Justin Baldoni was heard apologizing and desperately trying to smooth things over with Blake Lively in a six-and-a-half-minute voice note that is now circulating online.
During the making of the movie It Ends With Us, Baldoni had sent the 2 a.m. voice memo, which was included in his $400 million lawsuit against his co-star.
“I’m really sorry. I f—d up,” said the actor, who was also the director of the movie adapted from Colleen Hoover’s book.
Justin Baldoni was heard apologizing to Blake Lively in a six-and-a-half-minute voice note during the making of It Ends With Us
Baldoni’s voice note was reportedly sent after Lively rewrote a rooftop scene in the film. She had the changes presented to the actor-director in a meeting, with her husband Ryan Reynolds and their megastar friend Taylor Swift present and lauding the changes.
Following the meeting, there were several days of silence before the two reportedly addressed the rooftop scene in text messages.
“I really love what you did,” the actor wrote in a text message shared in April 2023.
The voice note was sent after the Gossip Girl alum rewrote a rooftop scene and had Ryan Reynolds and Taylor Swift get involved
“It really does hep [sic] a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting,” he continued. “(And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor). You really are a talent across the board. Really excited nd [sic] grateful to do this together.”
He also apologized in the voice note over Lively’s disappointment at his seemingly lukewarm response to her changes.
“I’m really sorry. I for sure fell short and you worked really hard on that,” he was heard saying in the voice note, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“I will admit and apologize when I fail. I’m a very flawed man, as my wife will attest,” the actor-director said in the 2 a.m. voice note
“And the way you framed it and how that made you feel, I just want to say thank you for sharing that with me,” Baldoni continued. “That takes a lot of trust and vulnerability. I feel really grateful that you feel safe enough to tell me that’s how you feel and share that with me. I’m really sorry, I f—d up.”
Calling himself a “flawed man,” he admitted he might “piss [her] off” but will “always apologize.”
“I’m really sorry. I f—d up. I will admit and apologize when I fail. I’m a very flawed man, as my wife will attest,” he said.
“I’m gonna piss you off, probably, but I will always apologize and find my way back to center. I’m sorry I made you feel that way,” he continued. “I will, for sure, do better.”
In his lawsuit, Baldoni claimed that Lively’s version of the rooftop scene was “dramatically” different from what was originally written for their characters, Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid, meeting for the first time.
The director claimed in the lawsuit that he was “summoned” to a meeting at the Gossip Girl alum’s New York City penthouse, where Swift arrived and “began praising Lively’s script.”
Baldoni’s lawsuit said there was no need for “Reynolds and her megacelebrity friend to pressure him” about the changes in the scene
“Baldoni understood the subtext: he needed to comply with Lively’s direction for the script,” the lawsuit stated. It also noted that the actor felt there was no need for “Reynolds and her megacelebrity friend to pressure him.”
The lawsuit also includes text messages where Lively compared herself to Khaleesi from Game of Thrones while the Deadpool actor and the Lover singer were her “dragons.”
“If you ever get around to watching Game of Thrones, you’ll appreciate that I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons,” the red carpet queen wrote in her text message.
“For better or worse, but usually for better,” she added. “Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine. You will too, I can promise you.”
In his lawsuit, Baldoni refers to the text message where Lively called Reynolds and Swift her “dragons.”
“The message could not have been clearer. Baldoni was not just dealing with Lively. He was also facing Lively’s ‘dragons,’ two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who were not afraid to make things very difficult for him,” the lawsuit stated.
In his lawsuit, Baldoni made a reference to a text message where Lively called Reynolds and Swift her “dragons”
Baldoni was heard addressing Lively’s relationship with Reynolds and the Grammy winner in the 7-minute apology voice note dropped on the internet this week.
“Damn right, you got great friends. If that’s how you felt and they knew that. F—k,” he said in the audio.
“We should all have friends like that, aside from the fact they’re two of the most creative people on the planet… The three of you guys together is unbelievable. Talk about energy. Force. All three of you.”
The Jane the Virgin actor went on to say that even without the presence of the megacelebrities, he would have given her scene the green light.
“Damn right, you got great friends. If that’s how you felt and they knew that. F—k,” Baldoni said in his audio
“I just wanted you to know, I didn’t need that. It’s really good and it’s going to make the movie sing like you said and I’m excited to go through the whole movie with you,” he said.
“You and I have been trying to build a relationship which I think we’ve done successfully. Here we are talking together at 2 a.m. in the morning.”
“But largely via text and voicemail and I will admit, that’s not my biggest strength. I love being with people and being in somebody’s space and being face-to-face and I think that’s where I excel.”
“But I’ve definitely fallen short at times in our texts and voicemail exchanges because there’s so much to communicate and so much happening.”
Baldoni’s legal team recently dropped a 10-minute video to shed light on the behind-the-scenes conflict
Image credits: extratv
“All I have to say is I’m really looking forward to spending time together and I believe that’s going to go a long way for our chemistry, which I believe is there,” he went on to say. “It’s been there from the start so I was so damn excited when you agreed to do this film. I believe it comes from us both being so hard working and having a vision.”
“I’m excited to have a creative partner in that with you,” he added.
To conclude the voice note, the actor mentioned her busy schedule being a mother of four. “You probably have kids all over you, and a baby on your boob, and you’re listening to me ramble,” he said.
It was in December last year when the Lively-Baldoni conflict, which began on the It Ends With Us set, took a legal turn with the actress filing a legal complaint with the California Civil Rights Department.
She had accused Baldoni of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment during the movie’s production, and orchestrating a retaliatory social media campaign to tarnish her reputation.
“Listen to this astoundingly nice and gentle guy grovel to Blake Lively for six minutes,” an X user said while sharing the audio
😳
NEW JUSTIN BALDONI
AUDIO JUST DROPPED!!!
If you haven’t heard it already, listen to this astoundingly nice and gentle guy grovel to Blake Lively for six minutes
AFTER SHE HAD THREATENED HIM and ambushed him with her “dragons” Ryan Reynolds and Taylor Swift. pic.twitter.com/6oJ7JFKuTR
— Colonel Kurtz -PopCulture/ Politics/ MarilynManson (@colonelkurtz99) January 27, 2025
On December 31, Baldoni sued in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, accusing The New York Times of libel for its story on Lively’s allegations. The same day, Lively had sued Baldoni in the Southern District of New York.
She claimed Baldoni, the film’s production company Wayfarer Studios, and others executed “a carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced retaliatory scheme to silence her, and others, from speaking out.”
Baldoni’s attorneys filed a second lawsuit on January 16, accusing Lively of a number of civil charges, including civil extortion, defamation, and interference with contractual relations.
Her husband Ryan Reynolds was also mentioned in the lawsuit for trying to steal authority on the film’s production from Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios.
Netizens had mixed opinions about the voice note, with one calling it “creepy” while others felt it made Baldoni appear like an “open book”
