Taylor Swift is keen to "stay clear of the drama" after her private text messages with Blake Lively were made public, a source exclusively revealed to PEOPLE. The correspondence between the 36-year-old pop superstar and the 38-year-old actress was partially unsealed on January 20th as part of Lively's ongoing legal dispute with Justin Baldoni, 41, and Wayfarer Studios.
"Taylor feels like her privacy has been compromised. Anyone would feel uncomfortable if their private texts were suddenly made public," explained the source. The singer-songwriter was among several celebrities whose messages appeared in the unsealed court documents related to the case. Matt Damon and his wife Luciana also corresponded with Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds about Baldoni and the film 'It Ends With Us.'
Last December, Lively sued Baldoni, her 'It Ends With Us' costar and director, his production company Wayfarer Studios, and some of Baldoni's associates, alleging sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign after she spoke up. Baldoni countersued Lively and Reynolds for defamation and extortion, but the suit was dismissed.
Baldoni's lawyers are seeking to have the case dismissed ahead of a trial, which is scheduled to begin in May. They included Lively and Reynolds's messages with their famous friends in a trove of court filings ahead of a summary judgment hearing on January 22nd.
The released messages show Lively and Swift discussing Baldoni and the situation surrounding 'It Ends With Us.' In one text exchange, Lively asked Swift to endorse a revised version of the film's script she was proposing "even without having read it," Baldoni's legal team alleged. Swift replied, "I'll do anything for you!!"
Lively's attorneys said the released texts are missing necessary context, pointing to Lively's deposition in which the actress said she "sent Taylor the script on her way to my apartment because Justin was still there, and I asked her to read them. I told her she didn’t have to, I didn’t want her to feel pressured to do that, but I hoped that she would."
The singer had allegedly been on her way to visit her friend when Baldoni was present in Lively's home. Afterward, Lively wrote to Swift that she was "so epically heroic today" and that she "recapped every moment" to Reynolds. Lively also allegedly referred to Baldoni as a "clown" and a "doofus" in messages to Swift, who also allegedly referred to Baldoni as a "bitch."
The source tells PEOPLE that Swift "was just being a friend to Blake, and it’s turned into something bigger than she ever expected. She never thought private messages would become public." Now, "Taylor is just trying to stay away from the drama," continues the source.
A rep for Swift did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment. While Swift, whose song "My Tears Ricochet" is featured in 'It Ends With Us,' is not party to the lawsuit, her name has come up in connection to the case several times. Sources previously told PEOPLE that it has had a "chilling effect" on her friendship with Lively.
Lively previously referred to Swift as one of her "dragons" in an alleged text exchange, according to a complaint filed by Baldoni in January 2025, which alleged that Swift had pressured him to accept Lively's rewrites on the movie. That May, Baldoni's attorneys attempted to subpoena Swift - a move slammed by Swift's rep, saying it was intended to generate "tabloid clickbait." Around the same time, a source told PEOPLE that Lively and Swift's friendship had "halted."
The pair's friendship dates back to 2015 after Lively shared a photo from an L'Oréal campaign, which referenced Swift’s “Bad Blood” music video. It caught Swift’s attention, and the pair began spending time together.
