It Ends In Court Part II: Discussing Recent Unsealed Court Documents
Last year, we covered the initial lawsuit filings surrounding the tense movie set “It Ends With Us” starring actress Blake Lively and director/actor Justin Baldoni. But the drama didn’t end there; their heated legal battle has entered the court of public opinion and the release of discovery findings has brought many notable figures into the fold.
What has been revealed to the public so far about the legal findings? Any and everything related to “It Ends With Us” communication. Private text messages, business emails, production discussions all surrounding the claims made by Lively and Baldoni.
Recent Updates And Summary Judgment
As reported in February 2025, there were a number of lawsuits filed against various people involved with the “It Ends With Us” set. Most notably, Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni for sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, and Baldoni’s lawsuit against Lively and the New York Times for defamation.
Baldoni’s lawsuit was dismissed in June 2025, but Lively’s suit has continued and received summary judgment. A summary judgment is a request made by the legal team of the plaintiff or defendant where they present the facts, the relevant legal information, and anticipated arguments of the other side in hopes the judge will make a ruling ahead of a trial. This can speed up long, complicated legal disputes like Lively vs Baldoni.
Lively’s side submitted a summary judgment, but Judge Lewis J. Liman has yet to make a ruling. However, this summary judgment and additional unsealed court documents offer an interesting picture of the workplace tension brewing.
Taylor Swift’s Involvement
From the beginning, Baldoni’s legal team has been trying to subpoena Taylor Swift. They allege that she was helping Lively attempt to “overtake” Baldoni’s role as director. While they were unsuccessful in their attempt to subpoena Swift, Baldoni’s team was given access to messages between Lively and Swift.
Swift called Baldoni “clown” and “doofus,” joking with Lively. But the real trouble lies in a text asking Swift to support Lively’s script rewrites…even if Swift didn’t read them.
Pleas To Famous Friends
Additional communications to other famous friends were unveiled, where Lively is seen asking people like Matt Damon and Ben Afflick for their thoughts on her cut of “It Ends With Us.” She then goes on to lament about her time working with Baldoni.
Anna Wintour, well known in the fashion industry, texted Lively in support of her movie cut and acknowledged the troublesome movie set, “Knowing how hard a situation it was for you made me especially proud of you.” The acknowledgment hints that Wintour (an unrelated third party to the movie) knew about the struggles long before the lawsuit filings.
Colleen Hoover, Author Of “It Ends With Us”
The legal drama goes so deep, even the book author found herself wrapped up in the on-set allegations. Lively and Hoover’s messages reveal that Lively was texting the author about the workplace environment:
“Despite his repeated disturbing behavior and acts, I still feel bad for him. To be reminded multiple times DAILY that he’s smearing me for… asking him not to sexually or emotionally harass me? For making his movie better? For calling in all the favors to turn out all the biggest musicians and entertainers to contribute to making his movie better? For leading a marketing campaign for free?”
Hoover privately supported Lively in her message back, but now that the lawsuits have come into the public eye, the author has stated she feels the legal trouble has overshadowed her story.
What Does This Mean For The Lawsuit?
As it stands, Blake Lively’s hostile work environment and sexual harassment lawsuit will go to trial in May. While these text messages are important pieces of evidence within the case, they’ve landed Lively in hot water. Baldoni’s team will use these text messages to refute various claims within the lawsuit, but it’s up to the jury and Judge Liman to render a verdict.
However, Baldoni’s team doesn’t exactly benefit from these unsealed court documents either. There’s video footage of Baldoni joking that he missed the sexual harassment training after offending Lively on set…which doesn’t bode well for the upcoming trial. Actress Jenny Slate also provided insight about her discomfort on set, “This has been a really gross and disturbing shoot.”
When the trial starts, the public can expect to hear more details from cast regarding the work environment and sexual harassment claims.
Finding The Right Attorney For You
As this lawsuit unfolds, it’s important to remember that every individual listed above is being represented by their own legal team. Everyone has their own interests to protect and hiring a personal attorney will ensure that you are not treated unfairly amidst a legal battle.
If you are an Arkansas resident looking for your own legal representation, contact the law offices of Hickey & Hull at (479) 434-2414. Whether it’s family, criminal, civil, or business law related, when you need an attorney, Hickey & Hull is here to help make things better.