Justin Baldoni has released texts he allegedly received from It Ends with Us co-star Blake Lively where they discuss making a scene in the movie more 'flirty and yummy'.
This comes after she sued him for sexual harassment and attempting to tarnish her reputation.
Yesterday (February 3), the stars' lawyers met in court for the first time in a pre-trial hearing. Lively's lawyer Michael Gottlieb accused Baldoni's camp of making 'inflammatory extrajudicial comments' to the press about the case. Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freidman meanwhile accused Lively's team of trying to impose a 'gag order' on him to stop him talking to press.
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Judge Lewis Liman accused both sides in the case of giving 'the public plenty to feast upon'.
Baldoni, who filed his own defamation suit against Lively, recently launched a website containing documents filed in court, including text messages which the A Simple Favour actress had sent him.
Early on in the film, their characters Lily and Ryle meet for the first time on a rooftop, with their exchange playing out as mutually flirty, laying the groundwork for their friendship and later relationship.
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The scene in question, which Lively allegedly tweaked, is at the centre of the texts released by Baldoni's team.
The chat dates back to April 8, 2023 and sees the co-stars allegedly discussing the rooftop scene, with Lively appearing to want both characters to flirt to give her character more agency.
When Baldoni appears to give her the go-ahead to tweak the dialogue, she allegedly responds. You're the absolute best. Thank you."
“I can send you my pass at the roof or just read with you when we get together next week. Lemme know what you prefer,” a later text attributed to Lively reads.
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“If you knew me (in person) longer, you'd have a sense of how flirty and yummy the ball-busting would play," she allegedly continued.
"It's my love language. Spicy and playfully bold, never with teeth. And him serving it back to her is just as important."
For his part, Baldoni appeared to agree that Lively's character Lily needed to be 'strong and witty and playful and bold', allegedly adding: "That's why I wanted you."
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In December 2024, Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni for sexual harassment and allegedly taking part in a 'smear campaign' against her. In January, the star filed another lawsuit for harassment and retaliation alleging Baldoni engaged in inappropriate behavior on-set - including in one scene where their characters perform a slow dance.
Baldoni denied all the claims and his company filed its own suit against Lively, also releasing on-set footage of the scene in question.
Baldoni's team stated alongside the footage: "Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism."
However, Lively's team said the clip corroborates her account and is 'damning' of Baldoni, as well as slamming its release as 'an unethical attempt to manipulate the public'.
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The statement reads: "Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively’s discomfort.
"They will recognize her attempts at levity to try to deflect the unwanted touching. No woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by their employer without their consent."
Lively and Baldoni will go to trial on March 9, 2026.
Stefania Sarrubba