Newly unsealed text messages from Baldoni, Lively show animosity on set
Animosity on the set of the film "It Ends With Us" was evident well before highly publicized lawsuits between stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni were filed, newly unsealed text messages show.
The messages, which are among the hundreds of documents the judge overseeing the civil claims ordered unsealed ahead of a hearing this week, show Lively and Baldoni venting to friends and colleagues during filming.
In a May 2023 text exchange between Lively and a journalist, Lively expresses her frustration with filming and says she "came home and cried" on one occasion. The actress also writes, "They're just being creeps," when referring to her co-star.
Texts between Baldoni and another actor show he was equally frustrated while making the movie. Baldoni, who also served as the film's director, said in one message that Lively was threatening not to promote the movie if she was not allowed to take part in the edit.
In one message, he wrote, "She had the nuclear bomb. If she doesn't promote the movie she can leak that I'm a bad person or that she felt unsafe with me and 'all the stuff' she has on me. Then she's the victim."
In a later text message, he wrote, "The risk to my family isn't worth the creative integrity."
Other unsealed documents include a text exchange between Lively and fellow actress Jenny Slate, who also appeared in the film.
Referring to Baldoni, Lively wrote, "I also saw something in him, was aware of a general vibe that I'm not into, and I pushed past it. Never again! Lesson learned."
ABC News has reached out to Slate's representative for comment.
Lively first filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department in December 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment on the set of "It Ends with Us" and accusing both Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios of engaging in a "social manipulation" campaign to "destroy" Lively's reputation.
The two later filed dueling lawsuits against each other in New York in the weeks that followed, with Lively reiterating the claims made in her earlier complaint and further accusing Baldoni retaliation, suing him for nearly $500 million in damages. Baldoni's lawyer denied the allegations, stating at the time that they had "evidence which will show a pattern of bullying and threats to take over the movie" by Lively.
Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, the couple's publicist Leslie Sloane, and Sloane's public relations company Vision PR alleging extortion and defamation, claiming Lively had "robbed" him of control over the film and had destroyed his reputation.
Lively's lawyers denied the allegations and called Baldoni's suit "another chapter in the abuser playbook."
"This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim," they said in a statement at the time.
A federal judge in New York dismissed Baldoni's suit in June last year, formally ending the counterclaim in October after Baldoni did not refile an amended complaint. Attorney Byran Freedman said at the time, "Our clients chose not to amend their complaint to preserve appeal rights. In the meantime, we are focusing on Ms. Lively's claims. We remain fully committed to pursuing the truth through every legal and factual avenue available and look forward to our day in court."
Lively's suit against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios is ongoing.
This week's documents were unsealed ahead of a hearing scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 22. The trial is set to begin May 18.
A member of Lively's legal team responded to the newly unsealed documents in a statement to ABC News, writing, "In his TedTalk to promote his brand as an advocate for women, Justin Baldoni said we must 'listen to the women'...even if what they are saying is against you.' See how he actually reacts in the bombshell new evidence released for the first time, which includes sworn testimony and contemporaneous messages from numerous women who actually worked with him."
The statement continued, "The newly unsealed evidence contains never-before seen testimony, messages, and evidence from numerous eyewitnesses backing the claims in Ms. Lively's lawsuit. The evidence includes Ms. Lively's own testimony describing the harassment she faced, as well as new evidence from numerous women describing their own disturbing experiences."
ABC News has reached out to Baldoni's representatives for comment.
