Unsealed Texts: Blake Lively Calls Justin Baldoni 'Doofus' to Taylor Swift

Blake Lively's text messages with Taylor Swift about Justin Baldoni have come to light in the ongoing It Ends With Us legal drama. In the messages, which were partially unsealed, Lively referred to Baldoni as “this doofus director of my movie” and described him as “a clown” who “thinks he’s a writer now.” Lively asked Swift — who was allegedly already on her way to visit her friend while Baldoni was present in Lively's home — to endorse a revised version of the script she was proposing "even without having read it," Baldoni's legal team alleges. Swift allegedly replied "I'll do anything for you !!" Then afterward, Lively wrote to the singer that she was "so epically heroic today" and that she "recapped every moment" to her husband Ryan Reynolds. "I kept remembering stuff- You making s--- up about me and lenses. And referring to yourself as my doll. This clown falling for all of it. But also resisting it. You are the worlds absolute greatest friend ever," Lively allegedly wrote to Swift. In response, Lively's attorneys said the released texts are missing necessary context in refiled exhibits filed on Jan. 20, pointing to Lively's testimony in which the actress said she “sent Taylor the script on her way to my apartment because Justin was still there, and I asked her to read them. I told her she didn’t have to, I didn’t want her to feel pressured to do that, but I hoped that she would.” The alleged texts unsealed on Tuesday, Jan. 20, before a summary judgment hearing in Lively’s ongoing lawsuit against Baldoni, 41, that is scheduled for Jan 22. Swift, 36, is not a party to the lawsuit, but her name has surfaced repeatedly amid Justin Baldoni’s claims that Lively leaned on outside influence during disputes over the film’s production. Swift is also listed as a potential witness on a list submitted by Lively’s legal team, while Baldoni’s legal team attempted to subpoena Swift in May. In a complaint filed in January 2025, Baldoni claimed that Lively referred to Swift as one of her “dragons” in a text exchange and alleged that the singer pressured him to accept rewrites on the movie. In her Jan. 20, 2026 filing, Lively's team did not deny the language but again noted missing context, referring the court to the "complete" text exchange, including subsequent messages from Lively to Baldoni noting “we all benefit” from her relationship with Reynolds and Swift and “you will too, I can promise you.” Swift’s camp pushed back following the May 2025 subpeona from Baldoni's team, with a representative distancing the pop star from the project and saying in a statement: “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 traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history.” “The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, ‘My Tears Ricochet,’” the rep added, accusing Baldoni’s side of using Swift’s name “to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.” The legal fight itself began in December 2024, when Lively sued Baldoni alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni has denied the allegations and filed a $400 million countersuit, which was dismissed in June by U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman.