Justin Baldoni says Taylor Swift's texts could prove Blake Lively didn't suffer emotional distress
Actor and director Justin Baldoni is escalating his legal response to sexual harassment and retaliation allegations by Blake Lively, requesting access to private text messages between Lively and global superstar Taylor Swift. The messages, Baldoni’s attorneys argue, could be critical in disproving claims that Lively suffered emotional distress during the fallout from It Ends With Us.
Baldoni demands Lively-Taylor Swift texts in It Ends With Us case, calling them key to disproving emotional distress and harassment claims.
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Baldoni previously dropped subpoenas served to Swift last month but has now filed to obtain the messages directly from Lively. His legal team contends that Swift’s communications with Lively during the time in question — including after the film’s fall 2024 release — may contradict the emotional harm Lively alleges.
“Although we appreciate the positive influence Ms. Swift’s music has had on her worldwide audience, it was Ms. Lively, not the Wayfarer Parties, who contemporaneously inserted Ms. Swift into this dispute,” Baldoni’s lawyers wrote in the June 17 filing.
According to the filing, Lively named Swift in her own discovery disclosures as someone with firsthand knowledge of the events and their personal impact. The defense suggests that Swift’s insights — including during double dates and social outings in the months following the film’s release — could demonstrate Lively was not as emotionally affected as she claims, which may significantly affect any monetary award.
Lively’s attorneys fired back in court filings last week, accusing Baldoni of exploiting Swift’s celebrity to generate media buzz and shift focus from the recent dismissal of his defamation countersuit, which named Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and others. They called the subpoena strategy an effort to “prop up a public relations narrative.”
Swift’s representatives have not publicly commented since the initial subpoena was issued in May. At the time, they dismissed the attempt as “tabloid clickbait,” emphasizing that Swift had no involvement in It Ends With Us.
The legal standoff took a new turn last week when Lively subpoenaed music executive Scooter Braun, seeking records tied to a PR campaign allegedly aimed at discrediting her. Braun, a longtime adversary of Swift, controls a majority stake in The Agency Group PR through his company HYBE America.
Legal experts say the outcome of Baldoni’s request could prove pivotal. If Lively’s communications with Swift undermine her emotional distress claim, it could weaken her position in the ongoing lawsuit.
