Topline<\/p>\n
A series of bombshell text messages between actress Blake Lively and her longtime friend Taylor Swift has revealed how Lively\u2019s personal relationships suffered amid drama on the set of her film \u201cIt Ends With Us\u201d\u2014and shows what Swift really thought about director and co-star Justin Baldoni. <\/p>\n
Taylor Swift and Blake Lively at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, 2024. <\/p>\n
Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
Private text messages between the stars were included in a legal filing from Lively’s legal team this week in connection with her ongoing lawsui<\/a>t against Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios production company, in which Lively accuses Baldoni of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment on the \u201cIt Ends With Us\u201d set and coordinating a smear campaign to silence her. <\/p>\n The messages are dated December 2024, the same month Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni and days before an explosive New York Times article, headlined “We Can Bury Anyone: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,\u201d detailed Lively\u2019s claims against him. (See messages below). <\/p>\n The texts start with Lively reaching out to Swift to check on their friendship, calling Swift “the key person there for me” during her “It Ends With Us” experience. Swift then admitted the relationship had been strained, adding she missed her “funny, dark, normal-speaking friend who talks to me as herself” and adding she felt “distanced.”<\/p>\n The next day, Swift reached back out to Lively in a message calling him a “bitch” and speculating he “knows something is coming.\u201d <\/p>\n Swift then asked Lively if everything was “still on track,” to which Lively responded “oh yes” (it\u2019s unclear exactly what the women were discussing, but Lively\u2019s civil rights complaint was filed two weeks later). <\/p>\n Other documents unsealed this week include texts from \u201cIt Ends With Us\u201d actress Jenny Slate, who called Baldoni a \u201cfalse ally,\u201d \u201cfraud,\u201d the \u201cbiggest clown and the most intense narcissist\u201d and \u201castoundingly wrongheaded\u201d in texts to multiple people.<\/p>\n Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We\u2019re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day\u2019s headlines. Text \u201cAlerts\u201d to (201) 335-0739<\/a> or sign up here: joinsubtext.com\/forbes.<\/a><\/p>\n Text messages between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift, released as part of Lively’s ongoing lawsuit against “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni.<\/p>\n U.S. District Court<\/p>\n Text messages between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift, released as part of Lively’s ongoing lawsuit against “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni.<\/p>\n U.S. District Court<\/p>\n Text messages between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift, released as part of Lively’s ongoing lawsuit against “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni.<\/p>\n U.S. District CourtKey Background<\/p>\n Rumors began circulating about drama on the set of \u201cIt Ends With Us,\u201d which was released in August 2024, during promotion for the film. Lively refused to promote the movie alongside Baldoni, and the pair were never interviewed or photographed together. \u201cIt Ends With Us\u201d author Colleen Hoover and most of Lively’s co-stars, including Jenny Slate, Brandon Sklenar and Isabela Ferrer, appeared at her side rather than Baldoni\u2019s. At the same time, Lively was the subject of intense scrutiny online, with social media users taking issue with how she discussed domestic violence and the promotion of her personal brands during the tour. In December 2024, Lively filed her complaint with the California Civil Rights Department claiming Baldoni behaved inappropriately on set and coordinated a PR campaign with a crisis firm in an attempt to destroy her reputation. Days later, she filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against Baldoni, his publicist, Wayfarer Studios and other defendants for “retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns.” Baldoni quickly filed a countersuit and sued the New York Times for its reporting on Lively’s allegations, claiming he was falsely accused of sexual harassment and was used as a “scapegoat” to dodge the negative press surrounding the film. Swift was subpoenaed in Baldoni\u2019s lawsuit against Lively last May, but his lawyers later withdrew the subpoena. Both of Baldoni’s lawsuits were dismissed in June. Lively\u2019s is still ongoing. (Here is an in-depth timeline<\/a> of the saga, and explanations of Lively\u2019s initial claims<\/a> and Baldoni\u2019s claims<\/a>.)<\/p>\n What To Watch For<\/p>\n A federal judge will consider Baldoni’s bid to dismiss Lively’s lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment on Thursday. If it is allowed to proceed, a trial for the case is set for May 18.<\/p>\n Further ReadingForbesBaldoni Vs. Lively Feud: Explosive Texts Released Between Lively, Taylor SwiftBy Mary Whitfill Roeloffs<\/a>ForbesHere\u2019s What Blake Lively Alleges Against \u2018It Ends With Us\u2019 Actor-Director Justin BaldoniBy Conor Murray<\/a>ForbesAll Of Justin Baldoni\u2019s Allegations Against Blake Lively Explained\u2014As He Releases \u2018It Ends With Us\u2019 OuttakesBy Mary Whitfill Roeloffs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Topline A series of bombshell text messages between actress Blake Lively and her longtime friend Taylor Swift has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385066,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[17860,96,59,25485,145626,17859,10568,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-385065","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-gb","11":"tag-it-ends-with-us","12":"tag-it-ends-with-us-lawsuit","13":"tag-justin-baldoni","14":"tag-taylor-swift","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}