Justin Baldoni claimed Blake Lively was “setting me up for a trap” amid escalating behind-the-scenes tensions during the production of It Ends With Us, according to a newly unsealed private message.
In a Dec. 30, 2023 text to Danny Greenberg, then his agent at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME), Baldoni said he had endured a “really, really bad week” dealing with Lively, who was 38 at the time.
Baldoni wrote that Lively had contacted him directly and proposed a private meeting at her home, before the conversation shifted into what he described as an intensifying dispute over how the film’s intimate scenes would be filmed.
The actor-director, 41, alleged that Lively had “refused” to use a body double for *** scenes, prompting intervention from Sony executives and producer Todd Black.
“That’s just setting me up for a trap,” Baldoni wrote, adding that Lively was nonetheless insisting a body double be used in his place.
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He also said Lively rejected his storyboards for the scenes and pushed for both actors to remain fully clothed during what he believed was a key romantic moment in the story. “If you know the book, it’s just ridiculous,” Baldoni added.
Describing the situation as “a gigantic clusterf—,” Baldoni told Greenberg that he was giving Lively “95% of what she wants for peace,” but said working with “an actress who is rewriting the writer and director” had been “very draining” and “time-consuming,” particularly over the holiday break.
Five days later, on Jan. 4, 2024, Baldoni, Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and studio representatives participated in an “all-hands” meeting to address a list of 17 protections Lively had requested before production resumed following the industry strikes.
Those measures—agreed to in writing in mid-November 2023—were designed to address Lively’s concerns regarding on-set conduct and safety.
A source close to Lively disputes Baldoni’s framing, saying the messages were sent only after Lively had detailed “numerous ways that Baldoni and Heath had created a hostile work environment on the set,” and after more than a dozen safety protections had already been agreed upon. The source added that the texts were sent just days before the January 4 meeting at which the safeguards would be formally discussed.
According to the source, “The text chain underscores Baldoni’s retaliatory intent. It reflects his private anger over the same safeguards that he had said in public were both ‘reasonable’ and ‘essential,’ and which he later admitted in his deposition were reasonable, including his resentment for having to show up to an ‘all hands’ meeting he had also agreed to.”
The Dec. 30 text exchange later appeared in a motion filed by WME, which asked the court to keep portions of certain summary-judgment exhibits sealed, arguing the materials contained private, non-public internal communications not relevant to the court’s legal analysis.
The message was sent months after an alleged April 2023 on-set confrontation in which Ryan Reynolds reportedly tearfully confronted Baldoni over what he believed was “fat-shaming” of Lively. Court filings state that the exchange was witnessed by Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman.
Greenberg later described the behind-the-scenes conflict in severe terms. During a July 2024 deposition, the WME agent characterized Lively’s conduct during the film as “extortion,” according to transcripts filed in the case.
The legal battle between the two stars escalated publicly in December 2024, when Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni and several associates, including Jamey Heath, alleging s***** harassment and retaliation and seeking $160 million in damages. Baldoni denied the allegations and countersued for $400 million, though that countersuit was dismissed in June by U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman.
The next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22, with the trial currently set for May 18.
