Justin Baldoni called ‘moron’ by Sony executive over alleged comment about Blake Lively It Ends with Us scene

A newly unsealed email shows a Sony Pictures marketing executive referred to It Ends With Us star and director Justin Baldoni as a “moron” over remarks he allegedly made during a 2024 interview.

According to the email, sent by senior executive Danni Maggin, Baldoni’s comments in one interview raised alarm within the studio’s publicity team.

“Justin is basically alluding to ‘raping’ Atlas out of Lily when talking to the Dallas Morning News. We cut the tape but he is a moron,” Maggin wrote in the message on August 5, 2024. The emails, viewed by People, were recently unsealed as part of Blake Lively’s ongoing legal battle with Baldoni.

Maggin also referenced then Sony Motion Group president Josh Greenstein, saying he allegedly told colleagues that Baldoni “shouldn’t do any more press but he has a lot left so maybe we can talk asap.”

In the email, Maggin included the portion of what Baldoni allegedly said while discussing a scene in which his character Ryle physically assaults Lily, played by Blake Lively.

“For me what that scene was more about was Ryle feeling like he had lost all power and feeling so insecure and jealous that the only way in his mind that he could show her how much he loved her was um and I won’t say the word that we used in developing it, but what was essentially to force any love she had for Atlas out of her,” he allegedly told the reporter.

“So Ryle’s motivation, if you’re talking about character motivation, or why he did what he did, from the filmmaking perspective and from the actor perspective, was um he was trying to, in his twisted mind, love... Atlas out of her. There’s another word we used and I’m sure in your imagination you can go there.”

Behind the scenes, tensions reportedly grew over how It Ends With Us, a romantic drama exploring domestic violence, was marketed.

A Sony marketing plan included in Lively’s lawsuit advised the cast to “avoid talking about this film that makes it feel sad or heavy, it’s a story of hope.”

It continued, “Focus more on Lily’s strength and resilience as opposed to describing the film as a story about domestic violence.”

Lively’s legal team alleged Baldoni defied that approach. “In the days leading up to the Film’s release, Mr. Baldoni abruptly pivoted away from the Film’s Marketing Plan and the types of publicity activities in which he had previously participated,” her lawyers wrote.

Baldoni’s attorney disputed that claim in a countersuit, since dismissed.

“Against much resistance from the Film’s distributor, Baldoni, from day one, made it clear that he was making this Film to bring awareness to domestic violence and would not refrain from doing so when promoting the Film. He did not ‘go rogue,’ as Lively alleges,” his legal team argued.

The leaked email adds another layer to the off-screen drama surrounding It Ends With Us.

Feud rumours between Lively and Baldoni first surfaced in August 2024 following the film’s New York City premiere. Four months later, Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni, followed by a formal lawsuit.

Baldoni denied any wrongdoing and responded with a $400 million countersuit, which has since been dismissed. Lively’s lawsuit remains ongoing.