Ahead of her lengthy legal battle with Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively begged the Producers Guild of America to allow her to work as a producer.
In a lengthy Jan. 25, 2024 email to the guild obtained by the Daily Mail, which was used to determine that most of her claims against Baldoni could not proceed, the “Gossip Girl” alum said she “bared her heart.” Her work “off-camera” in “Love Ends” means “more to her than anything[she]has accomplished” in her “20-year career”.
“Just a few days ago, after a year and a half of seeking and working tirelessly to prove the title’s legitimacy, I was officially awarded the title of producer,” she continued in the five-page email.
“I have produced every moment of this film, from pre-production to production, post, and worldwide marketing and release.”
Ms Lively said she was “grateful” that her contract had been “revised to reflect the tremendous amount of work that I have put in” and asked the guild for the “huge honor” of receiving the PGA tag.
She added that for her family, including husband Ryan Reynolds, the PGA tag is “the highest honor in the movie world.”
Lively also confessed that she was aware of the “seriousness” of her request, that she had arrived late at the guild, and that it was “ridiculous” to make the request. However, she explained, “Without the official title of producer,[her]hands were already tied on this issue.”
Lively went on to say she had the support of her peers who earned the PGA tag, and went on to list 77 bullet points supporting her request.
The apparently “secret” list included claims that she “rewrote the script to improve the role of Jenny Bloom after three actresses declined,” “favored fashion insiders” to lower production costs, “loaned, discounted, or gifted” costumes, and “identified and hired freelance team members for cast members.”
Lively appears to have received a PGA tag for the film, but some fans are said to have balked, calling for it to be revoked with an online petition.
Representatives for Mr. Lively and Mr. Baldoni did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment on Saturday.
The letter resurfaced amid Lively’s ongoing lawsuit against film director Baldoni. Judge Louis Lehman cited the letter Thursday in his ruling dismissing 10 of Lively’s 13 claims against Baldoni.
“[Lively]not only reserved substantial contractual control over her participation in the film, but exercised that control,” the New York City judge wrote, citing bullet points from a letter to the DGA.
She was not considered an employee of Baldoni or Wayfarer Studios, which backed the film, but was instead an “independent contractor.” According to the judge, this distinction prevented the sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni from continuing.
The claims of retaliation, aiding and abetting retaliation, and breach of contract were upheld. The trial is scheduled for May 18th.
Following the shocking verdict, Lively’s lawyers said in a statement that Lively “looks forward to testifying at trial and continuing to shine a light on this vicious online retaliation to make it easier to discover and fight.”
“These are very serious allegations, and we are grateful to the court for carefully considering the facts, the law, and the extensive evidence provided,” Baldoni’s team said in a statement to Page Six.
Lawyers for the “It Ends With Us” co-stars will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Cave on Monday in a separate meeting to present “their clients’ updated settlement opinion.”
The “Simple Favor” actress, 38, first filed a complaint against the Wayfarer Studios co-founder in early December 2024, before suing him in December of the same year.
She claimed that the Wayfarer Studios co-founder owed her at least $161 million in monetary damages for what she called a smear campaign during the film’s promotion.
Baldoni vehemently denied the actress’ claims and filed a vigorous $400 million countersuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, but a judge dismissed Baldoni’s lawsuit on June 25.
The co-stars met in a Manhattan courtroom on February 11, but Baldoni’s lead attorney, Brian Friedman, called the effort a “failure” in comments to Deadline.
Lively poured out her heart to fans on Friday about Thursday’s developments through her Facebook Stories, calling it “incalculably painful” and saying she “won’t waste” her “privilege to stand up.”
