Blake Lively moves to stop Justin Baldoni obtaining Taylor Swift’s texts – UK Times

Blake Lively is taking legal action to prevent Justin Baldoni from obtaining her text messages and other communications with pop superstar Taylor Swift.

In a motion filed in New York that has been reviewed by The Independent, Lively’s lawyers argue that her communications with Swift are “irrelevant” to the ongoing court case.

The motion is addressed to New York federal Judge Lewis J. Liman, who earlier this week threw out Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit against Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds.

Baldoni had been suing Lively and Reynolds, their publicist, and The New York Times for defamation. In the lawsuit, Baldoni alleged that they tried to destroy his career using false allegations of sexual harassment.

However, the judge dismissed the lawsuit — which also included allegations of extortion and additional claims — after finding that Lively’s accusations of sexual harassment were legally protected.

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.”

Now, Lively’s representatives are making a similar argument in an attempt to remove Swift from the case completely. They argue in the new motion that Baldoni’s legal team’s “continued focus on Ms. Swift is a media strategy, not a litigation strategy” and that it was always intended purely to generate headlines rather than deepen their understanding of the case.

The legal battle between Baldoni and Lively stems from It Ends With Us, their 2024 film based on the TikTok sensation novel by Colleen Hoover. Lively played Lily Bloom in the film. Baldoni, who also directed the film, stars as Ryle Kincaid, her abusive partner.

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 movie, as some felt she failed to treat its heavy subject matter with the appropriate solemnity.

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Lively then filed a lawsuit in December 2024 alleging Baldoni sexually harassed her and exhibited behavior that caused her “severe emotional distress.”

Lively nearly stopped working on the film, she claimed. However, she agreed to continue to work given a series of requirements that – according to the lawsuit cited by TMZ – included “no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake’s weight and no further mention of Blake’s dead father.”

She also alleged that Baldoni was behind an alleged smear campaign designed to “bury” her, which included fan backlash as part of a carefully orchestrated effort by Baldoni’s PR team.

Baldoni’s countersuit, filed in early 2025 just days after Lively’s, was the one dismissed by the judge Monday.

Before the dismissal, 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.