It’s day 3,475 of theJustin BaldoniandBlake LivelyIt Ends With Uslegal battle. Baldoni has released more purported evidence which he believes discredits Lively and makes her look like a bully who stole his film. This time, it’s a late-night voicemail that Baldoni left Lively in 2023 regarding a scene that was believed, at least initially, to be at the center of their feud when the film was first released. It’s the infamous rooftop scene that was believed to be rewritten by Ryan Reynolds, but it appears it was Lively’s pen that made most of the changes. Baldoni believes the voicemail proves some of his points about Lively, but it also weirdly proves some of her points about him.
PerDeadline, Baldoni sent Lively the 2:00AM voicemail in April 2023 after he had a less-than-desirable response to some script changes that she made to the rooftop scene. Baldoni claims the point of releasing the message is to show how apologetic he was to Lively, but also to demonstrate that he felt that, in order to salvage his film, he had to bend to her will. During the six-minute apology, Baldoni says,“I’m really sorry, I f**ked up,“and goes on to state,“I will admit and apologize when I fail. I’m a flawed man, as my wife will attest.”
Baldoni goes on to be even more apologetic and complimentary to Lively, saying,“I’m gonna piss you off, probably, but I will always apologize and find my way back to center. I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I will, for sure, do better.“He even goes on to reference Reynolds and Lively’s bestie, Taylor Swift. In one ofher now-famous texts to Baldoni, Lively stated,“If you ever get around to watchingGame of Thrones, you’ll appreciate that I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually for better.“In the message, Lively’s dragons are believed to be her husband and her best friend, Swift. Baldoni seems to also point to this in his message:
“Damn right, you’ve got great friends. We should all have friends like that, aside from the fact that they’re 2 of the most creative people on the planet.”
Justin Baldoni’s Voice Message Could Possibly Substantiate Some of Blake Lively’s Claims
Here’s the deal with this message, which was released by Baldoni. In Lively’s complaint,which includes allegations of sexual harassment, the actress claims that Baldoni made several creepy advances and comments towards her during the filming ofIt Ends With Us. Towards the end of his voice message, Baldoni says that Lively has had bad experiences with filmmakers in the past and, after calling them"f**kheads,“he makes his first weird statement.
Justin Baldoni Releases ‘It Ends With Us’ Set Video in Effort To Disprove Blake Lively’s Harassment Claims
Lively says the 10-minute video just proves her claims, while Baldoni says it refutes them.
“That’s not at all gonna be, or will be, and hopefully it’s not been the experience with me. There’s nothing more exciting to me than I get to work with Blake Lively and have all of her. I mean, that’s what I want!”
Some might not take issue with the “and have all of her” comment, but it’s easy to see how Lively could perceive it as inappropriate and kind of creepy. Then, right as the message is about to end, Baldoni cuts himself short and says,“I’m sorry. You probably have kids all over you, and a baby on your boob, and you’re listening to me ramble.“If you recall, Lively’s complaint includes a claim that Baldoni would walk into her trailer, uninvited, while she was breastfeeding. Even if it’s not a direct reference to the trailer incident, it feels a bit inappropriate for a director to mention to his leading lady that she probably has a baby on her breast. Call her hypersensitive if you want, but that comment could be taken to the HR department at any company and be labeled inappropriate.
The latest development in the ongoing feud comes as a federal judge has set a potential court date for June 21, 2025 (it’s going to be a long year). According to Judge Lewis J. Liman,“By Thursday, June 25, 2025, the parties shall submit a case management plan with deadlines which would enable trial to occur on that date.“Also, in a move that could benefit Lively, the judge has moved up a planned hearing from Feb. 12 to Feb. 3 that addresses her Jan. 22 request for a gag order on Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman that would prevent him from presenting evidence in the media because she believes it could taint the potential jury. Lively’s lawyers want to stop Freedman from"further unlawful retaliation against Ms. Lively, and demand that he immediately cease and desist from making further defamatory, and retaliatory, statements relating to Ms. Lively.“Wayfarer Studios, which was co-founded by Steve Sarowitz, who happens to be a billionaire, has a lot of money backing Baldoni and his legal representation, according to Lively’s team:
“The Wayfarer Defendants' efforts are being financed by a billionaire who has pledged to spend $100 million to ruin the lives of Ms. Lively and her family. Mr. Freedman is using that money, his roster of current and former clients, and a blatant media and social media strategy to assassinate Ms. Lively’s character in advance of trial.”
Can we move up that March 2026 trial date, please?
