Justin Baldoni Claims 'It Ends with Us' Co-Star Blake Lively 'Was Setting Me Up for a Trap' by Refusing Body Double for Sex Scenes in Bid to Sabotage Him
Justin Baldoni has accused Blake Lively of 'setting me up for a trap' by refusing body double in sex scenes — and insisting he has one.
Jan. 7 2026, Published 8:27 a.m. ET
Justin Baldoni claims Blake Lively used a sex scene to deliberately sabotage him, as the warring former co-stars' legal battle rumbles on.
RadarOnline.com can reveal newly-unsealed private messages between the actor-and-director and his former agent Danny Greenberg of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment showed a dispute over the filming of intimate scenes.
Private Texts Detail Baldoni's Torment Working With Lively
Baldoni's texts to agent reveal his 'really, relly bad week' with the 'Gossip Girl' star.
According to new legal documents in the never-ending case, Baldoni texted the agent on December 30, 2023, complaining of a "really, really bad week" dealing with Lively, and told how she had contacted him directly to suggest a private meeting at the home she shares with husband Ryan Reynolds and their children.
The 41-year-old actor then claimed his co-star had "refused" to use a body double for sex scenes but insisted one took his place, prompting Sony executives and producer Todd Black to step in.
He wrote: "That’s just setting me up for a trap."
Baldoni also alleged the Lively, 38, had rejected his storyboards for the scenes and wanted to keep both actors fully clothed during what he saw as a key moment in the film.
He wrote: "If you know the book, it's just ridiculous."
Lively Has '95 Per Cent Of What She Wants For Peace'
Lively had been given '95 per cent of the what she wants' claims Baldoni, who just wanted 'peace.'
Baldoni branded the situation a "gigantick clusterf---" and claimed he had given Lively "95 per cent of what she wants for peace," but the experience of working with "an actress who is rewriting the writer and director" had been "very draining" and "time-consuming" over the holiday period.
Five days later, Baldoni, Lively, her husband, and studio representatives took part in an "all-hands" meeting to discuss 17 protections the former Gossip Girl star had requested before production resumed following the Hollywood strikes, which had been agreed in writing in mid-November in order to address her concerns about on-set conduct and safety.
A source close to Lively insisted the messages show Baldoni's "retaliatory intent."
Court Battle Looming
The legal battles between Baldoni and Lively have now gone on longer than a year.
An insider 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.
"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."
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Lively and Baldoni's return to court is slated for a January 22 hearing, with a May 18 trial date looming.
The case is slated to return to court for a January 22 hearing, with a May 18 trial date looming.
The latest news in the case comes as the contentious legal battle between Lively and Baldoni has gone on more than a year.
It Ends with Us earned $148million in domestic box office and $350 million globally — but whatever goodwill the film garnered has since been overshadowed by the allegations made by its stars.
