A lengthy voice memo Justin Baldoni sent Blake Lively at 2 a.m. — purportedly sometime in the spring of 2023 during pre-production of their film It Ends With Us — is the latest piece of communication to find its way to the media in the ongoing legal saga.
The voice memo, lasting more than six minutes, paints a picture of an empathetic director trying to smooth over any hurt feelings Lively felt regarding his response to her suggested rewrites of a key opening scene by apologizing profusely.
The voice memo was obtained first by The Daily Mail, accompanied by a story stating it was tied to the back-and-forth over the rewrite.
It also remains a mystery how the voice memo made its way to the media.
There’s nothing more exciting to me that I get to work with Blake Lively and have her all of her.
Blake Lively received a long voice memo at two in the morning from Justin Baldoni. A. — allegedly during pre-production of their movie It Ends With Us in the spring of 2023 — is the most recent communication to make its way to the media in the ongoing legal drama.
The over six-minute voice memo depicts an understanding director attempting to allay Lively’s hurt feelings by apologizing profusely for his reaction to her suggested changes to a pivotal opening scene. However, it seems from Baldoni’s own lawsuit that he wasn’t feeling particularly sorry at the time of the call.
The Daily Mail first obtained the voice memo and reported that it was connected to the back and forth over the rewrite. Although that would appear to be the case, The Hollywood Reporter is unable to confirm when Baldoni sent the recording to Lively.
Furthermore, how the voice memo got into the hands of the media is still unknown. In this case, Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, is remaining silent despite not being afraid to claim credit for the emails and video leaks. As stated by Lively’s team in an interview with THR, “We did not give the recording to any outlet, including the Daily Mail… “”.
“I sincerely apologize for my mistake,” Baldoni says in the voice memo. For me, that is a failure. You should be aware of the fact that I will own up to my mistakes and offer an apology. I am far from flawless. I will make a mistake because, as my wife will tell you, I am a very flawed man. I’m going to say something incorrect. You hear Baldoni say, “I’m going to say something stupid.”. “I’m likely to annoy you, but I’ll always say I’m sorry and get back to normal. I can promise you that, though. I apologize if I caused you to feel that way. “.”.
However, it is revealed in Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, that Baldoni was hesitant to allow Lively to rewrite the scene at first and felt under pressure to accept the changes after the actress used her husband’s name and friend Taylor Swift to express how much they liked what she had done.
His lawsuit, filed in January, claims that “Lively sent Baldoni a draft of the rooftop scene that drastically differed from what had been written originally.”. 16 in a federal court in New York, just days after Lively filed a lawsuit of her own in the same court, accusing Baldoni of conducting a post-release smear campaign and sexually harassing her on the movie set. Despite his reservations about many of the changes, Baldoni thanked Lively for her passion and tactfully informed her that the scene would probably fall somewhere between Lively’s version and the original. “”.
According to the lawsuit, Lively, who was reportedly “stung” by his suggestion, remained silent for a few days before emailing Baldoni to say that his remarks regarding meeting in the middle “didn’t feel so great for me.”. In the lengthy email, she also described how she had previously felt that other filmmakers had disregarded her original ideas.
“I am so sorry you have been through what you have been through with these other filmmakers and producers or whoever the people were that you worked with,” Baldoni writes in the voice memo, speaking about her previous experiences. I was just annoyed by it. Those idiots. That this is the field in which we work and that you have gone through that as a woman still astounds me. And while I’m sure I don’t have to say it, I hope that hasn’t been the case because it won’t be. “.”.
Additionally, he remarks in the voice memo that it’s incredible that she has such close friends, Swift and her husband, whom she refers to as “dragons.”. In his lawsuit, however, he claims that he was intimidated to agree to the changes at the time. The message couldn’t have been more obvious. Lively wasn’t the only person Baldoni had to deal with. According to the lawsuit, he was also up against Lively’s “dragons,” two of the most powerful and affluent celebrities in the world, who weren’t hesitant to make things extremely difficult for him.
“I have a lot more to say, but I’m going to stop rambling because, Jesus Christ, it’s been six minutes and thirty seconds, so fuck me,” Baldoni writes near the end of his voicemail. I apologize. . You are listening to me babble at two in the morning, most likely with a baby on your boob and children all over you. Please give Ryan my love and I hope you’re feeling better. “”.
See the voicemail in its entirety below.
Hey Blake, it’s two o’clock. I hope this doesn’t wake you up. What a shock. Wow. I hope that we can FaceTime or meet in person soon so that we can continue our conversation because I have a lot to say to you. I’ll send you a few thoughts, though, and hopefully it won’t take more than a few minutes. I don’t have the best record—I don’t think either of us has the best record when it comes to voice memos. I would like to begin by apologizing. Man, I was devastated when I read the second part of your message. I sincerely apologize.
You put a lot of effort into how you framed it and how it made you feel, and I definitely fell short. All I can say is that I appreciate you sharing that with me. That requires a great deal of vulnerability and trust, so I’m really appreciative that you feel comfortable enough to share your feelings with me. I sincerely apologize. I made an error. It was a failure of mine.
You should know one thing about me: when I make a mistake, I will own up to it and apologize. I am not at all flawless. As my wife will tell you, I am a flawed man. I will also make a mistake. I will say the incorrect thing. It is my intention to make a mistake. Even though I’m likely to annoy you, I’ll always say I’m sorry and get back to normal. That’s one thing I can guarantee. I apologize if I caused you to feel that way. I will undoubtedly perform better, and that must have felt awful. My weekend wasn’t the best, and I ought to have given it more time.
It’s true that you have wonderful friends. If they knew that you felt that way, then fuck!— we should all have friends like that. Apart from the fact that they are two of the world’s most imaginative individuals, the three of you together are incredible. Talk about force and energy, all three of you, but I just wanted to let you know that I didn’t need that because it’s excellent and will make the film sing, as you mentioned. I’m looking forward to watching the entire film with you. Just spending time with you excites me. I can’t wait to spend time with you, be in your orbit, and exchange ideas with you. Yet that sounds awful.
I believe we’ve been making an effort to get to know one another, and I believe we’ve been successful. We’re talking like this on my phone at two in the morning, mostly through voice notes and texts. To tell the truth, that isn’t my strongest suit. I enjoy spending time with people, being in their company, and being in person. I feel that this is where I thrive and where I occasionally fall short in our voice note and text exchanges because there is so much to say, so much going on, and so much to say. I’m just looking forward to spending time with you because I think that will greatly enhance our chemistry, which I think has existed from the beginning. I was so thrilled that you wanted to make this movie.
I sensed it in the room when we first met, and yes, I believe it stems from the fact that we are both extraordinarily diligent, have a clear vision, and don’t settle for anything less. I’m thrilled to have you as a creative partner in that. And it’s just incredibly thrilling. So much more can be said. I have so many things to say. Well, I must add that I’m very sorry for what you’ve gone through with these other producers and filmmakers, or whoever it was that you collaborated with. I was just annoyed by it. Such idiots. I’m still in complete awe that you’ve gone through that as a woman and that this is the field we work in. I hope it hasn’t happened to me, but I know I don’t have to say it, but that won’t be the case at all.
Nothing excites me more than getting to collaborate with Blake Lively and have her whole attention. That’s what I want, really. Therefore, I have sent you the Final Draft file without hesitation. I’m perfectly okay with that. I was attempting to incorporate and incorporate your notes into my working draft, which I am currently working on, which is the only reason I didn’t send it today. I haven’t had a chance to send you the pages with all the new stars that will be compiled, but there isn’t any hesitation. I’m glad to send it to you, and I apologize if that has happened to you previously. The only thing I want is for this experience to be healing in some way, so I’m hoping for a new one.
I want this film to be therapeutic. I want this film to be as commercial as you are, impacting and touching people. I also want to take you through my entire plan and the work we’re doing with No More, the partner we found who is responsible for domestic violence. Additionally, it’s only my vision. And I simply have a feeling that this will be something truly unique. We are the secret sauce, and you are the key. In any case, I have a lot more to share. Because it’s been six minutes and thirty seconds, I’m going to stop babbling. Fuck me. I apologize. It’s likely that you’re listening to me babble at two in the morning with children all over you and a baby on your boob. Give Ryan my love and I hope you’re feeling better.
It means so much to me that you trust me with your thoughts and feelings, so thank you very much for sending me. Additionally, I am eager to spend more time with you. Alright, I’ll stop now. Rest of the night.