Latest news with #Baldoni
Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Justin Baldoni gets access to Taylor Swift and Blake Lively's texts
'Baldoni's desire to drag Taylor Swift into this has been constant dating back to August 2024' Get the latest from Mark Daniell straight to your inbox Taylor Swift and Blake Lively seen prior to Super Bowl LVIII between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024 in Las Vegas. Photo by Steph Chambers / Getty Images Justin Baldoni has scored a legal victory in his ongoing court battle with Blake Lively when a judge ruled the actor can obtain messages between his It Ends With Us co-star and her pop star pal Taylor Swift. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Lively had been seeking to prevent Baldoni from accessing her personal communications with Swift, but U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ruled that his legal team can access communications between the two as it pertains to their work on It Ends With Us . Last December, Lively, 37, accused Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment on the set of their 2024 romantic drama and claimed he tried to damage her reputation as part of a smear campaign after a meeting in which she and her husband Ryan Reynolds addressed 'repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour' by the Jane the Virgin star and producers on the film. The New York Times also published an article with the headline 'We Can Bury Anyone: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine ,' which was an account of how Baldoni's PR team allegedly tried to ruin Lively's reputation. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Baldoni denied the allegations and countersued Lively accusing her, Reynolds and the Times of defamation and extortion. This combination of images shows Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, and Ryan Reynolds. Photo by AP / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS But his suit hit a snag last week when Liman pronounced Baldoni couldn't sue for defamation because allegations in a legal claim are exempt from libel lawsuits. Liman also nixed Baldoni's claim that Lively stole creative control of the film. The Times were let off the hook because Baldoni had not shown that the paper 'acted with actual malice.' The judge, however, said Baldoni could revise the lawsuit if he wanted to pursue different claims, which he intends to do. But as part of his defence against Lively's lawsuit, Baldoni will be able to obtain access to communications between the actress and Swift. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Given that Lively has represented that Swift had knowledge of complaints or discussions about the working environment on the film, among other issues, the requests for messages with Swift regarding the film and this action are reasonably tailored to discover information that would prove or disprove Lively's harassment and retaliation claims,' Liman wrote . A representative for Lively denounced the decision in a statement to NBC News. 'Baldoni's desire to drag Taylor Swift into this has been constant dating back to August 2024 … a strategy to influence the 'TS fanbase,'' the spokesperson said. 'We will continue to call out Baldoni's relentless efforts to exploit Ms. Swift's popularity, which from day one has been nothing more than a distraction from the serious sexual harassment and retaliation accusations he and the Wayfarer parties are facing,' the spokesperson added, referring to the film's production company. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Cruel Summer hitmaker had been subpoenaed by Baldoni's lawyers as a possible witness in the case, but the legal tactic was dropped last month. Baldoni alleged that Lively referred to Swift as one of her 'dragons' and he has accused the singer of trying to force him to accept Lively's changes to the film's script, which was based on the bestselling novel by Colleen Hoover. After Swift was subpoenaed, a firm representing the Grammy winner said she was irrelevant to the case and insisted her only involvement with It Ends With Us was to allow the use of her song My Tears Ricochet in the trailer and one scene from the movie. '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 representative for Swift told Fox News . This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But Liman said that Lively's claim that Baldoni is trying to use Swift to help craft a 'public relations narrative outside of court' doesn't mean he shouldn't have access to the messages as it pertains to their movie. This image released by Sony Pictures shows Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively in a scene from 'It Ends With Us.' Photo by Nicole Rivelli / Sony Pictures 'The mere fact that the request has been discussed in the press does not render it illegitimate,' the judge wrote. As the he said/she said legal drama continues to unfold ahead of a 2026 trial date, sources tell the Daily Mail that Swift has pulled away from Lively. 'Right now, if Taylor had one wish it would be that she never met Blake,' an insider claimed to the outlet . 'Although there have been good times during their relationship, the issues now concerning the Baldoni case have outweighed them.' Swift's boyfriend, Travis Kelce, also recently unfollowed Reynolds on Instagram. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Taylor and Travis are disgusted with Blake and Ryan and how they tried to use Taylor in their fight against Justin Baldoni,' the source added. 'They're vowing their break from the acting couple is permanent.' Lively's reference to Swift as one of her 'dragons' also didn't sit well with the musician. 'She will forever be furious at how Blake quite clearly was using her for clout and leverage in her dealings with Justin. She really hates that Blake would even think like that, let alone write the things she did in that text,' a source told Page Six . The insider added that they were never even really close. 'They were baking pals, travel pals, home decor pals… and to be totally honest, billionaire pals. They got along because they each lived their lives with the sort of trappings and access and privilege that tons of money brings.' mdaniell@ Read More Columnists Toronto & GTA MMA World NHL
Egypt Independent
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Egypt Independent
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's legal fight isn't over
While Justin Baldoni's suit against Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds has been dismissed, she isn't done fighting her claims against her 'It Ends With Us' director and co-star – and Baldoni isn't done fighting back. Michael Gottlieb, the attorney representing Lively in her civil sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against Baldoni, told CNN the actress intends to continue pursuing her lawsuit against Baldoni. In a conversation with Jake Tapper on Monday, Gottlieb said Lively is 'determined to see her claims through and to pursue them to have a full public accountability of what she's alleged happened to her.' His statement came the same day a judge dismissed Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, as well as their publicist. He also dismissed a separate claim from Baldoni against the New York Times, who first reported Lively's allegations. Gottlieb added that the power couple feels 'vindicated' by the ruling, as well as 'grateful to the individuals and organizations that have stood by Ms. Lively as she's pursued these claims.' 'I think that today is a message that these kind of retaliatory lawsuits that are really designed to silence and punish people who speak up won't work. They are not going to work. They won't be tolerated by our justice system and they will not be successful,' Gottlieb added. 'And I think that's an important message for those who want to speak up against the mistreatment that they may face in their workplaces.' Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, responded with a statement provided to CNN on Tuesday. 'Ms. Lively and her team's predictable declaration of victory is false, so let us be clear about the latest ruling,' he said. 'The Court has invited us to amend four out of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which will showcase additional evidence and refined allegations. This case is about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign,' the statement continued. 'With the facts on our side, we march forward with the same confidence that we had when Ms. Lively and her cohorts initiated this battle and look forward to her forthcoming deposition, which I will be taking. Freedman ended his statement by thanking 'the Internet sleuth community who continue to cover the case with discernment and integrity.' It was yet another chapter in a nearly year-long legal feud between Lively and Baldoni, which grew to include Reynolds, the couple's publicist, Leslie Sloan, and the New York Times. Lively filed a civil rights complaint in December 2024 claiming that she was sexually harassed by Baldoni during production of the film and then was retaliated against for speaking up about her alleged mistreatment. He quickly denied her claims, fling suit against her and Reynolds in January 2025 alleging that the superstar couple sought to 'destroy' him and his career, after hijacking his film, 'It Ends With Us.' Baldoni also sued the New York Times as the first to report on Lively's allegations of sexual harassment alleging that the newspaper published an article 'rife with inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and omissions' that relied on Lively's 'self-serving narrative.' Motions to dismiss filed by Lively, Reynolds, Sloan and the New York Times were all granted on Monday. 'We are grateful to the court for seeing the lawsuit for what it was: a meritless attempt to stifle honest reporting,' a spokesperson for the New York Times said on Monday. 'Our journalists went out and covered carefully and fairly a story of public importance, and the court recognized that the law is designed to protect just that sort of journalism. We will continue to stand up in court for our journalism and for our journalists when their work comes under attack.' In his ruling Monday, the judge held that Baldoni can file an amended complaint on the allegations of tortious interference with contract, relating to Reynolds and Lively, and breach of implied covenant, relating to Lively, by June 23. Gottlieb acknowledged that the judge's ruling allowed for Baldoni to file an amended complaint relating to what he called 'ancillary or side claims,' but he underscored that the core defamation allegations are 'gone from the case.' CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister contributed to this report.
Express Tribune
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Judge allows Blake Lively and Taylor Swift texts in Baldoni harassment case
A U.S. judge has ruled that private messages between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift can be included in the ongoing legal battle between Lively and actor-producer Justin Baldoni. According to court documents, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman determined the communications may be relevant to Lively's claims of sexual harassment and retaliation on the set of It Ends With Us, a film produced by Baldoni's Wayfarer Studios. Lively's legal team previously attempted to block Baldoni from accessing the messages, arguing they were irrelevant. However, the judge stated that because Lively claimed Swift had knowledge of the working environment on set, the messages are 'reasonably tailored' to the case. Baldoni's lawyers had earlier tried to subpoena Swift directly, but dropped the request after her team objected, calling it an 'unwarranted fishing expedition.' Lively's team then sought to prevent access through the normal discovery process but was unsuccessful. Lively originally sued Baldoni in December 2024, accusing him of harassment and a smear campaign. Baldoni countersued for defamation, though that case was dismissed. A spokesperson for Lively criticized the decision, accusing Baldoni's team of exploiting Swift's fame for publicity. They also denied rumors that Lively's representatives threatened Swift regarding public support. Judge Liman rejected the publicity argument, saying it does not override the need for relevant discovery. Taylor Swift's representatives have not commented. The case is scheduled to go to trial in March 2026. This development adds a high-profile twist to an already contentious case involving some of Hollywood's most prominent names.
Los Angeles Times
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Judge shakes off Blake Lively's motion to keep texts with Taylor Swift confidential
Some of Blake Lively's text messages with friend Taylor Swift could play in court, in a recent development of the actor's winding legal battle against her 'It Ends With Us' co-star Justin Baldoni. U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman on Wednesday filed an order denying the 'Gossip Girl' alumna's request to keep her messages with Swift out of litigation, according to legal documents reviewed by The Times. 'Given that Lively has represented that Swift had knowledge of complaints or discussions about the working environment on the film, among other issues, the requests for messages with Swift regarding the film and this action are reasonably tailored to discover information that would prove or disprove Lively's harassment and retaliation claims,' reads the order. Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios filed a request for production connected to the Lively-Swift texts in February, asking for ''all documents and communications related to or reflecting Lively's communications with Taylor Swift' about their their 2024 romantic drama and subsequent legal proceedings. The 'It Ends With Us' co-stars have engaged in a legal back-and-forth for months after Lively accused director Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the film and accused his team of orchestrating a smear campaign against her in December. The allegations first surfaced in a report from the New York Times. She formally sued 'Jane the Virgin' alumnus Baldoni in federal court on Dec. 31. Baldoni and nine other plaintiffs — including his crisis PR team and executives at Wayfarer Studios — hit back that same day with a $400 million countersuit against Lively and her husband, 'Deadpool' star Ryan Reynolds, and a separate defamation complaint against the New York Times. Liman dismissed Baldoni's complaints, which failed to meet legal standards, earlier this month. The judge said in his Wednesday order that 'Lively's motion is rooted in the broader concern that the Wayfarer Parties are using demands for communications with Swift not 'to obtain information relevant to claims and defenses in court, but to prop up a public relations narrative outside of court.'' Wednesday's order also denied Baldoni's cross-motion to compel Lively to produce documents connected to the production. Baldoni's team subpoenaed Swift earlier this year, but eventually withdrew it after the singer and her legal reps dismissed it as an 'unwarranted fishing expedition,' according to Variety. In a statement shared with multiple outlets, a representative for Lively reacted to this week's order, claiming 'Baldoni's desire to drag Taylor Swift into this has been constant dating back to August 2024' and is an effort to influence the singer's fan base. In the past, the devoted league of Swift supporters known as Swifites have banded together to criticize the singer's high-profile exes and in recent years, rallied against Ticketmaster over allegations of fraud, price-fixing and antitrust violations. 'We will continue to call out Baldoni's relentless efforts to exploit Ms. Swift's popularity, which from day one has been nothing more than a distraction from the serious sexual harassment and retaliation accusations he and the Wayfarer parties are facing,' the spokesperson added, according to People. Representatives for Swift and Baldoni did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment.
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Judge: Justin Baldoni can see texts between Taylor Swift and Blake Lively
Judge: Justin Baldoni can see texts between Taylor Swift and Blake Lively Show Caption Hide Caption Blake Lively's team slams Baldoni's over Taylor Swift subpoena Blake Lively's team has condemned Justin Baldoni's team's decision to subpoena Taylor Swift, calling it a blatant attempt to exploit Lively's friendship for tabloid attention. unbranded - Entertainment Justin Baldoni can obtain private text messages between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift that pertain to the filming of 'It Ends With Us,' a court ruled on Wednesday, June 18. It's the latest development in an ongoing legal feud between co-stars Lively and Baldoni, over what occurred on the set of the film, released in 2024. Baldoni, who also directed the film, first sued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and The New York Times in late 2024 after the actress went public with claims that Baldoni sexually harassed her and helped orchestrate a smear campaign against her. The lawsuit was filed in response to Lively's sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit in late 2024, and the Times article about it. Lively previously sought a protective order to prevent sharing the text messages requested by Baldoni's lawyers, arguing that the communications were irrelevant to the case, and could instead be used "to prop up a public relations narrative outside of court." However, Judge Lewis Liman ruled on Wednesday that the information is pertinent because Lively identified Swift as someone who would know about complaints or discussions regarding the working environment on the set of the film. "Given that Lively has represented that Swift had knowledge of complaints or discussions about the working environment on the film, among other issues, the requests for messages with Swift regarding the film and this action are reasonably tailored to discover information that would prove or disprove Lively's harassment and retaliation claims," the judge wrote. Baldoni's legal team will only have access to messages about 'It Ends With Us' and the co-stars ongoing legal battle. USA TODAY has reached out to Baldoni and Lively's representatives for comment on the development. Baldoni's $400M extortion lawsuit against Lively, the Times dismissed Liman previously dismissed Justin Baldoni's $400 million countersuit against Lively, Reynolds and the Times on June 9. However, the judge gave Baldoni's team a second chance to address specific claims by filing a second amended complaint – for breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract – by June 23. "As we have said from day one, this '$400 million' lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it," Lively's lawyers said on June 9 in a statement to USA TODAY. "We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys' fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan, and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation." In a statement obtained by USA TODAY on June 10, Baldoni's lawyers slammed the Lively team's "predictable declaration of victory" in the case, suggesting they intend to refile four of their claims, as Liman has recommended. Contributing: Taijuan Moorman and Brendan Morrow
