Justin Baldoni is heard apologising to Blake Lively in an alleged voice note sent during the production of It Ends With Us.
The director and actor, 41, was said to have questioned changes Lively made to a rooftop scene, where the characters meet initially meet.
This was reportedly months before the pair filed lawsuits against one another.
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Across the two lawsuits, Lively claimed he sexually harassed her on set and then issued a smear campaign after she spoke up.
Baldoni has denied the allegations and has countersued with a £326 million lawsuit for damages, including defamation and lost future income.
Justin Baldoni’s alleged voice notes
In his lawsuit, Baldoni claims he was forced to accept a revised version of the rooftop scene allegedly written by Lively, who later said it was written by her husband Ryan Reynolds, also named in the suit.
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This was reportedly due to the fact that Lively is good friends with Taylor Swift, whose song was used in the scene, and he didn't want to upset her.
“I want to start with an apology. Reading the second part of your message. My heart sank and I’m really sorry. I for sure fell short,” the director allegedly said in the April 2023 voice note at 2am.
“I just wanted to say thank you for sharing that with me.
“That takes a lot of trust and vulnerability. And I just I feel really grateful that you feel safe enough to tell me that that’s how you feel and share that with me.”
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He allegedly continued to apologise, calling it 'a fail on my part'.
“One thing you should know about me is I will admit and apologise when I fail. I am far from perfect. I am a very flawed man. As my wife will attest,” Baldoni allegedly added.
“I’m going to f**k up. I’m going say the wrong thing. I’m going to put my foot in my mouth. I’m going to p**s you off, probably. But I will always apologise and then find my way back to centre. That is one thing I can assure you of.”
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Addressing Lively's supposed response to Baldoni's reaction when he saw the rewrites, he allegedly said: “I’m sorry I made you feel that way.
“That must have felt terrible. And I will for sure do better. That was not my best weekend. And I should have given it more time.”
“Aside from the fact that the two of the most creative people on the planet, the three of you guys together, it’s unbelievable. Talk about energy force, all three of you,” Baldoni supposedly said, a nod to her husband and Swift.
“You and I have been trying to build a relationship which I think we’ve done successfully. Here we are talking together at 2am in the morning. But largely via text and voicemail and I will admit, that’s not my biggest strength.”
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The voice note then goes on, hearing Baldoni allegedly add: “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.
“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. 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.”
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s lawsuits explained
Lively filed her first lawsuit against Baldoni, producer Jamey Heath, Baldoni's publicist Jennifer Abel, and others in December 2024, claiming he sexually harassed her on set and then issued a smear campaign after she spoke up.
Earlier this month, she filed a second lawsuit alleging Baldoni engaged in inappropriate behaviour, which included a scene where their characters performed a slow dance.
Footage of the scene has since been made available to the public, which can be viewed above.
The It Ends with Us director and actor has countersued Lively and her husband Reynolds for £326 million.
Baldoni has accused Lively and her husband of hijacking the production and promotion of the film.
"This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio," the suit says.
"Then, when Lively and Reynolds’ efforts failed to win them the acclaim they believed they so richly deserved, they turned their fury on their chosen scapegoat."
Damages include control and extortion, defamation and false allegations, marketing conflicts, professional and personal damages, collaborative breakdown and false narrative and media manipulation.
When will Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit go to trial?
Judge Lewis J. Liman has said the trial will take place on 9 March, 2026, as reported by People.
A set pre-trial hearing regarding Lively's prospective request for a gag order has been brought forward, scheduled for 3 February.
Will Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s trial be on TV?
LA attorney Gregory Doll, who is not involved in the case, predicts that the trial will not be televised.
"By filing in federal court, they foreclosed the possibility that there will be any cameras in the proceedings," the partner at Doll Amir & Eley, told People.
Alleged leaked Justin Baldoni voice note in full
"Hey, Blake. It is two in the morning. Hopefully this does not wake you up. Wow, there's so much I want to say to you, and I hope that we can FaceTime or see each other in person soon and get to talk more, but I'm just going to send you a few thoughts, and hopefully it's not going to be more than a few minutes, but that I don't have the best track record. I don't think either one of us have the best track record for voice memos
"I want to start with an apology. Man, I... reading the second part of your message, my heart sank, and I'm really sorry. I for sure fell short, and you worked really hard on that, and the way you framed it, and how that made you feel. I just want to say thank you for sharing that with me. That takes a lot of trust and vulnerability. And I just, I feel really grateful that you feel safe enough to tell me that that's how you feel and share that with me and I'm really sorry.
"I f**ked up, that is a fail on my part. One thing you should know about me is I will admit and apologise when I fail. I am far from perfect. I'm a very flawed man, as my wife will attest and and I'm gonna f**k up, I'm gonna say the wrong thing, I'm gonna put my foot in my mouth. I'm gonna piss you off, probably, but I will always apologise and then find my way back to centre. That is one thing I can assure you of, and I'm sorry I made you feel that way. That must have felt terrible, and I will, for sure, do better. That was not my best weekend, and I should have given it more time.
"And damn, right, you got great friends, if that's how you felt, and they knew that. And we should all have friends like that, aside from the fact that they're two of the most creative people on the planet. The three of you guys together. It's unbelievable. Talk about energy, just to force of all three of you.
"But I just wanted you to know that I didn't need that, because it's really good and it's gonna make the movie sing, like you said, and I'm excited to go through the whole movie with you. I'm just excited to spend time with you. I'm excited to be in your sphere and your presence, and for us to share creative juices together. Although that sounds terrible.
"I think you and I have been trying to build a relationship, which I think we've done successfully. I mean, here we are talking like this, me into my phone at two in the morning, but largely via text and voice note. I will be honest with you, that is not my biggest strength. I love being with people and being in somebody's space and being face-to-face, and I feel like that's where I excel, and definitely fallen short at times in our text and voice note exchanges, because there's so much to communicate and there's so much happening.
"All that's to say, I'm just really looking forward to spending time together, and I think that's going to really go a long way for our chemistry, which I believe is there and has been there from the start. So I was so damn excited when you wanted to do this film. I felt it in the room when we met. Yeah, I think it does come from the both of us being so f**king hard working and having a vision and not settling. And I'm excited to have a creative partner in that with you. And it's just really exciting.
"There's so much more to say. There's so much I want to say. Oh, and there's one thing that I do need to say, which is, I am so sorry you have been through what you've been through with these other filmmakers and producers or whoever the people were that you worked with. It just pissed me off. I'm just still kind of blown away, that this is the industry that we're in, that you've experienced that as a woman. I know I don't need to say it, but that's not at all going to be or will be... hopefully it's not been the experience with me.
"There's nothing more exciting to me. I get to work with Blake Lively and have her, all of her, that's what I want. And so there's been no hesitancy with me sending you the final draft file. I am totally fine with that. The only reason I didn't send it today was because I was trying to implement and add your notes into my working draft, which is already like, I'm all over that draft right now.
"So there's a whole bunch of new stars that are going to be collated pages. I just haven't had a chance to send it to you, but there's no hesitancy. I'm happy to send it to you and I'm sorry that that has happened to you before and, and I hope after this experience, there will be a new... I hope it'll be healing in some way. That's all I want. I want this movie to be healing. I want this movie to be commercial just like you, and affect people and touch people. And I want to walk you through my whole plan and the work that we're doing with the domestic violence partner that we found NO MORE and just my vision, and I just, I just know that this can be really, really special, and it's going to be special, and you're the secret sauce, and we're the secret sauce.
"Anyways, I have so much more to say. I'm going to stop rambling, because, Jesus Christ, it's been six minutes and 30 seconds. I'm sorry, you probably have kids all over you and a baby on your boob, and you're listening to me ramble at two in the morning. I hope you're feeling better and give Ryan my love thank you for sending me that, means the world to me, that you trust me with your feelings and your thoughts like that, and I can't wait to spend more time with you. Okay, I'm done cutting myself off. Good night."
Topics: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Ryan Reynolds, News, Celebrity
Anish Vij