Audio from unearthed recordings has drawn Scarlett Johansson into Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively’s ongoing ‘It’s Us’ legal battle.
The recording, provided by filmmaker Claire Ayoub, features Wayfarer co-founder Steve Sarowitz passionately comparing his experience working with Ryan Reynolds’ ex-wife to his experience with Lively.
“I love this female empowerment. There’s another first-time director we’re supporting,” Sarowitz, 61, told director Ayoub, Us Weekly reported.
Sarowitz collaborated with Johansson on her directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, which was released last September.
“A woman named Scarlett Johansson? I’m so excited for her!” Ayoub lightheartedly joked to Sarowitz. In response, the billionaire quipped, “We’re about to give her her first big break. Maybe after this people will hear about her.”
“She was so cool, calm, calm and confident…and lovely,” he added of Johansson.
“It’s very interesting because you get to work with so many people. Most of them are nice. And then there’s Blake. She’s totally different from everyone else. I don’t mean to say anything bad about her, but she’s different.”
“I think most people, when they see what we do and see that we’re kind, they’ll be kind to us, too, even if they’re not perfectly kind. But I think some people just forget to learn how to be kind,” Sarowitz continued.
Ayoub previously collaborated with Baldoni on Wayfarer’s 2024 film Empire West. In September 2025, Ayoub filed a tax return alleging that she had suffered “repeated negative interactions” and “verbal abuse” from Baldoni and Wayfarer.
The recording was reportedly submitted by Lively’s legal team.
Representatives for Lively, Baldoni and Johansson did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
Reynolds, 49, was married to Johansson from 2008 to 2011. After their divorce, he married Lively in 2012.
Johansson, 41, has been remarried twice. In 2014 she married Romain Dauriac and announced her divorce from him in 2017. The “Avengers” actress married her current husband, “Saturday Night Live” star Colin Jost, in 2020.
Lively filed a formal lawsuit against the It Ends with Us director in December 2024, alleging sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and lost wages.
Mr. Baldoni, 42, responded with a $400 million countersuit against Mr. Lively and Mr. Reynolds. However, that case was later dismissed.
A trial date for their case is set for May 18, 2026.
