Justin Baldoni calls It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively “beautiful” in a leaked audio memo ahead of his ongoing legal battle.
In messages obtained by TMZ on Monday, the director allegedly praised the actress after he sent her a photo of her trying on costumes for her character Lily Bloom, circa early 2023.
“Hi Blake, I hope your fitting was a great success,” he said. “Thank you for sending me the photo, it was really nice.”
“I was at a department heads meeting and I was waiting for them to arrive and for them to load up. When I saw that, I got the chills, understandably,” Baldoni, 42, added.
“You look so beautiful. I’m sure things will be fine.”
Representatives for the Jane the Virgin star and Lively, 38, did not immediately respond to Page Six for comment.
The voice memo was leaked days after another private message was opened in which the Gossip Girl alum referred to Baldoni as a “friend.”
“I hope you’re doing well,” she told Baldoni in a February 2023 message regarding the production schedule for “It Ends With Us,” according to People magazine.
Lively said her husband, Ryan Reynolds, encouraged her to share her concerns with Baldoni because he “trusts her so much.”
The “Sharrows” star stressed that she and Baldoni speak “as friends first and foremost” about heading to work on the Colleen Huber adaptation and another film, “Proxies,” after giving birth to son Orrin in February 2023.
Lively claimed that she “didn’t talk to Baldoni the way she talked to[directors]” and hoped that Baldoni would be willing to accommodate her needs.
Lively worked on The Proxy from March to May 2023 and It Ends with Us from May to June 2023. Filming on the latter resumed in January 2024 after the writers’ strike.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t until the release of It Ends With Us in August 2024 that Baldoni and the Age of Adaline star sparked rumors of a feud.
In December of the same year, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, accusing her of sexual harassment, which Baldoni vehemently denied.
The “Five Feet Apart” director countersued Lively in January 2025, but the suit was later dismissed.
Lively and Baldoni’s long-running legal battle has always made headlines, with recent drama surrounding unsealed communications with several A-listers, including Taylor Swift and Ben Affleck.
The co-stars are scheduled to argue their differences in court on May 18, 2026.
