Justin Baldoni claims Blake Lively was ‘ensnaring me’ in unsealed texts

Justin Baldoni has revealed that Blake Lively “set a trap on me” during the making of It Ends with Us, according to newly released private messages as tensions between the two stars escalate behind the scenes.

In a Dec. 30, 2023 text to former William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME) agent Danny Greenberg, Baldoni said he had endured a “really, really bad week” in his relationship with Lively, 38.

He wrote that she reached out to him directly and offered to meet privately at her home, before moving on to what he described as a growing controversy over how intimate scenes in movies were shot.

Mr. Baldoni, 41, claimed that Mr. Lively “refused” to use Kagemusha for the sex scenes, prompting Sony executives and producer Todd Black to intervene.

“It’s just setting a trap for me,” he wrote, adding that she nevertheless insists on using Kagemusha in her place.

He also stated that Lively refused to storyboard his scenes and requested that both actors be fully clothed in what he considered to be the film’s key romantic moments. “If you know this book, that’s outrageous,” Baldoni added.

Mr. Baldoni called the situation a “huge cluster” and told Mr. Greenberg that he intended to give Mr. Lively “95% of what she wanted for peace,” but said the experience of working with “an actress who is rewriting scriptwriters and directors” was “very draining” and “time-consuming” during her time off.

Five days later, on January 4, 2024, Baldoni, Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and studio representatives participated in an “all hands on deck” meeting to discuss a list of 17 protections that Lively had requested before production could resume after the strike.

The measure, agreed to in writing in mid-November 2023, was aimed at addressing Lively’s concerns regarding conduct and safety on set.

A source close to Lively countered: “These messages were first sent after Blake detailed numerous ways Baldoni and Heath created a hostile work environment on set, agreed to more than a dozen ‘protections’ for the safety of cast and crew, and days before a January 4th meeting to discuss these protections before filming resumed.”

“This series of texts emphasizes Baldoni’s retaliatory intentions,” the source continued. “This reflects his personal anger at the same safeguards that he publicly described as ‘reasonable’ and ‘required,’ and which he later acknowledged in a deposition as reasonable. This includes resentment at having to attend an ‘all-hands-on’ meeting to which he also consented.”

The Dec. 30 exchange later surfaced in a motion filed by WME, which asked the court to keep certain portions of the summary judgment evidence sealed, saying the materials contained private, nonpublic internal communications that were not relevant to the court’s legal analysis.

The message comes months after Ryan Reynolds allegedly had a tearful confrontation with Baldoni on set in April 2023 over what appeared to be Lively’s “fat shaming,” a moment witnesses said was witnessed by Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman.

Greenberg later spoke candidly about the behind-the-scenes conflict. In a July 2024 deposition, a WME representative characterized Lively’s actions in the film as “extortion,” according to records filed in the lawsuit.

The legal dispute between the two stars officially erupted in December 2024, with Lively suing Baldoni and several associates, including Jamie Heath, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation, and seeking $160 million in damages. Mr. Baldoni denied the allegations and filed a $400 million countersuit, which was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Louis J. Lehman in June.

The next hearing is scheduled for January 22nd, and the trial is currently set for May 18th.