Taylor Swift allegedly complained about Blake Lively’s tone in text messages, court documents suggest.
A tranche of messages that are understood to have been exchanged between the pop-star and her actress friend have been released as part of an ongoing legal battle between Lively, 38, and her co-star Justin Baldoni, 41.
Lively launched proceedings against Baldoni in 2025, accusing him of sexual harassment on the set of the romantic drama It Ends With Us, which he directed and starred in, before he counter-sued her for defamation, prompting a long-running and bitter legal battle.
Baldoni disputes all the allegations against him.
The text messages were released on Tuesday as an exhibit in a court motion from Baldoni. Swift, 36, is not named in the suit.
Baldoni’s team tried unsuccessfully to subpoena Swift in May, claiming she had “outside influence” during disputes between the two co-stars over the film’s production.
The 14-time Grammy winner released a lengthy statement refuting the claims at the time.
“Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was travelling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history,” a spokesman said at the time.
The same month, Lively was accused by lawyers for Baldoni of threatening to release “private text messages of a personal nature in [her] possession,” unless Swift released a public message of support.
Lively’s lawyers called the claims “demonstrably false” and hit out at the “anonymously sourced, baseless, allegations recklessly levelled without any supporting evidence”.
In his court filing, Baldoni describes the exchanges as conversations between Swift and Lively.
Lively and Swift appear to have discussed some of Baldoni’s alleged behaviour, with the pop-star offering support to her friend.
At one point, Swift appears to refer to Baldoni as a “b----,” and Lively, apparently sending messages under the name “?B?”, refers to him as a “doofus” and a “clown”.
In another, Lively apparently writes: “Can you imagine feeling as confident as these predators that you’re always going to get away with it?
Later on, the pair’s decade-long friendship appears to hit a rough patch. Lively apparently sends Swift a message to ask if they are OK.
“I do want to know everything is good so I’m asking. I always want the opportunity to be a better friend if there’s something I unintentionally did,” the message, from “?B” reads.
Swift apparently replies saying: “I think I’m just exhausted in every avenue of my life, and in recent months had been feeling a little bit of a shift in the way you talk to me.
“I feel really bad saying anything about this because your texts have been so nice in their intent, but your last few…it’s felt like I was reading a mass corporate email sent to 200 employees.”
In an apparent attempt to downplay the tension between them, Lively appears to reply in a mock corporate speak, writing: “Thank you for your feedback. We at headquarters are reviewing your concerns and will get back to you in a timely manner”.
Before the actress admits: “I’ve been texting like I’m writing. Not like me talking. I didn’t realise that until you pointed it out, but I see it” and apologises to her long-term friend.
The Bad Blood singer licensed her song My Tears Ricochet for It Ends With Us, which was also used in the film’s trailer, but representatives for the popstar have sought to downplay her involvement in the film.
During the legal battle, Baldoni had sought to subpoena Swift as a potential witness in the dispute with Lively, but the singer’s legal team objected, and the subpoena was later dropped.
The dispute between Lively and Baldoni has rumbled on for over a year, which began on Dec 20, 2024, when Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni and alleged misconduct on the set of It Ends with Us.
Lively later sued Baldoni’s publicist and production company Wayfarer Studios for engaging in a smear campaign to damage her reputation.
Baldoni filed a counter-suit against Lively, but a federal judge dismissed it in June.
A trial date has been set for May 2026.
Representatives for Swift and Lively have been approached for comment by The Telegraph.
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