Latest news with #WayfarerStudios
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Judge denies Blake Lively's motion to keep texts with Taylor Swift confidential
Some of Blake Lively's text messages with friend Taylor Swift could be disclosed 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 2024 romantic drama and subsequent legal proceedings. Read more: Judge tosses Justin Baldoni's lawsuit against Blake Lively and New York Times 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 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. Read more: Blake Lively drops two claims of emotional distress against Justin Baldoni 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. Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Express Tribune
a day 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
a day 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.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Ryan Reynolds drops awkward reference to Blake Lively's legal battle as her Taylor Swift texts set for release
Ryan Reynolds stirred buzz at the Cannes Lions 2025 festival on Thursday after making a remark that many interpreted as a nod to the ongoing legal firestorm surrounding his wife Blake Lively, and her former co-star Justin Baldoni. The legal saga began in December 2024 when Blake Lively accused Justin Baldoni of sexually harassing her on set — claims he denied — prompting Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios to sue Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane, and Ryan Reynolds for defamation. Baldoni later escalated the fight with a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times over its explosive New Year's Eve exposé detailing Lively's allegations. Earlier this month, a judge dismissed Baldoni's defamation case in a major blow to the actor, though his legal team will still gain access to Lively's private text messages with Taylor Swift — whom Blake infamously referred to as 'my dragon' in an exchange allegedly meant to intimidate Baldoni — after withdrawing a subpoena aimed at the singer directly. Now, at Cannes Lions, Reynolds took the stage at Stagwell's Sport Beach to promote his soccer team, Wrexham AFC — and raised eyebrows with an unexpected quip. While handing a water bottle to someone in the crowd, the Deadpool star joked, 'I'm not throwing this. I've been around lawyers. You can walk up here and grab it,' according to Page Six. Earlier this month, a judge dismissed Baldoni's defamation case in a major blow to the actor, though his legal team will still gain access to Lively's private text messages with Taylor Swift — whom Blake infamously referred to as 'my dragon' in an exchange allegedly meant to intimidate Baldoni — after withdrawing a subpoena aimed at the singer directly; (Lively seen on June 9) He also took a moment to reflect on how sports can bring people together in a world fractured by division, per the outlet. 'We live in a world right now that is so… identity politics… almost a religion,' Reynolds said. 'For that to be checked at the door in sports, in theatrical film, and in music, concerts, we all walk in, we go together.' Reynolds added, 'We're all feeling the same thing at the same time and the same moment. 'You have this bonding mechanism — and I don't mean to over romanticize it, but it's romantic. 'It's a beautiful thing to watch people come together, especially when we feel so divided in every other aspect of our life.' The panel comes after exclusively learned that Baldoni's lawyers will be allowed to peruse a tranche of messages exchanged by Blake and Taylor, with all communications related to It Ends With Us now set for scrutiny. Swift and Lively's relationship has cratered in recent months, with the singer left furious at being dragged into the case. And she is not the only Swift to be dragged in: last week the Daily Mail revealed the subpoena against her had been withdrawn because Baldoni's team had managed to acquire the information they were seeking – from none other than her dad Scott, 73. 'Scott Swift did not want his daughter to be dragged into this any further and he voluntarily gave up this information as part of a deal that would include [Baldoni's team] withdrawing their subpoena for Taylor,' the source explained. The pop star's doting dad - who has played a key role in building Swift's billion-dollar empire as her financial advisor - came to his daughter's rescue after she was allegedly blackmailed by Lively's lawyers. That 'blackmail' revelation appeared in a legal letter filed last month by Baldoni's lawyers, who alleged that Lively's team had attempted to 'coerce' Swift to issue a public statement in support of her. The filing claimed Lively's lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, had contacted Swift's team and demanded she 'release a statement of support for Ms. Lively, intimating that, if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively's possession would be released.' Swift's team allegedly responded to Gossip Girl star Lively's 'inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats in at least one written communication' sent to Gottlieb, according to the letter. 'It is those communications that [Baldoni's team] seeks to obtain by way of subpoena, as they would evidence an attempt to intimidate and coerce a percipient witness in this litigation,' the letter stated. Scott seemingly didn't take this alleged attempt to extort his 35-year-old daughter lightly, and decided to take matters into his own hands by cooperating with Baldoni and Bryan Freedman in order to protect Swift from any further legal involvement. 'Plain and simple – they tried to extort Taylor by threatening to release private information about her so that she would support a narrative that she was not a part of,' our source added. In a statement to People magazine, Gottlieb described the suggestion that Lively's lawyers had threatened Swift as 'categorically false.' Lively's lawyers later filed a motion asking the court to strike the accusations from its docket as 'baseless, unnecessary, improper and abusive.' The motion to dismiss the letter was granted. However, the drama sheds further light on the collapse of the pair's close friendship, which has gone cold amid the actress's high-stakes lawsuit. The drama began last December when Lively, 37, accused Baldoni, her It Ends With Us co-star and director, of sexual harassment and coordinating a smear campaign against her. Baldoni, 41, hit back in January, with a $400 million countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, of defamation. All parties have denied the allegations. Last week, the defamation element of Baldoni's lawsuit was scrapped by a judge, although he is still suing for civil extortion and invasion of privacy among other claims. But contained in Baldoni's filing were screenshots of alleged text messages, in which Lively regularly mentioned Swift by name. And she is not the only Swift to be dragged in: last week the Daily Mail revealed the subpoena against her had been withdrawn because Baldoni's team had managed to acquire the information they were seeking – from none other than her dad Scott, 73; The pair pictured May 18 in NYC In one now infamous and toe-curling exchange, Lively appeared to refer to herself as the character Khaleesi – from Game of Thrones – and to Swift as one of her 'dragons.' Elsewhere in Baldoni's filing is the claim that Swift was present at a meeting convened by Lively at her New York penthouse to discuss It Ends With Us script changes. Sources close to Swift insisted the singer had no knowledge of the meeting and simply turned up to find it underway. Nonetheless, the whole furor reportedly left Swift - who is godmother to Lively's three daughters – feeling 'exploited' by her pal of ten years. Scott, a former stockbroker and financial advisor for Merrill Lynch, has long been credited as smoothing his daughter's path to financial success. A disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission lists him as linked to 10 companies affiliated with his daughter, according to Bloomberg. Last year, he was accused of assaulting a photographer who was 'waiting' for Swift's arrival off a luxury yacht in Sydney following the Australian leg of her Eras Tour. In a statement to Daily Mail Australia at the time, a rep for Swift described the photographers as 'aggressive' and her father later avoided charges. Scott isn't the only member of Swift's inner circle to defend the pop star amid the legal drama. Her boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce, recently unfollowed Ryan Reynolds on Instagram while supermodel Gigi Hadid, another of Swift's closest friends, has reportedly 'iced out' Lively in solidarity. In a statement released to the Daily Mail, a spokesman for Lively accused Baldoni's lawyers of repeatedly attempting to drag Swift into the case and attempting to 'exploit' her popularity. It continued: 'The Court outright denied the Wayfarer Parties' motion to compel documents from Ms. Lively, who has produced far more documents in this case than the Wayfarer Parties combined. 'Further, the Court's protective order ruling rests on the Wayfarer Parties' admission that they received nothing from Taylor Swift, which is exactly the opposite of what their 'insider' claimed two weeks ago. As for the rest, Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties demanded access to Taylor Swift's private communications—despite having already subpoenaed and then withdrawn that subpoena. Baldoni's desire to drag Taylor Swift into this has been constant dating back to August 2024, when the crisis PR firm led by Melissa Nathan included her in their 'Scenario Planning' document (Lively Amended Complaint, Exhibit D), referred to her as a bully, and called for a strategy to influence the 'TS fan base '. 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.
NBC News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Justin Baldoni granted access to Taylor Swift and Blake Lively's private text messages
A federal judge denied Blake Lively's request to keep some of her private text messages with Taylor Swift from Justin Baldoni, marking a major legal victory for the embattled "It Ends with Us" actor and director. U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman deemed in a court filing on Wednesday that Baldoni's requests for some messages between Lively and Swift were permissible. Baldoni's legal team will only have access to text messages about 'It Ends with Us,' the judge ruled. Lively and Baldoni starred in the 2024 film, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover's best-selling romance novel 'It Ends with Us' which is at the center of their ongoing legal battle. "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. A representative for Lively denounced the judge's decision. "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. Representatives for Swift and Baldoni did not immediately return requests for comment. Lively sued Baldoni and others associated with the film last year, alleging that Baldoni sexually harassed her and launched a public relations smear campaign to ruin her reputation. Baldoni has denied the allegations. Days later, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios countersued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and The New York Times — which reported details of the allegations — for defamation. That suit, which requested damages of $400 million, was dismissed in court last week. Swift, who is the godmother of one of Lively's children and has frequently been seen in public with Lively, was dragged into the suit last month. Baldoni's attorney tried to subpoena her as a potential witness in the March 2026 trial. Swift's song, 'My Tears Ricochet,' was featured in the film's soundtrack, but she did not have a role in the production of the movie. "Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift's name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case,' a spokesperson for Swift said at the time. Baldoni's request to subpoena Swift was dropped days later. Swift and Lively have not been photographed together since the legal battle began last year, nor has the pop star commented on the case publicly.
