In the aftermath of several court documents from the ongoing Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni lawsuit being unsealed last week, a bombshell audio clip from the actress to Baldoni has reignited controversy.
According to the newly released court filings, obtained as part of the discovery process, Blake allegedly sent a voice note lasting over four minutes to her It Ends With Us co-star and director, referring to him as “a friend at this point more than anything.”
Highlights
- A private four-minute voice note from Blake Lively to Justin Baldoni, recorded months before filming began, has resurfaced, sparking fierce online debate.
- While some listeners defended and sympathized with Lively’s words in the audio, others accused the actress of “unprofessional” behavior and questioned her allegations against Baldoni.
- As the legal battle has escalated in recent days, newly unsealed messages involving several high-profile figures, including Taylor Swift, have intensified scrutiny over the case.
The unsealed audio has sharply divided the internet, with many now questioning the Gossip Girl alum’s scathing allegations against Justin.
“I was so on Blake's side at first with all of this, but now it's going from victim to revenge, and that always to me shares another side to a story,” one netizen reacted.
Blake Lively has divided the internet after an alleged voice note lasting over four minutes, sent to Justin Baldoni, was obtained by multiple media outlets yesterday
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Private audio recordings involving both Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni were recently unsealed and released as part of their high-profile legal battle over the 2024 film It Ends With Us, just months ahead of their scheduled trial set to begin in May.
The controversial lawsuit between the two stars has been ongoing since December 2024, when Lively sued Baldoni for alleged s*xual harassment and retaliation on the film’s set, along with claims that he orchestrated a smear campaign against her.
In her legal filing, the actress also alleged that she was “fat-shamed” by Baldoni during filming, claiming that he had “secretly” contacted her personal trainer, Dan Saladino, without her consent to ask about her weight.
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The Jane the Virgin star responded with a $400 million defamation and extortion countersuit, alleging that Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, threatened to “ruin” his reputation in the industry and attempted to “hijack” the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s popular novel.
However, Baldoni’s countersuit against the couple was dismissed by a judge in June last year.
Addressing the body-shaming allegations, Baldoni reportedly claimed that he asked about Lively’s weight due to a chronic back injury, stating that he needed to determine whether he could safely perform a “scripted lift scene.”
As part of the unsealed court documents, multiple media outlets also obtained a voice message sent by Blake to Justin in February 2023, reportedly three months before official production on the film began.
She began the message by saying, “I hope you’re so well. I just wanted to connect to put something on your radar. Um, so between us like this is so uh premature for me to even share this with you.”
Blake and Justin’s relationship at the time appeared to be on good terms, as she addressed the director as “a friend at this point more than anything”
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Lively explained that her husband had “encouraged” her to open up, saying, “But [Ryan] was like, you guys have such a great trust. You know, fill him in.”
Blake then expressed intense anxiety about returning to work so soon after giving birth to her and Ryan’s fourth child, son Olin, while also juggling another project she said she had already committed to.
She explained, “The only reason that I’m doing [that movie] before is because I gave them my word and I wouldn’t go back on that. But having a week off in between, it’s just a lot.”
Image credits: blakelively
“I've been really, really under it. I don't talk to him [the other director] like I talk to you, so I haven't told him about not having a baby nurse, still don't have one by the way. The idea of going back to work right away. The idea of wanting to work out every day and yet being on set every day. Like what have I done?”
She added, “The closer the reality gets, the more I’m just panicking about that. Because I’d really like to just focus on our movie.”
Blake also voiced concerns about the physical demands of the role, saying that filming in March or April felt “too soon after having a baby and not sleeping,” as she wanted to be in her “best shape” and needed more time to work out daily.
Image credits: blakelively
The Age of Adaline star ultimately suggested what she called a “crazy idea,” potentially shifting the It Ends With Us production timeline to September.
“Obviously there’s selfish reasons I’m telling you this,” she said in the message, adding, “If by chance you’re like, ‘Oh my God, if I could go two weeks earlier, that would actually be great,’ then amazing.”
The Shallows star reportedly also expressed her “stress” over the prospect of spending a month apart from her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and their four children
She further revealed that she and Ryan were “really stressed” about the idea of being separated for that long, noting that the longest they had ever spent apart was “less than two weeks.”
Blake concluded the voice note by saying, “I told you in four minutes what I could have told you in 30 seconds. Please again keep this between us.”
“This is so sad. This is my social interaction these days - talking into voice memos. I hope you’re well. Send my love to your family who don’t know me.”
The voice note has since sparked a wave of reactions across social media platforms.
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One netizen wrote, “Only Blake Lively doesn’t do a self check mid voice memo. You can tell when you’re going off track, delete, and take another memo less than 4 minutes to someone who is a colleague.”
Another commenter added, “I'd bet that Ryan hated her filming this movie with Baldoni. I'd already heard that he wanted her to stay at home with the kiddos and not make movies, and his hatred for Baldoni seems pathological and reeks of jealousy.”
“Even in the off chance she wins, her career is d*ad. No one is going to want to touch her, Ryan will be the only one willing to cast her,” a third user expressed.
Image credits: justinbaldoni
“Calling someone a friend, when you’ve only meet them once prior to the voice note. We know MANIPULATION when we see one. In few weeks time, she’s plotting with Taylor to take over his movie. Again all this happened before filming even began.”
Meanwhile, others defended her choice, with one user arguing, “And I don’t see anything in this message that is so actually against Blake , she’s was looking for some time off , she just had a baby.”
Lively’s message sparked intense backlash, with many arguing that if someone as “privileged” as her “can’t balance” work, she “should step aside” and allow others to step in
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Another agreed, writing, “The girl wanted more time with her baby. She was trying to get him to agree.”
Reportedly, the audio highlights how the two co-stars’ relationship was initially amicable before eventually souring beyond repair.
Beyond the voice note, messages allegedly sent by Blake to several other high-profile figures, including Taylor Swift, were also unsealed.
According to the documents, exchanges between Blake and Taylor allegedly show Lively referring to Baldoni using several disparaging terms, including “doofus director” and “a clown,” while also describing the film as “my movie.”
The filings further allege that the Love Story singer referred to Justin as a “b*tch,” writing, “I think this b*tch knows something is coming because he’s gotten out his tiny violin.”
Lively’s legal team reportedly stated in court filings that they do not dispute that the “quoted language appears in the cited source,” but emphasized that it “does not support [Justin’s] assertion” that Blake and the 14-time Grammy winner “privately discussed” a smear campaign against him.
“If you can't balance being a mom and a wife on top of being an actress, then step aside and let other eager women do it,” one social media user fumed
