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Justin Baldoni has filed an objection to Blake Lively’s request to conceal the identities of her famous friends and family members, like Taylor Swift and Ryan Reynolds, in their ongoing legal battle.
In Baldoni’s Monday, January 12, filing, obtained by Us Weekly, his lawyers claimed that “not one of [Lively’s] requests meets the [court’s] high standard for sealing at this stage.” The motion further alleged that Lively, 38, is attempting to seal the records in order to save the public image of her A-list friends, whom Baldoni, 41, claimed were“recruited as advocates on her behalf against the Wayfarer Parties in her attempt to take over the film [It Ends With Us].”
Baldoni’s filing claimed that Lively’s husband, Reynolds, 49, was involved in the making of It Ends With Us, including rewriting a scene, making him a potential witness in the case. Meanwhile, Lively claimed in her request to seal Reynolds’ and others’ identities that the Deadpool star is an “innocent third party” in her legal battle with Baldoni.
Baldoni also claimed that the identities of potential witnesses, including Swift, 36, Hugh Jackman, Emily Blunt and America Ferrera, have already been made public.
Baldoni and his legal team requested that most of Lively’s sealing requests be denied.
TMZ was the first to report the news.
Us reached out to reps for Lively for comment.
Swift was first named in the legal proceedings in January 2025, when Baldoni filed a countersuit against Lively’s initial sexual harassment claim. His filing included text messages referencing a moment where he allegedly felt “pressured” by Lively’s friends, whom she referred to as her “dragons,” to approve revisions to a scene Lively wrote.
“The message could not have been clearer,” Baldoni’s lawyer wrote at the time. “Baldoni was not just dealing with Lively. He was also facing Lively’s ‘dragons,’ two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who were not afraid to make things very difficult for him.”
Baldoni later claimed in his December 2025 deposition that Lively used the “Taylor Swift playbook” in their ongoing legal battle.
Blake Lively is requesting a “protective order” against Justin Baldoni’s legal team over their “continuing demands” for her communications with Taylor Swift, Us Weekly can confirm. Lively, 37, submitted a letter to judge Lewis J. Liman on Friday, June 13, and viewed by Us, claiming that Baldoni’s Wayfarer Parties has “pursued” her communications with Swift, […]
“She had the nuclear bomb,” Baldoni claimed at the time, according to court docs obtained by Us. “If she doesn’t promote the movie she can leak that I’m a bad person or that she felt unsafe with me and all the stuff she has on me. Then she’s the victim. It’s the Taylor Swift playbook. So she can ask for whatever she wants because she knows I know.”
Baldoni continued, “I think when you are somebody small in the industry like myself, and you’re dealing with a titan like Ms. Lively and some of the most powerful people in the world, which are her best friends, and you’re in the situation that I was in, I think it’s very reasonable, especially at this point, to be concerned about what’s possible and what’s not. I was spinning at this point.”
Baldoni’s lawsuit, in which he accused Lively of defamation and extortion, was dismissed in June 2025. Meanwhile, Lively’s sexual harassment lawsuit, in which she also accuses Baldoni of retaliation, breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and lost wages, is set to go to trial on May 18, 2026
