The messages emerged amid the legal dispute between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, who worked together on the film It Ends With Us. Lively sued Baldoni in December 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment on set and of orchestrating a smear campaign against her. Baldoni has denied the allegations. His $400 million countersuit was later dismissed.
As part of that legal battle, Baldoni’s legal team sought access to personal communications between Lively and Taylor Swift. Although Swift’s subpoena was dropped, the court granted limited access to text messages exchanged between the two women. After the case files were unsealed, those messages became public.
In a text dated December 4, 2024, Lively reached out to Swift to ask whether everything was okay between them. She acknowledged that she had been emotionally consumed for months and worried she had leaned too heavily on her friend during a difficult period.
Lively wrote that she felt she had been “a bad friend” and admitted she might have sounded needy or awkward. She emphasized that she did not expect anything more from Swift, adding that she simply wanted to know if there was anything she had unintentionally done wrong.
Swift’s response was candid but measured. According to the court documents, she reassured Lively that the situation was not a major issue. However, she also acknowledged feeling a subtle change in how Lively had been communicating with her.
Swift explained that while she understood how all-consuming the legal fight had been, Lively’s recent messages felt unusually formal, comparing them to corporate emails rather than conversations between close friends. She said she missed the version of Lively who spoke more casually and humorously, adding that the formality had created a sense of distance.
Importantly, Swift stressed that Lively did not need to apologize. Instead, she encouraged her to “just come back,” signaling a desire to reconnect rather than escalate the issue.
Lively responded with humor, joking that “headquarters” would review the feedback. She then followed with a more serious explanation, acknowledging that she had become overly cautious and paranoid in her digital communication. She said the pressure and sense of being misunderstood had caused her to overpackage even simple messages.
According to the texts, Lively thanked Swift for being honest and for addressing the issue without turning it into something bigger. She did, however, offer a personal apology, recognizing that her behavior had affected the tone of their friendship.
Neither Lively nor Swift has publicly commented on the content of the messages since they were unsealed.
The broader case, formally known as Lively v. Wayfarer Studios, is scheduled to go to trial in May 2026.