Blake Lively reached out to her close friend Taylor Swift for guidance when the filming of *It Ends With Us* began to spiral. This support apparently led to tension in their friendship as Lively clashed with director and co-star Justin Baldoni.
Recently released private messages suggest this may have strained their relationship. Swift remarked to Lively in December 2024, “I feel like I’m reading a bunch of corporate emails sent to 200 employees,” after Lively expressed ongoing frustrations with Baldoni, just weeks before a surprising lawsuit unfolded.
Lively, 38, has brought accusations against Baldoni, claiming sexual harassment and emotional distress, which he denies. The messages, some of which resemble didactic letters, were disclosed in an unsealed court deposition that purportedly features exchanges between the two.
Filming commenced in May 2023, four years after Baldoni decided to adapt Colleen Hoover’s famous novel. It appears Lively was already feeling uneasy about Baldoni even before production began.
“If this stupid director of my movie is still here (I’ll guide him, but I hope he’s still here), could you please do me a big favor? I need help with him,” she texted Swift on April 12, 2023.
According to new court filings, Swift, 36, was enlisted to be a cheerleader for a revised version of *Love Ends* without having seen the script during a meeting at Lively’s home, where she lives with husband Ryan Reynolds.
Swift responded enthusiastically, stating, “I would do anything for you!!” as she is the godmother to Lively’s daughters.
In a mix of praising and criticizing Baldoni, Lively remarked, “You were really heroic today. You’re making fun of me… You’re the absolute best friend in the world.”
Baldoni’s defamation countersuit, which was eventually dismissed, claimed he liked Lively’s rewrites regardless of her requests for cooperation from Swift and Reynolds.
In one message, Lively likened herself to a character from *Game of Thrones*, expressing her strong capabilities. “If you ever get a chance to watch Game of Thrones, you’ll understand that I’m a Khaleesi,” she texted Baldoni.
By April, Swift showed staunch support for Lively. During a conversation about using Swift’s song “My Tears Ricochet” in the film’s trailer, Swift noted that if Baldoni was being strategic, he wouldn’t feature Swift in the trailer, implying that the power dynamics were more favorable to Lively.
Before the film’s release in August 2024, sources indicated that Baldoni made Lively uncomfortable on set, leading to a situation where they avoided one another at the Manhattan premiere.
Meanwhile, Lively is preparing to take further action against Baldoni, which seemed to dominate her discussions. In a message shared on December 4, 2024, Lively mentioned, “Hey, I’m checking in… Are you okay? I was fired so badly that I only talked about myself for months, and I’ve been feeling like a bad friend lately.”
Swift replied, noting that she sensed some changes in their dynamic, saying, “I really regret saying anything about this, because your intentions were very good. But the last few emails… I felt like I was reading a mass corporate email.”
Swift pointed out that Lively’s tone had shifted: “You said the word ‘we’ 18 times. I feel critical saying this, but I miss the friend who spoke to me as herself,” recalling a time when their conversations were different.
In a sarcastic response, Lively joked, “Dear valued customer, thank you for your feedback. Our corporate office is reviewing your concerns and will contact you in a timely manner.”
Lively filed a complaint with the California Department of Civil Rights on December 20, 2024, outlining allegations of harassment and a hostile work environment. Shortly after, she filed a lawsuit against Baldoni and several others involved in the film.
Baldoni’s legal team claimed that Lively made several demands during production, including threats related to her attendance and promotional efforts.
New documents reveal that an executive at Sony Pictures, responsible for the film’s distribution, acknowledged calling Lively a “fucking terrorist” after her threats to quit.
On December 24, Swift supposedly texted Lively about Baldoni, suggesting he might know something was amiss due to his behavior.
Just ten days after filing the complaint, Lively proceeded with her lawsuit against Baldoni and others. Both the lawsuit and the civil rights claim are still in progress.
Representatives for Lively, Swift, and Baldoni have yet to comment on these developments. The two friends, who have shared moments since 2015, have not been seen together publicly since August 2024, and it’s been reported that they have had no contact since the lawsuit was initiated.
