The legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has a new star and it is Taylor Swift

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — The latest round of legal drama between actress Blake Lively and her “It Ends with Us” director Justin Baldoni offers incredible insight into the support network Lively relied on during and after the movie’s production — including one of her good friends, Taylor Swift.

According to unsealed documents filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Tuesday and obtained by CNN, Lively spoke openly with friends about the trouble she allegedly experienced on the set of the 2024 movie, which she costarred in alongside Baldoni.

Lively has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and coordinating a “plan” to “destroy” her reputation, according to a suit filed against him and his production company, Wayfarer Studios.

In one exchange with Swift, with whom she has had a longstanding friendship, Lively referred to Baldoni as her “doofus director,” according to the new filing. A year later, the two women texted about Baldoni again, according to the new filing, this time ahead of a New York Times story that burst open the drama on set for all the public to see.

“I think this bitch knows something is coming because he’s gotten out his tiny violin,” Swift texted Lively, along with a screenshot of an Instagram post from People Magazine, highlighting comments from Baldoni about being “sexually traumatized” in his past, according to the legal documents. Swift likened the Lively/Baldoni situation to “a horror film no one knows is taking place,” the documents show.

CNN has reached out to Swift’s representative for comment.

“The newly unsealed evidence shows the concerns of Ms. Lively and others were documented in real-time as early as Spring 2023, and Wayfarer understood them as ‘sexual harassment’ concerns,” Sigrid McCawley, a member of Lively’s legal team, said in a statement to CNN. “The evidence also documents how Wayfarer refused to investigate, but instead attempted to ‘bury’ Ms. Lively and others who spoke up through retaliation,” she said.

Asked to comment on McCawley’s statement, Bryan Feldman, a lawyer for Baldoni and Wayfarer, said “the evidence does not support the claims as a matter of law. A simple read of the newly released message exchanges make the truth abundantly clear. We remain confident in the legal process and clearing the names of all of the Justin Baldoni parties.”

After the New York Times published its article, “’We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” Baldoni filed suit against the newspaper, alleging that the story was “rife with inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and omissions” and relied on Lively’s “self-serving narrative.”

The story included contents from a Civil Rights Department complaint, typically kept confidential, that Lively had filed against Baldoni in December 2024 accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliation against her.

Lively then filed a suit against Baldoni. Baldoni followed with a $400 million suit against Lively and her superstar husband, Ryan Reynolds, alleging defamation and that they both “hijacked” his film and were attempting to “destroy” his career.

A judge dismissed Baldoni’s suits against Lively and Reynolds, as well as against the New York Times, in June 2025.

Two months later, the New York Times filed suit against Wayfarer in an effort to recoup legal fees.

In December 2025, Lively’s suit against Baldoni was postponed from a trial date of March 9 to May 18, 2026.

Swift’s star power first entered the case in May 2025, when it was revealed that she had been subpoenaed after text exchanges were revealed to include the name “Taylor” as part of Baldoni’s suit.

Baldoni had sought to depose Swift, and requested more time to make that happen, but a judge ruled against it in September 2025.

Swift and Lively are known to have had a close friendship and reference is made in the newly unsealed legal documents to the song “My Tears Ricochet” from Swift’s “Folklore” album being used in the “It Ends with Us” trailer.

Lively directed the music video for Swift’s song “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” and the actress and her husband Reynolds frequently socialized with the singer and her now fiancé, NFL player Travis Kelce, including attending his games playing for the Kansas City Chiefs.

In November 2024, Reynolds confirmed that Swift is the godmother to his and Lively’s three young daughters — James, Inez and Betty. The couple also have a son, Olin, born in 2023.

Swift was not the only one to allegedly complain about Baldoni, the newly unsealed documents show.

The legal documents also included what are said to be messages from “It Ends with Us” actress Jenny Slate, who allegedly wrote in one that “this has been a really gross and disturbing shoot, and I’m one of many who feel this way,” about her time spent on set.

CNN has reached out to representatives for Slate for comment.

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CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister contributed to this report.