Judge Denies Blake Lively’s Request to Keep Taylor Swift Texts Private Amid Justin Baldoni Lawsuit

A New York judge has rejected Blake Lively’s attempt to shield her text message exchanges with Taylor Swift from discovery in the ongoing legal battle involving actor Justin Baldoni. On June 18, Judge Lewis J. Liman denied Lively’s motion for a protective order that sought to keep communications regarding the film It Ends With Us confidential and out of Baldoni’s reach.

The dispute centers on Baldoni’s legal team’s efforts to access Swift’s communications with Lively, which they argue are crucial to their defense in the lawsuit. Baldoni had previously subpoenaed Swift but later withdrew the subpoena. Despite that, his team continued pressing for the text messages, claiming they never received access to them and now consider the messages essential to the case.

A spokesperson for Lively, 37, responded to the judge’s ruling by accusing Baldoni, 41, and his team of attempting to exploit Swift’s fame as a distraction from the serious sexual harassment and retaliation allegations Baldoni and affiliated parties face. “Baldoni’s desire to drag Taylor Swift into this has been constant dating back to August 2024… We will continue to call out Baldoni’s relentless efforts to exploit Ms. Swift’s popularity,” the statement said.

Judge Liman’s letter emphasized concerns that the requests for Swift’s communications might be used “not to obtain information relevant to claims and defenses in court, but to prop up a public relations narrative outside of court.” The judge highlighted that the protective order was meant to prevent sensitive information, which may be only tangentially related to the case, from leaking to the press.

In addition to denying Lively’s motion, the judge also rejected a cross-motion from Baldoni and Wayfarer—his production company—that sought to compel Lively to produce documents related to the film’s production. The judge noted that given Swift’s alleged knowledge of workplace complaints on the film, messages between Lively and Swift could be reasonably relevant to harassment and retaliation claims.

Lively’s motion, filed earlier in June, accused Baldoni’s team of pursuing her communications with Swift while simultaneously withholding documents they claimed to have obtained in exchange for withdrawing the subpoena of Swift and her counsel.

This ruling comes shortly after Judge Liman dismissed a $400 million countersuit filed by Baldoni against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane, and The New York Times. Baldoni’s lawsuit was in response to a New York Times article alleging he and his associates orchestrated a smear campaign against Lively.

While Swift contributed her song “My Tears Ricochet” to the It Ends With Us soundtrack, she was not involved in the film’s production—yet her involvement remains a contentious point in the legal proceedings.

As the case continues, the battle over access to communications with Swift underscores the complicated interplay between celebrity, legal strategy, and public relations in high-profile lawsuits.