Los Angeles, California - Actor Justin Baldoni named Taylor Swift in an alleged plan to soil the reputation of his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively, according to a new lawsuit.

Lively took legal action against the 40-year-old filmmaker this weekend, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment on set and conducting a smear campaign against her during the movie's promotional run.

The New York Times has revealed the contents of text messages and emails that were attached to Lively's lawsuit and obtained through a subpoena.

Among them was a proposed plan by Baldoni's team to plant stories that painted the 37-year-old Gossip Girl star as a bully, specifically citing "the weaponization of feminism" as a potential angle.

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The document specifically names Swift – a longtime friend of Lively – as an example, saying that celebrities like her "have been accused of utilizing these tactics to 'bully' into getting what they want."

Such a narrative was common when the 35-year-old pop star was targeted by Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in 2016, as Swift had publicly objected to West calling her a "b***h" in one of his songs. Kardashian, who was married to the 47-year-old rapper at the time, painted Swift as a liar by publishing an edited snippet of a phone call between Swift and West that made it appear as though she had given her approval to the lyric.

Relying on narratives along similar lines, Baldoni's team is accused of "astroturfing" as a means to destroy Lively's reputation. The filing defines the practice as "publishing opinions or comments on the internet, in the media etc. that appear to come from ordinary members of the public but actually come from a particular company or political group."

The tactic was clearly effective, as Lively was quickly dog-piled on by social media users when seemingly fan-generated theories about a bitter feud between her and Baldoni spread like wildfire.

And Swift wasn't the only star to be name-dropped as inspiration for the smear campaign.

Model Hailey Bieber, who faced a relentless wrath of online hate amid a feud with Selena Gomez last year, was directly cited in the plan to take down Lively.

Baldoni himself is seen in a screenshot sending along an X thread of "Hailey Bieber's history of bullying women," writing alongside the screenshot, "This is what we would need."

The bombshell lawsuit has made it clear that the Jane the Virgin star sought to replicate previous campaigns against female celebrities that relied heavily on the misogyny still at play in Hollywood.

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The campaign successfully painted Lively as the villain, with users condemning her "tone-deaf" attitude and recirculating previous incidents of seemingly rude behavior.

The noise thus overshadowed early reports of Baldoni's "toxic" behavior on set, which was ultimately described in detail in Lively's lawsuit. In the filing, the A Simple Favor actor leveled a number of shocking allegations against Baldoni, who both directed and starred in It Ends With Us.

Among other accusations, Lively states that Baldoni pressured her into additional nudity during the film's birth scene and refused to keep the set closed, as is consistent with standard industry protections. Baldoni also enlisted his close friend to play the OBGYN in the scene rather than a local actor, which Lively describes as "invasive and humiliating."

Baldoni has been dropped from the WME talent agency in the wake of the lawsuit.

It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover publicly backed Lively and wrote directly to her, "You have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met."