In a 2 a.m. voice message from April 2023, Justin Baldoni issued a candid apology to his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively over a disagreement about a scene rewrite. “I’m really sorry, I f*cked up,” Baldoni said in the six-minute message addressing the rooftop sequence in the Sony hit. “I’m a very flawed man, as my wife will attest.” This private admission has now entered the public eye as part of an escalating legal dispute that’s set to go to trial in March 2026.
The voicemail is just one piece of a growing collection of communications between the co-stars, their publicists, and legal teams. Lively filed a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department in December 2023, prompting a series of lawsuits and countersuits between the two actors. Baldoni, in turn, has accused Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation and extortion in a separate $400 million suit.
Legal Timeline and Trial Preparation
Federal Judge Lewis J. Liman has scheduled the trial to begin on March 9, 2026, with both parties required to submit a case management plan by January 30, 2025. Meanwhile, the dispute has spawned multiple lawsuits, including a $250 million defamation case Baldoni filed against The New York Times. Lively’s team has also sought a protective order to limit Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, from making public statements, alleging these remarks could taint the jury pool.
“There already is a serious risk that his misconduct is tainting the jury pool,” Lively’s attorney Michael J. Gottlieb wrote in a letter to the court, citing Freedman’s media strategy and alleged “arms race” of selective disclosures.
Social Media Allegations and Texas Legal Front
The legal drama has extended to Hays County, Texas, where Lively and Reynolds have filed a motion alleging that Baldoni’s PR team hired a subcontractor to wage a social media campaign against Lively. According to the filing, Jed Wallace of Street Relations orchestrated a “digital army” to disseminate disparaging content about Lively across platforms and forums.
The filing claims, “Wallace weaponized a digital army around the country, including in New York and Los Angeles, to create, seed, manipulate, and advance disparaging content that appeared to be authentic.”
Behind-the-Scenes Drama and Future Fallout
The voicemail released by Baldoni’s team appears to echo Lively’s claims of on-set intimidation. In the message, Baldoni acknowledges potential conflict, stating, “I’m gonna piss you off, probably, but I will always apologize and find my way back to center. I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I will, for sure, do better.” Lively, reportedly backed by Reynolds and Taylor Swift, has maintained that her rewrites were met with hostility.
Freedman has signaled plans to release more recordings, behind-the-scenes footage, and private communications to challenge Lively’s narrative. Lively’s team, however, contends that they possess additional evidence to substantiate her claims, raising questions about the transparency of Freedman’s disclosures.
As the case moves forward, both sides appear focused on controlling the narrative. With allegations of a billionaire-financed smear campaign and accusations of character assassination flying, the trial promises to be as dramatic as the Sony film at the heart of the dispute. Updates on filings, hearings, and potential resolutions will continue to unfold in what has become one of Hollywood’s most contentious legal battles in recent memory.
