New Justin Baldoni text messages expose more claims against Blake Lively

Justin Baldoni has claimed that Blake Lively 'set up a trap' during the making of It Ends With Us in bombshell new text messages, which have been unsealed in court.

The 41-year-old actor directed the romance film based on a book of the same name by Colleen Hoover and co-starred with the Gossip Girl actress, 38, as the lead characters and love interests.

However, when the movie wrapped, a very high-profile legal battle broke out between the two celebrities, and it's still ongoing.

For those who need a reminder, months after the film was released in December 2024, Lively filed a lawsuit, which accused Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios of sexual harassment and retaliation, alleging the director and a team of publicists had launched a 'smear campaign' against her after she complained about on-set conditions.

The trial for Lively’s suit against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios is scheduled for May 2026.

Meanwhile, Baldoni also filed a $400 million countersuit against the actress, which was dismissed in June after the judge ruled that the director couldn't sue Lively for defamation over claims she made in her lawsuit, because allegations made in a lawsuit are exempt from libel claims.

More texts have emerged amid the ongoing lawsuit (Jeff Spicer / Stringer / via Getty)

And now, according to court documents obtained by People, a recent motion William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME) filed includes a text message exchange that allegedly took place on December 30 2023.

Texting Danny Greenberg, his former agent at WME, Baldoni said he had endured a 'really, really bad week' dealing with Lively.

He told Greenberg that Lively had reached out to him to try to schedule a private meeting at her home in New York City, among the creative clashes.

The actor is said to have discussed a growing disagreement over how the film’s intimate scenes would be shot.

Baldoni claimed Lively had 'refused' to use a body double for sex scenes, which prompted Sony executives and producer Todd Black to step in.

He wrote: "That’s just setting me up for a trap," allegedly insisting a body double should be used in his place.

The actor also said Lively rejected his storyboards for the intimate scenes and pushed to keep both actors fully clothed during what he saw as a key romantic moment in the film.

He wrote: "If you know the book, it’s just ridiculous," before calling the situation 'a gigantic clusterf***'.

He said he was giving Lively '95% of what she wants for peace' (John Nacion / Contributor / via Getty)

Baldoni told Greenberg he was giving Lively '95 percent of what she wants for peace' but said the experience of working with 'an actress who is rewriting the writer and director' had been 'very draining' and 'time-consuming'.

Just under a week after these texts were sent, Baldoni, Lively, Ryan Reynolds and studio representatives reportedly all took part in an 'all-hands' meeting to 'discuss a list of 17 protections' Lively had requested before production resumed following strikes.

These measures, which had allegedly been agreed to in writing in mid-November 2023, were intended to address the actresses' concerns about on-set conduct and safety.

A source close to Lively said: "These messages were sent only after Blake had laid out in detail the numerous ways that Baldoni and Heath had created a hostile work environment on the set, after they agreed to more than a dozen 'protections' for the safety of the cast and crew, and just days ahead of the January 4 meeting at which these protections would be discussed before filming resumed."

They added: "The text chain underscores Baldoni’s retaliatory intent. It reflects his private anger over the same safeguards that he had said in public were both 'reasonable' and 'essential,' and which he later admitted in his deposition were reasonable, including his resentment for having to show up to an 'all hands' meeting he had also agreed to."

Tyla has contacted reps for Lively and Baldoni for comment.