She might be suing Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment and smear campaigns, but there was one other cruelty supposedly inflicted by the actor that rattled It Ends With Us star Blake Lively's cage 'more than anything'.
Apparently, what tipped the actress over the edge - spurring her to file a $160 million lawsuit against her co-lead - was a shot Baldoni supposedly fired at her long-time bestie, Taylor Swift.
For those in need of a reminder, weeks after the promo tour for the on-screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover's best-selling book wrapped up in December 2024, 38-year-old Lively accused both Baldoni and his team at Wayfarer Studios of sexual harassment and retaliation.
She alleged he'd exhibited overly-sexualised behaviour towards her between scenes, made references and inquisitions about her sex life with husband Ryan Reynolds, and added 'improvised gratuitous sexual content and/or scenes involving nudity into the film', in which she plays lead, Lily Bloom.
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The mother-of-four also claimed the 41-year-old - who played Lively's on-screen love-interest Ryle Kincaid in the production, also serving as its director - launched a 'smear campaign' against her, in response to her raising complaints about the conditions on-set.
Denying all accusations against him, Baldoni responded to the allegations by filing a $400 million countersuit against the Gossip Girl star. This was dismissed back in June of last year, though.
This week, however - four months ahead of Lively's long-awaited trial finally taking place - a number of text and email documents have emerged that'll be used as evidence, including an interaction she had with BFF, Taylor Swift.
Obtained by E! News on 20 Jan, the message begin with the actress discussing with the singer the fact that Baldoni had claimed recently not to be familiar with the record-breaking Grammy Award-winning singer's music.
Lively penned in the message to 35-year-old Swift: "The most bonkers part to me is him saying to you he doesn't know pop culture made me more mad than anything he's done to me."
She continued: "His entire brand is disassembling toxic masculinity. He monetizes it. He does TED talks!! But says that to you. Not only is it so rude but it's untrue."
Lively also referenced Swift being 'both the most popular artist alive and one of all time, but also the most respected and awarded'. "Popularity doesn't normally coincide with laurels," the Simple Favour star continued.
"In very few cases it does. Steven Spielberg for example. There's one."
She also questioned whether Baldoni would have 'felt comfortable' telling the legendary director he 'didn't know his work', adding: "You would never make a point to say to Steven Spielberg about his work - that you don't know it bc you don't know pop culture."
Lively also gushed over the Doctor of Fine Arts degree Swift was honorarily awarded from New York University in 2022, adding: "I honestly want to retroactively take you out to dinner to celebrate that. You deserve to be studied.
"You are a human masterclass. F**k. Yes. They see it."
The Shallows actress went on to promise she'd stop 'digging up hatches', adding that she loves her BFF, and gets 'more protective about your hearts than mine sometimes'.
"I'm so much less forgiving when it comes to someone messing with someone I love than when someone messes w me," Lively continued. "I’m done. I just love you and am so ecstatic for you. And grateful to you for today. That was stupid fun."
Responding, Swift gushed of her friendship with the star: "I WON THE LOTTERY. You are the COOLEST PERSON IN THE WORLD and you like me!!"
Topics: Blake Lively, Celebrity, US News, Justin Baldoni, Taylor Swift
Rhianna Benson