Blake Lively filed a motion asking the court for a “protective order” to block Justin Baldoni from accessing her text messages with Taylor Swift as their nasty legal battle rages on.
The “Age of Adeline” star filed documents to New York judge Lewis J. Liman, who has presided over the case thus far, on Friday, alleging that the director and his team’s pursuit of her exchanges with the pop star are part of their long-planned “tactic” to leverage the singer and her fans.
According to documents obtained by Page Six, Lively claims that her communication with Swift is “not central” to her complaint against the actor and are “irrelevant” to his Wayfarer production company’s claims.
“Throughout litigation, and particularly over the past month, the Wayfarer Parties have repeatedly
used Ms. Swift’s name as part of their media strategy,” the letter reads.
As Baldoni’s team dropped their probe into Swift, 35, and Lively’s friendship, claiming that they obtained the details they wanted, Lively’s team claimed to the judge that a continued pursuit would be “duplicative, cumulative, and unnecessary.”
“Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties are still demanding access to Taylor Swift’s private communications—despite having already subpoenaed and then withdrawn that subpoena after they ‘got all they needed,’” a spokesperson for Lively told Page Six of the new legal move.
“As reflected in today’s filing, their intent to drag Taylor Swift into this was evident as far back as August 2024, when the crisis PR firm led by Melissa Nathan included her in their ‘Scenario Planning’ document and flagged the ‘TS fanbase’ as something to take ‘extremely seriously.’”
The statement closed: “The ongoing attempts to once again try and use the world’s biggest star as a PR tactic in this matter reflects a public unraveling of epic proportions—and serves only to distract from the fact that Justin Baldoni’s lawsuits against Ms. Lively, Ryan Reynolds, their publicist, and the New York Times have been entirely dismissed.”
Reps for Baldoni and Swift did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
The director, 41, initially dragged the pop star into his messy legal feud with Lively in January when he launched his $400 million countersuit against the “A Simple Favor” star and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
His attorney Bryan Freedman alleged that Swift was at the scene of a significant meeting between the two co-stars.
He also claimed that the “Gossip Girl” alum, 37, weaponized her friendship with Swift in an attempt to take control of their film set.
After hitting the “Bad Blood” hitmaker with an official subpoena in May, Baldoni and his legal team dropped it and their probe into her friendship with the actress later that month.
At the time, Lively’s rep responded to the update, saying, “We are pleased that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties have withdrawn their harassing subpoenas to Taylor Swift and her law firm.”
“We supported the efforts of Taylor’s team to quash these inappropriate subpoenas directed to her counsel and we will continue to stand up for any third party who is unjustly harassed or threatened in the process.”
In a shocking legal twist, the director’s countersuit against the famous couple was thrown out by the New York judge on Monday — along with his $250 million libel lawsuit against the New York Times.
In his reasoning, the magistrate wrote that the “Jane the Virgin” alum and his Wayfarer Studios production company “have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her [California Civil Rights Department] complaint, which are privileged.”
Baldoni’s legal team has until June 23 to amend their claims for breach of implied covenant (suggesting that terms agreed upon in their legal agreement were violated) and tortious interference with contract (intentionally disrupting the relationship or contractual agreement between parties, potentially leading to significant financial damages and reputational harm).
Despite the recent update, there’s still a long way to go for the bitter feud. The trial date for Lively and Baldoni’s case has been set for March 2026.
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