Blake Lively’s legal team has taken decisive action to prevent actor and director Justin Baldoni from gaining access to private messages allegedly exchanged between Lively and Taylor Swift, asserting they are irrelevant to the ongoing legal case and constitute an unwarranted intrusion.
According to sources close to the matter, Baldoni’s legal team initially attempted to subpoena the messages directly from Swift and her representatives. However, Swift’s team quickly rebuffed the request, calling it a “pointless search” and an unfair legal maneuver with no substantial connection to the allegations at hand.
Lively’s team, following Swift’s rejection, stepped in to continue the opposition, asserting that neither she nor Swift has any involvement with the legal dispute and that the messages in question have no bearing on the case. “Blake’s team jumped in to block Justin from getting the messages, saying they weren’t connected to the case,” a source confirmed.
The legal tensions stem from a larger lawsuit involving Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, where serious allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation have been raised. Swift’s name became entangled when Baldoni’s attorneys pursued her messages as potential evidence.
A spokesperson for Swift strongly condemned the approach, stating: “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 [Studios] parties are facing.”
Despite the forceful opposition from both Swift’s and Lively’s camps, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ruled that Lively’s argument—suggesting Baldoni was attempting to involve Swift merely to gain media attention—was insufficient to block discovery efforts entirely. Judge Liman emphasized that if the messages were found to contain information pertinent to the claims or defense, they could be considered fair game within the scope of litigation.
“Lively didn’t back down and kept trying to stop Baldoni from seeing the messages,” a source familiar with the proceedings said, highlighting her continued efforts to shield her and Swift’s private correspondence. The ruling does not automatically grant Baldoni access but allows the discovery process to move forward if relevance is established.
Legal experts say the court is treading carefully between privacy rights and evidentiary obligations. As the high-profile case unfolds, it has captured public attention not only for the allegations at its center but also for the celebrity names drawn into the legal drama, raising broader questions about boundaries, relevance, and the use of star power in contentious lawsuits.