Taylor Swift privately addressed a noticeable “shift” in her once-close friendship with Blake Lively amid the actress’s ongoing legal battle with It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
In legal filings made public on Tuesday, January 20 – ahead of a summary judgment hearing scheduled for January 22 in Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni – an apparent text exchange between the former best friends was revealed.
‘Bad Friend’
Taylor Swift and Blake Lively’s longtime friendship showed signs of strain as private messages surfaced in newly unsealed legal documents.
While the messages do not explicitly name the parties, other documents in the filing identify the exchange as a conversation between Lively and Swift.
“I have no reason to ask, but I donno [sic], I’ve been feeling like I should… is everything ok?” Lively wrote in one message. “I felt like a bad friend lately because I was such a sad sack who only talked about my own s— for months. You were generous to not only be the key person there for me during all of it, but also to let me off the hook for being so in it.”
Lively added that her husband, Ryan Reynolds, encouraged her to reach out directly to Swift.
“I always want the opportunity to be a better friend if there’s something I unintentionally did,” she continued. “I know how busy and taxed you are – physically, emotionally, practically, so I don’t expect any more from you ever. Just want to make sure all is good.”
‘Shift in the Way You Talk to Me’
Texts revealed Swift noticed a shift in her relationship with Lively while the actress faced an ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni.
Swift responded more than an hour later, acknowledging the tension while stressing it was not a major conflict.
“I think I’m just exhausted in every avenue of my life and in recent months had been feeling a little bit of a shift in the way you talk to me,” Swift wrote, noting she was nearing the end of her Eras Tour at the time. “Yes, there has been a lot of Justin stuff, but I’ve been through things like this before, and I know how all-consuming it is.”
The singer then addressed what she felt had changed between them.
“It’s more like… and I feel really bad saying anything about this because your texts have been so nice in their intent, but your last few… it’s felt like I was reading a mass corporate email sent to 200 employees,” Swift continued.
“And it feels awful to be in any way critical of any way you process what you’ve been going through, but I just kinda miss my funny, dark, normal-speaking friend who talks to me as herself… And I know you feel attacked from all sides for ridiculous reasons, so you’re feeling like you have to overly explain things… but. It’s me! That’s just caused a little distance. And you don’t need to apologize. Just come back, please,” she wrote.
‘I’ve Never Felt More Alone’
Lively acknowledged feeling emotionally overwhelmed and disconnected from close friends during the height of her legal ordeal.
Hours later, Lively replied, admitting she had changed how she communicated.
“So yeah, I’ve been texting like I’m writing. Not like me talking,” Lively wrote. “I didn’t realize that until you pointed it out, but I see it.”
She went on to explain the emotional toll Baldoni’s alleged actions had taken on her.
“On top of that, I’m over packaging simple things bc I’ve felt so deeply misunderstood that I don’t trust my judgement of myself anymore… This f—ing guy and what he did to me gave me an identity crisis. Legitimately,” she said.
Lively also revealed that she felt abandoned by others during the ordeal.
“The thing that spooked me most in all this, though, wasn’t the bad guys being bad guys,” she told Swift. “It was the good guys, my lifelong friends – allies to women – who quietly dipped. And so I’m probably being over the top with my friends who stayed because I’ve never felt more alone.”
She apologized again, writing, “to you… to me and to our kids,” and added, “F— that guy and f— his whole gaggle of supervillains.”
The exchange occurred just three days before Swift wrapped up her tour. Lively ended her message by telling the Grammy winner she was “excited” for her “to be done with suitcases, constant sinus infections and torn-up kneecaps.”
Taylor Swift’s Involvement in the Case
The exchange took place shortly before Swift wrapped her record-breaking Eras Tour.
When Baldoni’s legal team attempted to subpoena Swift in May 2025, her representative publicly distanced the singer from the film.
“Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release,” Swift’s spokesperson said at the time, adding that the singer was “traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history.”
“The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, My Tears Ricochet,” the statement continued. “Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
