1 month ago
6
ARTICLE AD BOX
This post discusses allegations of sexual harassment.
To quickly recap: Blake sued her It Ends with Us costar and director Justin in December 2024, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. She also accused both Justin and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, of attempting to “destroy” her reputation by engaging in a “social manipulation” campaign.
Justin strongly denied the allegations and countersued with a $400 million lawsuit against Blake, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloane, alleging extortion and defamation. Blake’s lawyers denied the claims, and a federal judge dismissed Justin's suit last June.
Blake’s suit against Justin and Wayfarer Studios is ongoing, and ahead of a hearing scheduled for Jan. 22, new court documents revealing a bunch of explosive alleged texts have been partially unsealed.
It is alleged in the court documents that Blake urged several of her “famous friends, including Matt Damon, Lucy [Luciana] Damon, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, and Taylor Swift, to support her version of the film” over Justin’s.
And so, perhaps expectedly, many of the alleged texts that were unsealed are between Blake and Taylor, who was previously named by Blake’s legal team as a potential witness in her lawsuit. (Justin’s lawyers notably attempted to subpoena the singer last May.)
Taylor’s rep has publicly denied that the singer had any involvement in the legal battle, writing in a statement, “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, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history.”
According to the new documents, which have been viewed by BuzzFeed, Blake sent a text to Taylor asking her to endorse her revised It Ends with Us script, allegedly adding, “you don’t have to read of course.” Explaining the texts in her deposition, Blake purportedly said, “I 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.” Regardless, Taylor allegedly replied, “I’ll do anything for you !!”
Blake also allegedly referred to Justin as “this doofus director of my movie” and “a clown” who “thinks he’s a writer now” in her text to Taylor.
Taylor allegedly later told Blake via text that Justin wasn’t “strategic” because he allowed for the use of her song, “My Tears Ricochet,” to appear in It Ends with Us and its trailer. “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,” she purportedly wrote, to which Blake allegedly replied, “You are so right…He should’ve run from your music…How stupid. This was his only shot at having the appearance of an upper hand.”
And in an alleged message sent in December 2024, Taylor purportedly texted Blake, “I think this bitch knows something is coming because he’s gotten out his tiny violin,” alongside a link to a People article about Justin opening up about allegedly being “sexually traumatized” by an ex-girlfriend.
Justin’s team alleged that this message referred to the release of the New York Times’ “We Can Bury Anyone” article, which came out on Dec. 21 and unveiled the details of Blake’s initial lawsuit. However, Blake’s team firmly denied that she and Taylor were discussing the piece.
Elsewhere in the unsealed texts between the pair, Blake purportedly messaged Taylor about feeling like “a bad friend” amid the legal battle. “I felt like a bad friend lately because I was such a sad sack who only talked about my own shit for months,” she allegedly wrote in part. “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. But I still have a feeling something may not be right.”
After noting that she wanted to make sure everything was fine between them, Taylor allegedly replied, “No you’re not wrong, but it’s also not a big deal. 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.”
“Yes there has been a lot of the Justin stuff but I’ve been through things like this before and I know how all consuming it is. 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. You said the word ‘we’ like 18 times. 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, not like. A plural unit,” she allegedly said.
Taylor purportedly ended the message with, “And you don’t need to apologize. Just come back please,” to which Blake responded positively, acknowledging that Taylor was “right.”
As mentioned, Blake allegedly also texted fellow actors Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Matt’s wife, Luciana Damon, amid the legal battle, asking them to watch her edit of It Ends with Us and offer their feedback.
According to the court documents, she wrote to Ben in May 2024, “I’m writing with a zero pressure ask. I’ve just come out the other side (well almost) of the most upsetting experience I’ve ever had on a movie. The making of doc of this film would be more interesting than the movie could ever be… I ended up rewriting and restructuring the entire script, I also ended up having to direct the movie via the chaotic clown ‘director’/actor/producer/financier/studio head at the center. Yes that’s all the same person. Oh and did I mention he and everyone he had on the movie is in a cult.”
She purportedly later wrote, “If you have 1:58 of free time at any time in the next few days, would you be willing to watch the movie and give me any ideas or notes. I will pix it to you. You can literally text me a voice memo so you don’t have to formally write thoughts. If your wife or kids are around, I’d love their opinion also (fyi it does cover domestic violence so no one is caught off guard). I’m such a fan of Jennifer’s, I’ve told her as much every time I’ve met her, and it would be an honor to have her take.” (Ben was married to Jennifer Lopez at the time. They got divorced in August 2024.)
“Again, zero pressure. I just really want this to work after all I’ve put into it. This movie nearly killed me. And I can think of very few people who would be as prescriptive and insightful as I know you would be,” Blake allegedly said before adding, “Ryan asked Matt to watch also so I think he’s watching this weekend. Good men showing up. I’m beyond grateful for that. Also. Can you believe Jason Bourne is watching my movie?!?! I’ll get you an autograph one day. Don’t worry.” (It is unclear whether or not Ben responded to Blake’s request.)
Indeed, Ryan purportedly messaged Matt and his wife, Lucy, saying: “This is such a zero pressure ask. We know how important family time is…so no worries either way. We'd LOVE to get your well earned pov…And if your girls want to see it on the big screen at B's family and friends screening Saturday at 6pm, they're obviously most welcome! This movie has been one of the all time zingers on and off set. One day, we'll make a movie about the movie. And we can't wait to tell you all about it. The stories are already finding their place in the pantheon of legendary Hollywood Insanity. We're about to be off for at least a year and a half. Maybe two years. Maybe forever.”
Blake then allegedly echoed, “Adding more zeroes to the pressure. Thank you for even considering. And it's not a bad movie. So who knows, you just may enjoy some of it. Be warned it covers domestic violence In key places so just want to be sure you know. This movie nearly killed me. The director/costar/producer/financier/head of the studio (yes all one person) had zero experience, but the good news is he also has no taste , and an enormous ego, but only because he's in a cult and believes he's our century's prophet. I wish even one of these things was hyperbole.”
Per the documents, Matt and Lucy ended up responding and showing support for Blake and Ryan, with Matt allegedly offering for her to direct her next movie through his and Ben’s company, Artists Equity.
Further on in the alleged message thread, Ryan purportedly went on to describe Justin as “a malignantly vein, sociopathic FAUXminist with almost no sense of boundaries or shame.”
BuzzFeed has reached out to reps for Blake, Ryan, Taylor, and Matt, and we’ll keep you posted as this story unfolds.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.
English (US) ·