A US judge has granted Justin Baldoni's legal team access to text messages between Taylor Swift and Blake Lively, despite Lively asking the judge to keep the texts private.

Afraid that the texts might leak to the press, Lively argued that Baldoni was using Swift to "prop up a public relations narrative outside of court".

Swift contributed her song 'My Tears Ricochet' from 2020 to the It Ends With Us soundtrack. Lively's legal team argued that the singer had no further connection to the film.

However, Judge Lewis Liman deemed the messages relevant to the case and issued a protective order to prevent the communications from entering the press.

"Given that Lively has represented that Swift had knowledge of complaints or discussions about the working environment on the film, among other issues, the requests for messages with Swift regarding the film and this action are reasonably tailored to discover information that would prove or disprove Lively’s harassment and retaliation claims,” Liman's court filing read.

Baldoni’s team had previously summoned Swift and her attorneys to court but withdrew the request after the singer's legal team objected.

The incident is the most recent in a string of court decisions pertaining to the It Ends With Us controversy.

In December 2024 Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual assault on set. Days later, the actress formalised her complaint and filed a lawsuit in New York.

Baldoni denied the allegations and filed a countersuit against Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloane for extortion and defamation in January 2025. His $400 million (€349 million) lawsuit against Lively and others was dismissed by Judge Liman on June 9.

A trial is set for March 2026, with Judge Liman overseeing the case.