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Justin Baldoni called his “It Ends With Us” co-star Blake Lively “beautiful” in a leaked voice note ahead of their ongoing legal battle.
In the message obtained by TMZ Monday, the director was heard complimenting the actress after she sent him photos of herself trying on costumes for her character, Lily Bloom, around early 2023
“Hey Blake, I hope the fitting was super successful,” he said. “Thank you for sending those pictures, it was really cool.”
“I was in the department head meeting, and they came through, and I was waiting for them to load, and I legit got the chills when I saw it,” Baldoni, 42, added.
“You look beautiful. It’s going to work so well.”
Reps for the “Jane the Virgin” star and Lively, 38, weren’t immediately available to Page Six for comment.
The voice memo was leaked days after another private message was unsealed, in which the “Gossip Girl” alum referred to Baldoni as a “friend.”
“I hope you’re so well,” she told Baldoni in a message regarding the production schedule for “It Ends With Us” in February 2023, per People.
Lively shared that her husband, Ryan Reynolds, encouraged her to open up to him about her concerns because she and Baldoni have “such a great trust.”
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The “Shallows” star stressed she was talking to Baldoni “as a friend more than anything” about heading to work on the Colleen Hoover-adapted film and a separate film, “Proxy,” after giving birth to her son, Olin, in February 2023.
Lively claimed she didn’t “talk to [that director] like [she] talk[s] to” Baldoni, and hoped he would be willing to accommodate her needs.
Lively worked on “Proxy” from March to May 2023 and “It Ends With Us” from May to June 2023. Filming for the latter resumed in January 2024 after the writer’s strike.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t until “It Ends With Us” was released in August 2024 that Baldoni and the “Age of Adaline” star sparked feud rumors.
That December, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment, which he vehemently denied.
The “Five Feet Apart” director countersued Lively in January 2025. However, his case was later dismissed.
Lively and Baldoni’s lengthy legal battle has continuously made headlines, with the most recent drama involving unsealed communications with several A-listers, including Taylor Swift and Ben Affleck.
The co-stars will hash out their differences in court on May 18, 2026.
English (US)