Justin Baldoni’s team is working around the clock to try to sway public opinion in his favor amid the ongoing legal battle between him and his It Ends With Us costar, Blake Lively. A month ago, Blake accused the director of sexual harassment during filming and a subsequent smear campaign. Justin then filed a lawsuit against The New York Times over their reporting on the matter, and he’s also suing Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy.
In Justin’s suit against Blake and Ryan, he’s arguing that they pressured him into making major script changes. Justin claims Blake rewrote the rooftop scene in the movie and showed the rewrite to him at an alleged meeting with her husband and her good friend, Taylor Swift. On January 27, TMZ published a voice memo from Justin in which he seemingly addresses Blake’s rewrite and that alleged meeting with Ryan and Taylor.
Here’s what to know about the seven-minute voice memo apology Justin Baldoni sent to Blake Lively at 2 am.
Justin Baldoni’s 2 AM Voice Memo to Blake Lively: Taylor Swift, Ryan Reynolds References
What Did Justin Baldoni Say To Blake Lively In His 2am Voice Memo?
In his alleged seven-minute voice memo, Justin appears to apologize for how he reacted to Blake’s ideas for the rooftop scene. “I’m really sorry,” he says in the audio. “I fell short and you worked really hard on that.”
Justin continued, “I fucked up. One thing you should know about me is that I will admit and apologize when I fail. I am far from perfect and I’m a very flawed man, as my wife will attest.”
“We should all have friends like that, aside from the fact that they’re two of the most creative people on the planet,” he added, appearing to reference Ryan and Taylor. “The three of you guys together, it’s unbelievable.” (In a previously revealed alleged text exchange about the meeting, Blake compared herself to Khaleesi from Game of Thrones and referred to Ryan and Taylor as her “dragons.”)
Justin stressed that he “didn’t need that” — presumably Ryan and Taylor’s presence and input — because “it’s really good.” He apologized to Blake for what she’s “been through with these other filmmakers” and called them “fuckheads.”
He reflected, “I’m just still kind of blown away that this is the industry we’re in and that you’ve experienced that as a woman. Hopefully, it’s not been the experience with me.”
In his lawsuit, Justin argued that the “subtext” of that alleged meeting with Ryan and Taylor was that “he needed to comply with Lively’s direction for the script.” The suit reads: “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.”
Both Blake and Justin’s lawsuits will be addressed in a trial set for March 9, 2026 in New York.