Justin Baldoni has been granted access to Taylor Swift and Blake Lively’s texts, which Lively had fought to keep private. In a Wednesday ruling obtained by The Cut, Judge Lewis Liman denied Lively’s motion for a protective order that would’ve kept the messages out of Baldoni’s hands.
Throughout the It Ends With Us co-stars’ legal battle, Baldoni’s team has pushed to involve Swift, but had so far not had much success. Last month, lawyers for Baldoni withdrew a subpoena issued to Swift that would have compelled her to testify in the March 2026 trial. Days earlier, the judge struck a letter from the docket in which Baldoni’s team accused Lively of blackmailing Swift, which the judge called “potentially libelous.”
But now, Swift is officially no longer excluded from the legal narrative. In Wednesday’s ruling, the judge said Baldoni’s team can access Swift’s texts with Lively – but only ones that have to do with It Ends With Us or the related lawsuits. Liman called the text messages “relevant,” noting that “Lively herself has identified Swift as someone likely to have knowledge about complaints or discussions regarding the working environment on the set of It Ends With Us.” Liman acknowledged Lively’s argument that Baldoni is fighting for the communications not “to obtain information relevant to claims and defenses in court, but to prop up a public relations narrative outside of court,” but said this concern “does not justify denying” Baldoni the messages.
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Last week, Liman dismissed Baldoni’s lawsuit against Lively, which he filed after she first sued him. Lively’s suit remains ongoing, and the case is still expected to go to trial. Amid all the legal drama, tabloids have speculated that Swift and Lively’s once-tightknit friendship has grown shaky, with Swift seeming to be publicly distancing herself from Lively.
