Justin Baldoni sent Blake Lively a nearly seven-minute voice memo apology — at 2 a.m. — following their disagreement over the It Ends With Us script.
“Hey Blake, it’s 2 [a.m.] in the morning. Hopefully this does not wake you up. There is so much I want to say to you,” Baldoni began the message, which TMZ obtained in its entirety on Monday, January 27.
The actor, 41, proceeded to pour out his feelings about his and Lively’s movie, saying, “I want to start with an apology.”
Baldoni confessed, “Man, reading the second part of your message, my heart sank. I’m really sorry. I for sure fell short and you worked really hard on that. The way you framed it and how it made you feel, I just wanted to say thank you for sharing that with me.”
He noted he was “very grateful” that Lively, 37, felt “safe enough” to tell him her feelings about the project and her experience in Hollywood in general.
“I’m really sorry. I f—ed up. That is a fail on my part,” Baldoni said, revealing, “One thing you should know about me, I will admit and apologize when I fail. I am far from perfect. I am a very flawed man as my wife will attest.”
He continued: “I’m gonna f— up. I’m gonna say the wrong thing. I’m gonna put my foot in my mouth. I’m gonna say the wrong thing, probably. But I will always apologize and find my way back to center. That is one thing I can assure you of.”
Baldoni then apologized again, adding, “I’m sorry I made you feel that way. That must have felt terrible.” He vowed, “I will for sure do better. That was not my best weekend. I should’ve given it more time.”
Baldoni’s lengthy message was seemingly in response to Lively rewriting It Ends With Us’ rooftop scene with the help of husband Ryan Reynolds and pal Taylor Swift. The scene marks the first time Lively’s character, Lily Bloom, meets her charismatic but volitive love interest, Ryle Kincaid, played by Baldoni. Baldoni claimed in a January court filing that he felt pressured by Reynolds and Lively’s “megacelebrity friend” to approve the scene revisions after a meeting at Lively and Reynolds’ home.
“Damn right you’ve got great friends if that’s how you felt, and they knew that. F—, we should all have friends like that,” Baldoni said in the memo, seemingly referring to Reynolds, 48, and Swift, 35.
Lively previously compared herself via text message to Khaleesi from Game of Thrones, allegedly calling Reynolds and Swift two of her “dragons” that “protect those I fight for.”
In the voice memo, Baldoni appeared to praise Reynolds and Swift as “two of the most creative people on the planet,” gushing, “The three of you guys together is unbelievable. Talk about energy. Just a force all three of you.”
Baldoni, however, pointed out that he “didn’t need” Lively’s crew to back her up on the script changes because he already knew her draft was “really good and it’s going to make the movie,” just as Lively told him.
“I’m excited to go through the whole movie with you,” he said, letting out a few laughs here and there. “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.”
Baldoni — who also directed It Ends With Us — explained that he was ready to collaborate with the actress and take their working relationship off of texts and voice notes.
“You and I have been trying to build a relationship which I think we’ve done successfully. Here we are talking like this. … Largely via text and voice note,” he shared. “I will be honest with you, that is not my biggest strength.”
Baldoni admitted that he’d rather be “face to face” than cellular exchanges. “I feel like that’s where I excel,” he said, noting he’s “definitely fallen short in our text and voice note communications.”
He attributed that miscommunication to the fact that there is “so much to communicate and so much happening” ahead of filming. (Lively, for her part, served as a producer on the film.)
“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,” Baldoni said, complimenting Lively once more. “[It] has been there from the start. That’s why I was so damn excited when you wanted to do this film.”
He recalled their screen test for the film, saying, “I felt it in the room when we met. Yeah, I think it does come from the both of us being so f—ing hard working. Having a vision. Not settling. I’m excited to have a creative partner in that with you. It’s just really exciting. There’s so much more to say.”
As Baldoni rambled into minute five of the message, he told Lively there was “one thing” he did need to get off his chest. “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,” he said, seemingly hinting at Lively’s past issues with males in Hollywood.
“It just pissed me off. Those f—heads that — I’m just still blown away that this is the industry that we’re in and that you’ve experienced that as a woman,” Baldoni explained before promising not to fall into that category.
He continued: “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.”
Baldoni confessed, “There’s nothing more exciting to me than I get to work with Blake Lively and have all of her. That’s what I want.”
He then alleged that there had been “no hesitancy with me sending you the final draft file” and that he was “totally fine” sharing that with the actress. However, he claimed he was simply trying to “implement and add your notes into my working draft” which is why he didn’t send the draft that day.
Baldoni once again hinted that Lively was mistreated by a collaborator in the past — and possibly on script coverage — adding: “I’m sorry that that has happened to you before. I hope after this experience there will be a new — I hope it will be healing in some way. That’s all I want.”
He told Lively he wanted It Ends With Us to be “healing” and “commercial just like you,” as well as have an affect on those who see it.
Baldoni explained he wanted to “walk” Lively through his “whole plan” for the project including “the work that we’re doing with the domestic violence partner we found, No More” and his overall “vision.”
“I just know that this can be really, really special. It’s going to be special and you’re the secret sauce. We’re the secret sauce,” he said, before admitting, “I have so much more to say I’m gonna stop rambling.”
Before he signed off, Baldoni referenced Lively and Reynolds’ four children, the youngest of whom she welcomed shortly before working on It Ends With Us. (The couple share three daughters and one son.)
“I’m sorry you probably have kids all over you and a baby on your boob and you’re listening to me ramble at 2 in the morning. I hope you’re feeling better and give Ryan my love,” Baldoni said with a laugh.
He concluded: “Thank you for sending me that. It means the world to me that you trust me with your feelings and your thoughts like that. I can’t wait to spend more time with you. OK, I’m done. Cutting myself off. Goodnight.”
Lively and Baldoni have been making headlines since last year after rumors surfaced that there was tension between them while shooting It Ends With Us. They raised eyebrows when Lively was seen at several red carpet events for the project without Baldoni in attendance.
In December 2024, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni and accused him of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment as well as launching a smear campaign against her, all of which Baldoni has denied.
In January, Baldoni responded by filing his own $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds and Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane. He claimed that the trio was guilty of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy and more.
Lively’s team later claimed that Baldoni’s lawsuit is “another chapter in the abuser playbook.”
Her lawyers told Us Weekly earlier this month that the filing is “what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender. Wayfarer has opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.”
The leaked voice memo, meanwhile, comes one week after Baldoni’s team revealed its plans to launch a website that will allegedly support his allegations against Lively. (Baldoni’s legal team previously released a video from set showing the actors slow dancing during an intimate scene. While rolling, the pair could be heard speaking out of character, and the conversation has been an aspect of contention in the legal back and forth.)
“Justin and team have the right to defend themselves with the truth,” Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in a statement to Us on Tuesday, January 21. “And this is what we will be continuing to show with the upcoming website containing all correspondence as well as relevant videos that directly quash her claims.”
Lively and Reynolds have since filed a motion with the courts to get a gag order against Baldoni’s attorney. There is a pre-trial hearing set for Monday, February 3, to rule on the request.
The larger trial for Lively and Baldoni is set to begin on March 9, 2006, according to an order filed on Monday.
Us Weekly has reached out to Baldoni for comment. Lively’s rep could not be reached at this time.
