It’s been slightly over a year since the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us came out in theatres. The film was long-awaited and extremely hyped up, which usually leads to the same result: such extensive publicity often sparks discourse between the audience, or even cast members. Evidently, It Ends With Us seems to be no exception.
Leading up to the release of the film, critics questioned Blake Lively for her attitude towards portraying the leading role of Lily Bloom, a character struggling with a generational cycle of domestic abuse. As seen throughout the film’s press tour interviews, Lively took on a more light-hearted tone rather than one of understanding or compassion for the serious themes explored in the film. Fans were upset about her lightening up the piece, considering how domestic violence is something many women have dealt with in their lives. Instead of shedding light on this, Lively spent much of the press tour telling viewers, in summary, to “get your floral dresses on and go to the theatres with your girls.”
However, after receiving backlash from poor reception, Lively expressed to the public that this was never intentional. Lively shared that she had been a victim of sexual harassment and nonconsensual activity from co-star and film director Justin Baldoni. Lively also claimed that this campaign was set up by Baldoni to ruin her image. Months after the film’s release, the New York Times reported that Lively filed a legal complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni and others involved with the film. This led to Baldoni filing a lawsuit against the Times, and Lively officially issuing a counterclaim against Baldoni.
During January, text messages between Lively and close friend Taylor Swift surfaced, leading to their use in court on Jan. 22.
According to text messages from April 2024, Lively sent Swift a message containing a link to the trailer for It Ends With Us (before the public release date) featuring Swift’s song “My Tears Ricochet.”
“Wow, I love how they use the song,” Swift replied. “Welcome to hollywood Justin.”
Lively and Swift then discussed how this would affect Baldoni’s image, with Swift’s added knowledge of the industry.
“If Justin was strategic,/He would be like no Taylor Swift in the trailer/Because that gives you more power over the film, that’s your ally, not his,” Swift wrote.
These texts shed light on the vulnerability shared and realism between Swift and Lively as close friends. When experiencing something similar to what Lively describes, it’s easy to spiral and become overly reliant on others. Likewise, many speculate that a rift formed between Swift and Lively, as another text exchange on Dec. 4, 2024, reveals Lively reflecting on such. Lively checked in with Swift, writing that she felt “like a bad friend lately because I was such a sad sack” who only talked about her own problems “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 wrote. “But still have a feeling something may not be right,” alluding to their friendship.
Swift responded kindly to Lively but kept it real with her, just as we all would want our friends to.
“I’ve been through things like this before, and I know how all-consuming it is,” Swift wrote. “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 felt like I was reading a mass corporate email sent to 200 employees. You said the word ‘we’ like 18 times… I just kinda miss my dark, normal-speaking friend who talks to me as herself, not like. A plural unit,” she added.
Baldoni began trying to win over the people’s favor by explaining that he, too, was sexually harassed by an ex-partner. Swift, however, had no sympathy for his case after Lively’s claims were made, saying in her texts, “I think this b*tch knows something is coming because he’s gotten out his tiny violin,” which could be a reference to her song “Cancelled” in her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl.
After these texts were presented on Thursday, Jan. 22, Baldoni’s attorney, Jonathan Bach, said that this lawsuit was filed on “trivial and petty grievances” on Lively’s part and that they fall short of legal standards for a hostile workplace.
The judge gave their response on this, saying, “A whole bunch of little things can add up to a big thing.”