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As the hearing for the lawsuit filed by "It Ends with Us" star and producer Blake Lively against her co-star and director Justin Baldoni approaches, a trove of previously unseen testimony and private messages has been made public. Following yesterday's revelation that Lively's superstar friend Taylor Swift called Baldoni a "pity-party bitch" in a text, media outlets today have released subsequent messages detailing the reconciliation between Lively and Swift after a period of strain.
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Since the "It Ends with Us" scandal erupted, rumors have swirled that Swift had distanced herself from her close friend Lively. The speculation was fueled by reports of Lively's alleged on-set diva behavior, claims she used her friendship with Swift as leverage to pressure Baldoni on creative decisions, and even resurfaced clips of her past contentious interactions with reporters. Many media outlets reported that Swift chose to cut ties with Lively, whose public image had been severely damaged.
The messages exposed this morning confirm that the friendship was indeed tested, but the two appear to have since patched things up. In the texts, Lively repeatedly apologizes to Swift, acknowledging that for months she had only complained about her own problems and expressed gratitude that Swift had stuck by her. "If I've inadvertently done something wrong, I always want the chance to make it right and be a better friend," Lively wrote. "I know you're busy, and I know how tired you are, physically and mentally, so I don't expect any response."
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Just over an hour after Lively sent her message, Swift replied. "You're right, but it's not that serious," she wrote, agreeing that the tone of Lively's messages had changed recently. Swift also expressed empathy for Lively's situation: "A lot has been happening with Justin (Baldoni), but I've been through similar things before, so I know how draining it can be."
Swift described Lively's recent texts as lacking warmth, like a "corporate email to 200 employees." Lively agreed, admitting she felt deeply misunderstood and had been "over-packaging" simple things as a result.
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Swift even extended a clear olive branch to mend the rift: "I just miss my friend who was funny, had a dark sense of humor, and could talk to me normally and honestly… I know you feel attacked for some bizarre reason, so you feel the need to explain a lot… but I'm not an outsider! It just created a little distance, but you don't need to apologize. Come back to me, okay?"
In her messages, Lively revealed that her greatest fear during the ordeal wasn't Baldoni, but the friends—some she had known her whole life—who quietly distanced themselves from her. The feeling of being cut off by so many friends left her feeling more isolated than ever, causing her to overreact with those who remained. Lively described Baldoni's camp as a "group of supervillains" who had plunged her into an identity crisis.
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Beyond the conversation with Swift, the court documents also revealed that Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, had invited their superstar friends—Matt Damon and his wife Luciana Barroso, along with Ben Affleck and then-wife Jennifer Lopez—to a private screening of "It Ends with Us" in hopes of getting their feedback on the film.
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In the invitation text, Reynolds joked that one day they would make a movie about the making of "It Ends with Us," because the behind-the-scenes drama was spectacular enough to "go down in film history." Lively quickly followed up in the messages to clarify that the movie itself wasn't bad, to avoid any misunderstanding.
Shortly after that clarification, however, Lively vented about her conflict with Baldoni: "This movie almost killed me. The director/co-star/producer/investor/studio head is completely inexperienced (yes, all the same person), but the good news is he also has terrible taste and a massive ego, but that's only because he's in a cult and thinks he's the great prophet of our century. I really wish at least one of those sentences was an exaggeration." Lively also complained that she had rewritten the script and directed most of the actors herself, essentially taking over the project.
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After hearing her frustrations, Damon responded with a jab at Baldoni: "We'll do everything we can to help you Blake. If this experience hasn't completely destroyed your soul, you should come direct your next movie at [mine and Ben's production company] Artists Equity. We're kind of a cult too, but a very friendly one." Damon's wife, Luciana Barroso, echoed her husband's sentiment, replying, "Like Matt said, just join Artists Equity from now on. You don't need that weird cult money."
Lively and Damon's "cult" remarks refer to Baldoni's Baháʼí Faith. Due to some of its conservative doctrines, such as its prohibitions on abortion and premarital sex, the religion is sometimes labeled a cult by outsiders.