The release of Blake Lively's private text messages and emails with pals Taylor Swift, Ben Affleck and It Ends With Us costar Brandon Sklenar have sent shockwaves through Hollywood. Jaw-droppingly candid private messages were released by Lively's legal team in January 2026 ahead of her court showdown with It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni. Lively first filed a hostile workplace complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department in December 2024 and proceeded to sue him in New York City the following month for alleged sexual harassment, retaliation and fostering a hostile work environment. Baldoni has denied any wrongdoing. The filmmaker countersued Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and others for $400 million in January 2025, though Judge Lewis Liman dismissed his complaint later that year. Still, both parties are gearing up for a trial over Lively's accusations in May 2026, with the release of private text messages proving to be the biggest bombshell development thus far. Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's New Court Documents: Biggest Bombshells Keep scrolling for more about the private text messages and how celebrities have responded. What Is in Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's Text Messages? On January 20, 2026, Blake Lively's lawyers filed a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman where they released batches of private text messages related to the It Ends With Us dispute. These messages offered crucial insight into the power struggle that went on behind the scenes of the 2024 blockbuster. Much of the scrutiny into these text exchanges revolved around Lively opening up to her friend Taylor Swift about her on-set battle with Justin Baldoni. On April 12, 2023, Lively asked Swift - who was identified in the messages as "Sender/Recip Name Not Available" - to praise her proposed script revisions to It Ends With Us if she crossed paths with Baldoni during a meeting at the Gossip Girl alum's New York City apartment that night. Lively referred to Baldoni as her "doofus director" and "a clown" in her messages with Swift and later thanked her friend for being "epically heroic" after the encounter. "I recapped every moment to Ryan. I kept remembering stuff - You making s*** up about me and lenses," Lively later wrote to Swift. "And referring to yourself as my doll. This clown falling for all of it. But also resisting it. You are the worlds absolutely greatest friend. I won the lottery." This purported meeting took place on the same night as Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, allegedly confronted Baldoni for speaking to his wife's personal trainer without permission. Baldoni's lawyers claimed in previous court filings that the conversation was "so aggressive that Baldoni felt he had no choice but to offer repeated (and completely unwarranted) apologies." (Baldoni claimed that he only approached Lively's trainer because he wanted to avoid aggravating a back injury while shooting an It Ends With Us scene where he'd have to lift his costar.) In December 2024, Lively checked in with Swift - now identified as "Taylor" in the messages - about a potential shift in their friendship. Lively admitted she "felt like a bad friend" and acknowledged that Swift must be "physically, emotionally, practically" taxed after completing her Eras Tour. Justin Baldoni in 2024. Cindy Ord/Getty Images Swift replied that Lively was "not wrong" to sense a shift, though she brushed it off as "not a big deal." "It's more like ... and I feel really bad saying anything about this because your texts have been so nice in intent but your last few ... it felt like I was reading a mass corporate email sent to 200 employees," Swift continued. "You said the word 'we' like 18 times. And it feels awful to be in any way critical of the way you process what you've been going through but I just kinda miss my funny, dark, normal-speaking friend who talks to me as herself, not like a plural unit." Once the two had seemingly squashed the issue, Swift shared a People article about Baldoni titled "Justin Baldoni Reveals He Was Sexually Traumatized By an Ex-Girlfriend When He Was 'Hoping to Save Myself for Marriage.'" "I think this bitch knows something is coming because he's gotten out his tiny violin," Swift theorized. Swift asked whether "everything [is] still on track," seemingly in reference to Lively's planned legal action against Baldoni or a New York Times article about the dispute. "Oh yes. A week later tho," Lively confirmed, with Taylor replying: "His own words, that's gonna be powerful ... It's the only way to beat liars and hypocrites." Another set of texts between Lively and her It Ends With Us costar Brandon Sklenar were sent in the months before the movie's release in August 2024. These messages include Lively calling Baldoni a "monster" over their behind-the-scenes rift and refusing to allow him to actively promote It Ends With Us. Shortly after It Ends With Us arrived in theaters, Sklenar complained in August 2024 about the cast receivin