A federal judge has ruled that actor and director Justin Baldoni can obtain text messages between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift related to the legal trial surrounding the film It Ends With Us. The decision overrules Lively’s attempt to shield the conversations, which Baldoni claims could be relevant to the ongoing dispute.
Court denies confidentiality over Blake Lively & Taylor Swift’s texts
On Wednesday, June 18, Judge Lewis Liman denied Blake Lively’s motion for a protective order, allowing Justin Baldoni’s legal team to review the messages. Lively had argued that Baldoni was trying to drag Swift into the case for publicity rather than legitimate legal reasons. However, the judge determined that the texts could contain pertinent information regarding Lively’s harassment and retaliation claims.
“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,” Judge Liman wrote in his ruling.
The dispute comes from Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni and his publicists, accusing them of orchestrating a smear campaign against her after she raised concerns about sexual harassment on the It Ends With Us set. Baldoni, who directs and co-stars in the film, has denied the allegations and previously filed a $400 million countersuit, which was dismissed last week.
Blake Lively’s legal team has accused Justin Baldoni of using Taylor Swift’s fame to manipulate public opinion. In a statement to People, her representative said, “We will continue to call out Baldoni’s relentless efforts to exploit Ms. Swift’s popularity, which from day one has been nothing more than a distraction from the serious sexual harassment and retaliation accusations he and the Wayfarer parties are facing.”
Taylor Swift, who licensed a song for the film, has maintained that she had no further involvement in the project. While Baldoni’s side subpoenaed Swift earlier, the subpoena was later withdrawn. However, the judge’s latest ruling suggests that any discussions between Swift and Lively about the film’s production issues could still be relevant to the case.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on ComingSoon.
