word \u2018we\u2019 like 18 times. And it feels awful to be in any way critical of any way you process what you\u2019ve been going through but I just kinda miss my funny, dark, normal-speaking friend who talks to me as herself, not like. A plural unit. When it\u2019s a group l\u2019m hearing from. I feel distanced from you even more than we are geographically. And I know you feel attacked from all sides for ridiculous reasons so you\u2019re feeling like you have to overly explain things or be overly nice or whatever but. It\u2019s me! That\u2019s just caused a little distance. And you don\u2019t need to apologize. Just come back please.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tBen Affleck\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a screenshot, Lively seemingly emailed Ben Affleck on May 17, 2024 to ask for his input on her edits to the film. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m writing with a zero pressure ask. I\u2019ve just come out the other side (well almost) of the most upsetting experience I\u2019ve ever had on a movie. The making of doc of this film would be more interesting than the movie could ever be. It\u2019s like if Wild Wild Country, Fyre Festival and Going Clear had a baby with The Room \u2026 Room also works though,\u201d Lively wrote.<\/p>\n

\n\tShe added, \u201cAnyway, I ended up rewriting and restructuring the entire script, I also ended up having to direct the movie via the chaotic clown \u2018director\u2019\/actor\/producer\/financier\/studio head at the center. Yes that\u2019s all the same person. oh and did I mention he and everyone he had on the movie is in a cult. If I would\u2019ve just formally directed it, it would\u2019ve been much easier, but having to troubleshoot through his taste, ego and preexisting decisions made it so difficult and that\u2019s not even touching on any of the wild HR issues and beyond. Anyway, now I\u2019m in a bake off with him in the edit. He\u2019s been editing since, I kid you not, July, and they gave me 10 days to do my own pass. We have a bake off in 12 days. But I have a friends and family preview in NY on Saturday in the meantime so I can get one round of notes or feedback before we duke it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLively then asked Affleck if he would be \u201cwilling to watch the movie and give me any ideas or notes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIf your wife or kids are around, I\u2019d love their opinion also (fyi it does cover domestic violence so no one is caught off guard). I\u2019m such a fan of Jennifer\u2019s, I\u2019ve told her as much every time I\u2019ve met her, and it would be an honor to have her take,\u201d Lively added. Affleck was still married to Jennifer Lopez at the time of the email. <\/p>\n

\n\tLively reiterated that there was \u201czero pressure\u201d to do what she asked but that she \u201cjust really want this to work after all I\u2019ve put into it. This movie nearly killed me. And I can think of very few people who would be as prescriptive and insightful as I know you would be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe actress also alleged that Reynolds asked Matt Damon for his input as well: \u201cRyan asked Matt to watch also so I think he\u2019s watching this weekend. Good men showing up. I\u2019m beyond grateful for that. Also. can you believe Jason Bourne is watching my movie!?!?! I\u2019ll get you an autograph one day. Don\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tMatt Damon\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIn another email exchange, Reynolds is shown asking Damon and his wife Lucy to watch Lively\u2019s cut of the film. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis movie has been one of the all time zingers on and off set. One day, we\u2019ll make a movie about the movie. And we can\u2019t wait to tell you all about it. The stories are already finding their place in the pantheon of legendary Hollywood Insanity,\u201d Reynolds wrote.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a separate email Lively wrote to Damon and Lucy, \u201cAdding more zeroes to the pressure. Thank you for even considering. And it\u2019s not a bad movie. So who knows, you just may enjoy some of it. Be warned it covers domestic violence In key places so just want to be sure you know. This movie nearly killed me. The director\/costar\/producer\/financier\/head of the studio (yes all one person) had zero experience, but the good news is he also has no taste, and an enormous ego, but only because he\u2019s in a cult and believes he\u2019s our century\u2019s prophet. I wish even one of these things was hyperbole.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tAnyway. Juicy stuff. I told him on day one (after so much shit had already gone down). \u2018I don\u2019t need anything from you. I don\u2019t need you to guide me or to make me feel good. I\u2019ve got me. All I need from you is, I just need you to not make me feel like shit. That\u2019s it. I\u2019ve got the rest\u2019. And that became true. What I didn\u2019t anticipate was having to do everything in this movie. I rewrote the entire script. I directed every actor. The DP was comil to me when he couldn\u2019t get anything from him. So, way too often. Then after all this Justin wouldn\u2019t bring me into the edit. He had no idea what he had because he didn\u2019t author any of it. They gave me 10 days to scrap together an edit to compete with an edit he\u2019s been making since July. I\u2019ve been sleep about an hour and a half each night be that\u2019s obviously not enough time so I\u2019ve just been gunning it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWe\u2019re in a bake off now which will happen in 12 days. This weekend screening is my chance to get the first and only feedback on my cut before the bake off. Anyway. It\u2019s all the drama. That was the headline of the gossip. Not even the good stuff. Way too much info. And like Ryan said zero zero pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn his message Damon wrote, \u201cWe\u2019ll give you any help we can. And if this experience hasn\u2019t totally destroyed your soul, Blake, you should come direct your next movie at Artists Equity. We\u2019re kind of like a cult but a really nice one.\u201d (Damon and Affleck co-founded\u00a0Artists Equity, an independent production company launched in 2022.)<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen discussing Baldoni, Reynolds wrote of the time the actor-director asked for Lively\u2019s weight. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSeveral weeks before shooting, and right after Blake had given birth to our son \u2026 this guy called our trainer, Don and asked \u2018how much do you think Blake will weigh in two weeks?\u2019 Don, got very Long Island all of a sudden and Justin backtracked. He said, \u201cI\u2019m only asking because I have to carry her in a scene. And I have low bone density.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\n\tLucy Damon responded, \u201cSorry but what the actual fuck?!? He\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt was actually two weeks before,\u201d Lively added. \u201cWhen pressed even further, he said he needed to train to adjust his bone density. Because, to circle back, he has low bone density.\u201d Lively also alleged of Baldoni, \u201cHe also told me last year that he speaks to my father often. He hopes I don\u2019t mind. My father died 3 years ago.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tWhen Lucy Damon noted she was \u201cfascinated by this creep\u201d and suggested they \u201cmake a movie about this guy\u201d Lively said she had a name of her doc ready \u201cLights, Cult, Action.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve never seen anything like it A malignantly vein, sociopathic FAUXminist with almost no sense of boundaries or shame. I cannot believe he hasn\u2019t gone to jail or returned to the sun,\u201d Reynolds wrote. <\/p>\n

\t\tIsabela Ferrer\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe It Ends With Us star, who played a younger version of Lively\u2019s character in the film, was asked in her deposition how many times she witnessed \u201cinappropriate or unwelcome actions, conduct or comments during the production of the film\u201d to which she responded \u201cthree times.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tIn another moment, the actress was asked about Baldoni allegedly describing one of her intimate scenes in the film as \u201chot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt didn\u2019t feel appropriate in a work environment, and given that it was not necessarily like a note of any kind to do with my acting,\u201d Ferrer said. \u201cIt felt out of place and strange to hear about a scene, especially a scene that is meant to be a PG scene about two young teenagers having a very innocent experience intimately. It felt out of place to hear my director say that as a personal thing to me and my co-star.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe way it was described in the script and kind of broken down with the intimacy coordinator is it shouldn\u2019t have been sexy or hot or any term like that and it was much more so meant to be innocent, leaning more so towards a PG kind of intimate scene,\u201d she said of the scene which was showcasing her character losing her virginity. <\/p>\n

\n\tShe described of filming another scene for the film: \u201cThere was a scene in which my character, Lily, is in her kitchen and the other character played by my costar\u00a0Alex Neustaedter\u00a0is making cookies and there was a note that was a change to the scene in which he was feeding me cookie dough from a spoon. Justin offered that I lick the cookie dough off of the spoon and look up at my costar in a way that deemed to me kind of inappropriate given the context of the scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt didn\u2019t make sense to me in the scene that we were filming that my character would do that kind of thing given that she was 16 and in high school,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is according to Alex a couple of months later, when there was a moment when I was away from both of them and we were getting ready to go to Jersey City \u2026 for the first time,\u201d she alleged. \u201cJustin pulled Alex aside and said that he wanted Alex to get to know me really well, and yes, winked at him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe interpreted the wink as\u00a0\u201csomething of that kind of manner I found to be inappropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe also alleged that Hoover told her she wasn\u2019t comfortable with Baldoni attending the Book Bonanza Festival at the time with her. \u201cI think the main thing that I remember her having discomfort with is the fact that he had been lying about her religion and her religious faith and telling people that she was of Bah\u00e1\u02bc\u00ed Faith <\/a>when she wasn\u2019t. I think that was the main thing of her discomfort.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Blake Lively\u2018s unsealed text messages with\u00a0Taylor Swift, email to Ben Affleck and statements from Jenny Slate and Isabela…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":532972,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[45511,171,74502,199443,34615,3571,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-532971","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-blake-lively","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-it-ends-with-us","11":"tag-jenny-slate","12":"tag-justin-baldoni","13":"tag-taylor-swift","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115935062583812224","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}