Hollywood's Private Messages Exposed in Blake Lively Legal Battle Fallout
The glittering facade of Hollywood has been dramatically pierced by the unsealing of explosive court documents, revealing private communications that major celebrities never intended for public consumption. Freshly released legal filings from the ongoing legal war between actress Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni have blown the lid off a treasure trove of candid texts and emails, offering an unprecedented glimpse behind Tinseltown's velvet curtain.
Legal Battle Background and Allegations
The documents surfaced as part of Lively's 2024 lawsuit, in which she accuses Baldoni of sexual harassment, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress - serious allegations that he has consistently and firmly denied. Obtained by the Daily Mail, these filings expose remarkably raw exchanges from Lively's inner circle, transforming what should be standard legal paperwork into what reads more like a celebrity group chat that has spectacularly spiralled out of control.
Lively and Co-Star's Private Exchange
In one particularly revealing text exchange, Lively and her It Ends With Us co-star Brandon Sklenar appear to thoroughly criticise Baldoni in private messages. The pair, who portrayed lovers in the film adaptation, initially discuss television work before their conversation shifts dramatically to their experiences during production. Lively alleges that Baldoni entered an editing bay to view her cut of the film without proper authorisation, after she had already completed her own edit.
In the unsealed exchange, Lively writes bluntly, 'He's bats***,' while Sklenar comments that Baldoni is 'definitely scrambling' and 'totally f***ing himself for any future work.' Lively responds with, 'Oh you don't know the first of it,' before unleashing further claims against the director.
Taylor Swift's Involvement and Friendship Strain
The court documents have dragged Lively's private text exchanges with global pop superstar Taylor Swift directly into the legal fallout, pulling one of entertainment's most powerful friendships squarely into the dispute. The unsealed messages show the longtime friends privately venting about Baldoni, with Lively dismissing him as the 'doofus director of my movie.' Swift rushed to back her friend, replying: 'I'll do anything for you!'
After a particularly fraught meeting about proposed script changes, Lively followed up by praising Swift as the 'absolute greatest friend ever.' In other texts, Swift offered advice about music placement in the film while questioning Baldoni's strategic decisions behind the scenes. Just before a New York Times exposé detailing Lively's allegations was set to publish in December 2024, Swift delivered her sharpest jab yet, writing: 'I think this b**** [Baldoni] knows something is coming because he's gotten out his tiny violin.'
Ryan Reynolds' Controversial Email
The actor found himself facing public scrutiny after a lengthy, profanity-laced email he sent to bestselling novelist Colleen Hoover was unsealed as part of the legal proceedings. The message, dated just one day after the film's August 10, 2024 premiere, appeared among exhibits in the ongoing legal fight tied to the adaptation. In the email obtained by the Daily Mail, Reynolds declared the movie was a 'complete f***ing WIN' while slipping in a pointed jab, joking that being sick in New York was the body 'ridding itself of any residual Baldoni.'
He then launched into an enthusiastic monologue praising the film's success, calling it 'on fire everywhere' and applauding the creative team for making something 'gorgeous' out of 'ingredients you didn't ask for.' Online reactions were far less flattering, with fans labelling the email as 'cringe' and 'egotistical,' with one commenter quipping: 'All of a sudden I appreciate my husband's one-word text responses.'
Britney Spears Comment and On-Set Allegations
Lively and her It Ends With Us co-star Jenny Slate appear to discuss Baldoni's alleged on-set misconduct in the newly unsealed texts, including a bizarre comment he reportedly made about pop icon Britney Spears. Slate tells Lively about what she calls Baldoni's 'unprofessional behavior' and the 'weird stuff he pulled' during the first half of filming.
'I mean, even him recording our conversation on his phone without asking us first,' Lively chimed in. She then called it 'alarming behavior,' recalling, 'You were standing there for the thing he said to me when he said I look hot. I said that's not what I'm going for, and he said "ok sexy." Then he made a joke, asked if he crossed a line, and I said yes - he must've missed the sexual harassment meeting.'
The texts then turn to another alleged exchange, where Lively and Slate discuss their admiration for Spears before Baldoni reportedly made a disturbing comment about the singer. 'And then later when you said you used to stare at Britney Spears midsection for hours (before you finished and said what an athlete she was and how remarkable she seemed as a young girl) he jumped in and said "same" and giggled but then eye rolled when we just looked at him,' Lively texted.
Friendship Reconciliation Attempts
The court documents reveal that Lively reached out to Swift to confront the tension that had developed between them during her intense legal battle with Baldoni. The newly publicised texts show the two discussing the negative 'shift' in their friendship that stemmed from Lively's sexual harassment suit against Baldoni and his defamation countersuit.
According to the filings, it was Lively who initiated the reconciliation, sending Swift messages on December 4, 2024. 'I have no reason to ask, but I donno, I've been feeling like I should... is everything ok?' Lively wrote. 'I felt like a bad friend lately because I was such a sad sack who only talked about my own s*** for months. You were generous to not only be the key person there for me during all of it, but also to let me off the hook for being so in it.'
In her reply, Swift acknowledged that Lively wasn't wrong about the state of their friendship, while also reassuring her it wasn't as serious as it might seem. 'I think I'm just exhausted in every avenue of my life and in recent months had been feeling a little bit of a shift in the way you talk to me,' Swift admitted. 'Yes, there has been a lot of Justin stuff but I've been through things like this before and I know how all consuming it is.'
Ryan Reynolds' Private Venting to Agent
Reynolds didn't hold back about Baldoni in private messages to his agent, calling him a 'dumb-dumb' and insisting that his wife Lively deserved the credit for the film's success. 'She WILLED this weekend into reality,' the Deadpool star wrote in a message to agent Warren Zavala on August 9, 2024 - right around the film's blockbuster debut.
In the texts, Reynolds vented about Baldoni and his team failing to publicly own up to reports of on-set tension. 'Baldoni and these other buckets of dumb-dumb-juice should be acknowledging the speculation and gossip themselves,' Reynolds wrote. 'They should be jumping in front of it in the most full throated, unqualified way. Now.'
He went on to outline how Lively should be shielded from negative press, insisting she 'should not be subjected to some eye-roll-y narrative of the "controlling b****",' following early stories of discord on set. Reynolds argued that Baldoni and his team 'should be protecting' Lively, adding: 'They can and should accept the consequences of their actions and lean into the countless and willfully gross behavior before it leans into them.'
Jenny Slate's Damning Assessment
Slate described her experience making It Ends With Us as far from positive, calling it 'a really gross and disturbing shoot' in a series of texts sent to a close confidante. The 43-year-old actress was questioned about these messages during a deposition in New York City on September 26, 2025.
The deposition included a review of texts Slate sent to her former agent detailing her time on the set. Slate, who played Allysa in the film, was openly critical of both Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath, repeatedly questioning their professionalism. 'It's like fascinating and also so s*****. Justin and Jamey [Heath] are truly unfit,' she wrote.
The Milton, Massachusetts-born actress also mentioned Lively in multiple texts, expressing concern for her friend and co-star while filming the romantic drama under Baldoni's direction. 'I'm not scared or anything, just repulsed and deeply irritated, and I know Blake is experiencing that on a much more serious level,' Slate said.
Slate revealed her disbelief that Baldoni went on to give a TED talk in December 2017 following her experience on the set. 'I really don't get how he did a TED Talk,' she said. 'He is worse than most of the bros I've encountered, not because he's predatory but because of his general fragility and misogyny, like not seeming to be aware of any of the obvious no-no's.'
She added that Baldoni had cultivated a false image of himself as a feminist, something she refused to support. 'Justin is truly a false ally and I'm unwilling to do anything that promotes the image that he's crafting as a "male feminist,"' Slate said. 'Honestly I have no words to describe what a fraud he is. I honestly have never ever encountered anything like this dude. He's the biggest clown and the most intense narcissist. Lots of lessons learned!'
Broader Implications for Hollywood
These revelations serve as a stark reminder of how permanent hitting 'send' can be in the digital age, particularly within the high-stakes world of Hollywood entertainment. The documents provide an unusually raw glimpse behind the carefully curated public images that celebrities maintain, exposing the private frustrations, alliances, and conflicts that typically remain hidden from public view.
The legal battle continues to unfold, with both sides maintaining their positions as the entertainment industry watches closely. What began as a dispute between a director and actress has evolved into a much broader exposure of Hollywood's private communications, raising questions about privacy, professional conduct, and the lasting impact of digital communications in legal proceedings.
