In texts from 2023, Lively also called Baldoni a “rabid pig.” Her friend Taylor Swift noted that Baldoni may have known the lawsuit was coming, joking that he “gotten out his tiny violin.” Baldoni had filed a $400 million counter-suit, but it was dismissed in June 2025. Neither Lively nor Baldoni has commented publicly on the newly unsealed texts.
The documents reveal tension on the set of It Ends With Us and during the press tour before the film’s release in August 2024. Lively described Baldoni as “this doofus director of my movie” and criticized him for thinking he was a writer. Her team said the texts were missing context, pointing out messages where Lively reassured Baldoni that everyone, including him, benefited from her connections with Taylor Swift and her husband Ryan Reynolds.
Lively expressed frustration over what she described as Baldoni’s repeated disturbing behavior. She added that Reynolds thought Baldoni should be sending her apology and thank-you letters instead.
The texts also show Lively confiding in Liz Plank, Baldoni’s former podcast co-host. She said she “came home and cried” after a difficult set visit. Plank described working on Baldoni’s set as “one of the worst days of [her] life.” Actress Jenny Slate, another co-star, also reported distressing experiences and filed complaints against Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath during filming.
Texts from Baldoni suggest tension on his side too. In February 2024, he told Heath that Lively might use her allegations as leverage. He wrote that she held “the nuclear bomb” if she refused to promote the movie. Heath, CEO of Wayfarer Studios, the production company behind the film, is named in Lively’s lawsuit. The lawsuit claims repeated sexual harassment and a hostile working environment.
