Blake Lively and Taylor Swift‘s text messages have reportedly become accessible to Justin Baldoni in the legal battle. On Wednesday, a judge denied Lively’s motion for a “protective order” to block her “It Ends With Us” co-star’s attempts to seek their communications. The latest update drags Swift back into the case weeks after Baldoni’s team dropped their subpoena to the pop star, claiming they got what they needed. However, new documents stated otherwise.
Judge denies Blake Lively’s request to keep Taylor Swift’s text change private
Judge Lewis J. Liman denied last week’s motion to keep Blake Lively and Taylor Swift’s text messages private. PEOPLE acquired court documents confirming that the latest update comes as a blow to Lively, who had moved to block her legal adversary from securing her and Swift’s communications. In her filings from last Friday, she accused Baldoni and his legal team of strategically devising the “tactic” to distract from his lawsuit dismissal.
The new court documents revealed that Baldoni and his team never received the texts after dropping their subpoena to Swift. They had continued pushing for these exchanges and even argued their relevance in a response filing, claiming these could prove crucial in disproving the sexual harassment and smear campaign allegations. They also blamed Lively for dragging the singer into the case by identifying her as someone aware of what she experienced.
Judge Lewis J. Liman called Justin Baldoni’s request in the legal battle, seeking Blake Lively and Taylor Swift’s text messages, “reasonably tailored.” Liman justified his ruling, stating, “Lively has represented that Swift had knowledge of complaints or discussions about the working environment on the film.” The judge further added that these exchanges coming to light could “prove or disprove” the actor’s “harassment and retaliation claims.”
The update came weeks after Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. In what looked like a legal victory, the actor-director can now gain access to the longtime friends’ private chats, but only about the “It Ends With Us” film. Furthermore, the “Gossip Girl” alum’s representative released a statement, slamming his “desire to drag” the Grammy winner into their feud.
