A recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman mandates that text messages exchanged between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift regarding the working environment on the set of the film It Ends With Us must be disclosed to Justin Baldoni. This decision comes as part of an ongoing legal dispute involving allegations of harassment and retaliation made by Lively.
In his ruling issued on Wednesday, Judge Liman stated, “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.” This highlights the significance of the text messages in understanding the context of Lively's allegations against Baldoni.
Representatives for Baldoni, Lively, and Swift did not provide immediate comments following the ruling. Notably, in May, Baldoni’s legal team had previously withdrawn a subpoena against Swift, indicating a shift in strategy in their ongoing legal battle against Lively. The following month, Lively's attorneys filed a protective order to address what they described as the “Wayfarer Parties’ continuing demands for Ms. Lively’s communications with Taylor Swift.”
Just days before the recent ruling, Baldoni faced a significant setback when Judge Liman dismissed his substantial $400 million lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and publicist Leslie Sloane. Additionally, a separate $250 million lawsuit against the New York Times was also dismissed. This latter lawsuit was initiated following a December article by the Times that reported on Lively’s allegations of sexual harassment and a smear campaign against Baldoni.
A spokesperson for Lively previously addressed the situation, stating, “The ongoing attempts to once again try and use the world’s biggest star as a PR tactic in this matter reflects a public unraveling of epic proportions and serves only to distract from the fact that Justin Baldoni’s lawsuits against Ms. Lively, Ryan Reynolds, their publicist, and the New York Times have been entirely dismissed.” This comment underscores the tension and complexities surrounding the case.
Despite Lively's concerns that the Wayfarer Parties are seeking communications with Swift to support a public relations narrative, Judge Liman emphasized that “this concern does not justify denying the Wayfarer Parties relevant discovery.” This ruling is likely to have significant implications for the ongoing legal proceedings, as the text messages could provide crucial evidence in determining the validity of Lively's claims.
