Justin Baldoni submitted an alleged private text from Blake Lively, where she described herself as Khaleesi from Game of Thrones, as part of their ongoing legal battle, In Touch can report.
In Touch obtained the $400 million lawsuit filed by Justin, his production partner Jamey Heath, and their company Wayfarer Studios, against Blake, 37, and her publicist Leslie Sloane.
As In Touch previously reported, Blake sued Justin and Jamey accusing them of sexual harassment on set of It Ends With Us.
She claimed she dealt with inappropriate sex talk, the two walking into her trailer uninvited while she was breastfeeding and was shown a video of Jamey’s wife naked.
The actress claimed she made a list of demands she required Justin and Jamey to meet before she resumed filming.
She claimed Justin then hired a crisis PR team to smear her in retaliation. Justin and Jamey denied all allegations of sexual harassment.
Justin claimed Blake once invited him into her trailer while breastfeeding — and submitted an alleged text from her to back up his claim. Jamey said the video of his wife was her birthing video, and it was shown because they were shooting a birthing scene.
Both denied walking into her trailer uninvited. Justin accused Blake of working with The New York Times to smear him.
He said the outlet wrote a one-sided article that cherry-picked evidence to push the narrative Blake wanted presented.
A spokesperson for The New York Times said, “Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported.”
The spokesperson said reporters had reviewed “thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and email that we quote accurately and at length in the article.”
As part of his newly filed lawsuit, Justin claimed Blake smeared him after facing significant public backlash for her “tone-deaf” and insensitive press tour for the film.
The suit read, “Though Lively claimed Baldoni was the one smearing her, the reality is that it was Lively and her team who carefully planned and implemented a vile smear campaign against Baldoni and Wayfarer to deflect attention and blame for Lively’s disastrous misjudgments.”
In the lawsuit, Justin claimed Blake tried to take control of the film before, during and after production. He pointed to one incident where she asked to rewrite a pivotal scene in the film.
His suit read, “Early in the pre-production stage, [Blake] sent [Justin] a long text describing how directors never permitted her to write scenes for the movies she acted in nor gave her writing credits, even making her hand-scribble her suggestions for lines so that they could not be traced to her.”
“[Blake] boasted that she had even written for her husband’s movies. Then [Blake] asked if she could ‘take a pass’ at writing the rooftop scene in It Ends With Us in which the characters Ryle and Lily first meet. This pivotal scene, much beloved by book fans, was critical for setting the tone for the movie, so [Justin] was reluctant to allow an actor (rather than a union screenwriter) to rewrite this key scene. But [Justin] felt the need to allow [Blake] to rewrite the scene and agreed to take a look at what she put together,” the suit continued.
Justin said the draft that Blake sent him was dramatically different than the original version. He said he was hesitant about many of the changes, but thanked Blake for her passion. He told her the end result would end up somewhere in between the two.
He explained he had dinner at Blake and Ryan’s home, where Ryan made clear to praise Blake’s edit to the rooftop scene. Justin said another famous friend walked in later and praised Blake’s script changes.
“[Justin] understood the subtext: he needed to comply with [Blake’s] direction for the script,” the suit continued. Justin said Blake did not respond to his response to her script changes and went silent for days. He said she then sent him a text, which he included in the suit.
Justin wrote on April 14, 2023, “Also was working on rooftop scene today, I really love what you did. It really hep [sic] a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor)” with a wink emoji.
He added, “You really are a talent across the board. Really excited and grateful to do this together.”
Blake responded on April 15, 2023, “That’s very appreciated. And means a lot. I’m deeply inspired by the film we’re gonna make outside of the success of the book. We have such an opportunity to only surprise people who love the book but reach an even bigger audience by making an undeniably dynamic and also commercial film.”
She continued, “We’re in this together. And we are two of this [sic] determined people I know. We also have very high bars set for ourselves. To collaborate with that type of partner is a gift that neither of us will squander. Because we both care too much about the result and also the experience.”
“I have no motives except for you to win,” Blake continued. “As a director. As an actor. As a studio. As a writer. If you win, I win.”
She added, “As for [redacted] and Ryan (and [redacted] for that matter, I’m the luckiest motherfucker on the planet to have them as my ‘Dance Moms’ level stage moms. They are embarrassingly effusive.”
“That said, they’re also my most trusted partners and the people I go to first with anything creative I touch. And I’m the person they each go to first. The reciprocal creativity and support has been one of my life’s greatest and most fulfilling gifts,” she added. “When they loved and signed off on the pages, I felt good to send them to you. They asked what you though specifically after. They checked in so many times, I told them that you laughed a bunch and said it’s probably a blend but you appreciate my passion so much,” the actress wrote.
Blake said, “Which of course didn’t feel great for me. Or them. To have my passion be praised instead of my specific contribution. Or even just that you didn’t like the pages. Which was fine also.”
“So I think they wanted you and me to see how they felt about the work because they’ve been by my side for far too many experiences where I’ve been overlooked. I spoke to you about this when we first met. They’ve watched me hand write scripts bc [sic] the director is too afraid to send the FDX file yet he scans and has someone hand type all 120 pages of my pencil rewrites,” she continued. “They’ve watched the other side of it too where I’m told at signing on that I’m wanted as a true collaborator but once we get to work, I’m really just wanted as a ‘yes man’ audience and actor,” she said.
She added, “Both Ryan and [redacted] have established themselves as absolute titans as writers and storytellers outside of their primary gig — just signing or just acting or [redacted] just directing. I’m so lucky to have them as creative barometers. But also to have them as the people who prop me up and make sure I’m seen for all I can, and do, offer.
Blake continued, “They also know I’m not always as good at making sure I’m seen and utilized for fear of threatening egos, or fear or affecting the ease of the process. They don’t give a shit about that. And because of that, everyone listens to them with immense respect and enthusiasm. So I guess I have to stop worrying about people liking me.”
“If you ever get around to watching Games of Thrones, you’ll appreciate that I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually for better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine,” she added with a laughing emoji. “You will too, I can promise you.”
Blake’s legal team tells In Touch, “The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail.”