It's 2026, and we are still talking about Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's legal battle. With A-listers like Taylor Swift and Ben Affleck getting dragged into the mess, another singer's name has been thrown in the mix - Britney Spears.
© GettyThis week, newly unsealed text messages acquired by DailyMail resurfaced allegations from the set of It Ends With Us, including a discussion about Britney Spears. The messages, exchanged between Lively and co-star Jenny Slate, were unsealed as part of Lively’s 2024 lawsuit accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment, retaliatory conduct, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Baldoni is denying all allegations.
From the texts, it's clear Slate and Lively were frustrated and uncomfortable with what was happening on set. In text messages to a confidant, Slate said she was "repulsed and deeply irritated" by Baldoni’s “unprofessional behavior” and characterized the shoot as “really gross and disturbing.” Lively echoes that discomfort, pointing to moments that left her alarmed. “I mean, even him recording our conversation on his phone without asking us first,” she wrote.
© GettyOne exchange recounts a moment Lively says Slate witnessed firsthand. “You were standing there for the thing he said to me when he said I look hot. I said that’s not what I’m going for, and he said ‘ok sexy.’ Then he made a joke, asked if he crossed a line, and I said yes - he must’ve missed the sexual harassment meeting.”
The conversation then turns to a separate incident involving Spears. “And then later, when you said you used to stare at Britney Spears midsection for hours (before you finished and said what an athlete she was and how remarkable she seemed as a young girl), he jumped in and said ‘same’ and giggled but then eye rolled when we just looked at him,” Lively texted.
© Mondadori PortfolioSlate agreed, replying, “Yes, exactly. Those are two perfect examples, the first one an example of a total overstep and unwanted comment, the second is such a great example of how now I just feel inclined to shut down because I don't want to invite any other comments from him, it's just gross and stupid.”
It also resurfaced a 2017 interview with Fuse, where the actor reflected on an awkward on-set interaction during Spears' guest appearance on Jane the Virgin. “I know she was a fan of the show,” he said, adding that he had been “a huge Britney Spears fan in high school," adding, "What adolescent boy wasn’t?"
He recalled approaching her for a hug, explaining, “Because I had tweeted her and she had tweeted me back, I went up to her thinking we were friends — but we weren’t… I gave her a big hug, and I think I scared her.” Baldoni said he later wondered, “Did I just harass Britney Spears?”
The trial between Lively and Baldoni has a new start date set for May 18, 2026.
