Justin Baldoni alleges that Ryan Reynolds “ambushed” him during a private meeting.
He says the encounter left him feeling “emotionally paralysed.” This information comes from newly revealed text messages included in the legal dispute with Blake Lively over It Ends With Us.
Court documents obtained by People magazine include text messages Baldoni sent to actor Rainn Wilson, describing a tense and deeply personal meeting at Reynolds and Lively’s New York City apartment in January 2024.
In his message dated January 5, 2024, Baldoni recalls the encounter, which he says was sparked by allegations raised by Lively, occurring just one day before filming was scheduled to resume after the Hollywood strikes.
He wrote, “Ryan was talking to me like a five-year-old and scolding me. They essentially said that Jamey [Heath] and I are not who we claimed to be and that for us to have a podcast is unsafe because it makes people feel like we are safe.”
Baldoni claims Reynolds read a list of allegations from his phone, describing them as loosely based on real events but “taken completely out of context.”
He said the words “creepy” and “abuse” were used and that he was handed a written apology to read, but he could not continue.
He texted, “I was emotionally paralysed, which is something I haven’t experienced in years,” adding that he felt torn between defending himself and trying not to “blow this whole movie up.”
Baldoni wrote that Lively considered the situation “the worst experience of her life” and that others described his behavior on set as “creepy.”
He maintains the misunderstanding stemmed from asking a trainer about Lively’s weight because of a scene requiring him to lift her and due to his back issues.
His complaint, filed in January 2025, further alleges Reynolds delivered a harsh tirade, though Reynolds’ spokesperson later clarified he was “angry,” “stern,” and “impassioned,” not aggressively berating.
Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit against Lively, Reynolds, and their publicist was dismissed on June 9, along with his separate $250 million defamation suit against The New York Times.
Lively’s case is set for trial in March 2026 in the Southern District of New York.
