It’s one of the most eye-opening revelations to emerge in the messy It Ends With Us saga so far: Blake Lively appearing to threaten co-star Justin Baldoni by comparing herself to Game of Thrones character Khaleesi and referring to husband Ryan Reynolds and bestie Taylor Swift as her ‘dragons’.
Now DailyMail.com has obtained exclusive audio which sheds further light on the feud which arose when Lively, 37, made changes to the rooftop scene in the romantic drama film – not all of which were met with unqualified praise.
Text messages from April 2023 included in the $400million lawsuit filed against the actress show a dejected Lively expressing her disappointment at Baldoni’s lukewarm response to her version of the scene which had been praised by her husband and her superstar best friend.
The spat saw her go silent for several days until Baldoni ‘felt obliged’ to send her a text message saying he liked her pages and noting that he ‘would have felt that without Ryan and Taylor’, according to the complaint.
Lively would then respond with a lengthy text that said: ‘They [Reynolds and Swift] also know I’m not always good at making sure I’m seen and utilized for fear of threatening egos, or fear of affecting the ease of the process.
‘They don’t give a s*** about that. And because of that, everyone listens to them with immense respect and enthusiasm. So I guess I have to stop worrying about people liking me.’
DailyMail.com obtained exclusive audio which sheds further light on the feud which arose when Blake Lively, 37, made changes to the film’s famous rooftop scene
In text messages included in his filing, Lively admitted that Baldoni’s response to her version of the scene ‘didn’t feel great for me’ after he seemed hesitant about many of the changes, but thanked her for her ‘passion’
Baldoni replied with a voicemail, published today for the first time, in which the clearly rattled actor could be heard offering Lively a groveling apology and noting ‘I fell short’ over his response to her changes.
In the full audio message, which is just over six and a half minutes long, he goes on to say that he is pleased she feels comfortable enough to tell him that and describes himself as ‘a very flawed man, as my wife will say.’
Baldoni then addresses Lively’s dragon threat directly, saying: ‘Damn right, you got great friends. If that’s how you felt and they knew that. F***.
‘We should all have friends like that, aside from the fact they’re two of the most creative people on the planet… The three of you guys together is unbelievable. Talk about energy. Force. All three of you.’
But, he reiterates, he did not need their names to be raised over the changes to the scene and instead goes on to praise the glamorous blonde – highlighting her work ethic and creative vision.
He said: ‘I just wanted you to know, I didn’t need that. It’s really good and it’s going to make the movie sing like you said and I’m excited to go through the whole movie with you.
A text message exchange from April 15, 2023 shows Baldoni praising Lively’s version of the rooftop scene and Lively complimenting his work as a director and actor in return
Lively also sent a lengthy text referring to her husband and her bestie Taylor Swift who she says ‘know I’m not always good at making sure I’m seen and utilized for fear of threatening egos, or fear of affecting the ease of the process’
In a subsequent text that has gone viral on social media, Lively compares herself to the formidable ruler in Game of Thrones Khaleesi and claims to have a ‘few dragons’ who are widely speculated to be husband Ryan Reynolds and bestie Taylor Swift
‘You and I have been trying to build a relationship which I think we’ve done successfully. Here we are talking together at 2am in the morning.
‘But largely via text and voicemail and I will admit, that’s not my biggest strength. I love being with people and being in somebody’s space and being face-to-face and I think that’s where I excel.
‘But I’ve definitely fallen short at times in our texts and voicemail exchanges because there’s so much to communicate and so much happening.
‘All I have to say is I’m really looking forward to spending time together and I believe that’s going to go a long way for our chemistry, which I believe is there. It’s been there from the start so I was so damn excited when you agreed to do this film. I believe it comes from us both being so hard working and having a vision.
‘I’m excited to have a creative partner in that with you.’
The new audio comes as the drama over It Ends With Us rumbles on, with Lively and Reynolds facing imminent subpoenas from Baldoni’s legal team.
Baldoni’s complaint alleges Lively had used Reynolds and Taylor Swift to pressure him to comply with her version of the script
The lawsuit refers to Swift as a ‘famously close friend’ and a ‘megacelebrity’ friend
According to his complaint, Lively’s reference to her ‘dragons’ was a ‘clear message’ that he was also up against to ‘two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world’
At the same time, lawyers working for the A-list couple have made a fresh bid to gag Baldoni’s side – writing to New York judge Lewis J. Liman in a bid to shut down a website they plan to launch which will contain copies of every text and email exchanged by the warring parties.
The letter, seen by DailyMail.com, also accuses Baldoni’s team of launching ‘character attacks’ on Lively and of making ‘false and defamatory’ statements.
It goes on to ask Judge Liman to prevent the launch of the website on the basis it could influence a jury pool and requests a conference with both sides present to discuss it.
The battle between Lively and Baldoni began with rumors of rancor behind the scenes of It Ends With Us when it was released last August.
It then exploded into a legal fight just before Christmas when the Gossip Girl actress sued Baldoni for sexual harassment.
The film at the heart of the feud, based on the 2016 bestseller by Colleen Hoover, was released in August and was a box office hit. It follows Lily Bloom, a florist played by Lively, who falls in love with a charming but abusive neurosurgeon played by Baldoni, who was also the film’s director
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are seen on the set of ‘It Ends with Us’ on January 12, 2024 in Jersey City, New Jersey
At the same time, the New York Times released a story based on Lively’s legal filing that accused him of orchestrating a negative publicity campaign against her and put the smell claim front and center.
In turn, Baldoni sued the Times for defamation and, two weeks go, launched a lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds that accused her of using her celebrity power to hijack his film and attempt to torpedo his career.
Since then, torrents of new information have come to light – including raw footage of a scene that Lively claimed had seen Baldoni subject her to sexual harassment by dragging his lips up her neck and telling her ‘it smells so good’.
Lively had insisted the clip had no audio and the microphones were switched off – and therefore, nobody heard the alleged harassment.
But DailyMail.com’s raw footage proved that Baldoni’s microphone was switched on and that the alleged abuse was in fact a discussion about the smell of Lively’s fake tan – throwing her claims into doubt.
The warring co-stars are also heard discussing their other halves, with Lively saying she and Reynolds talk ‘all the time’ while Baldoni says he and wife Emily stare at each other ‘for 10, literally like we’ve done it for five minutes’.
DailyMail.com previously published raw footage showing the slow dance montage scene during which Lively claimed Baldoni had sexually harassed her by nuzzling her neck and declaring: ‘It smells so good’
The tapes show how friendly the two stars were before it all went so wrong. The two are heard and seen laughing and joking around
Lively then bursts into laughter as he tells her ‘I think you would find it terrifying’. When Lively continues to tell him about how she can’t stop talking to Reynolds, Baldoni compliments: ‘Oh, I think that’s cute. You guys are really cute.’
Awkwardly, she replies ‘I think it’s more than cute’ which he hastily agrees with, adding ‘I think you guys are amazing.’
The incident formed a key plank of the sex harassment lawsuit Lively filed against Baldoni before Christmas, along with claims he deliberately set out to smear her and ruin her reputation.
Baldoni’s counter-suit says Lively attempted to hijack his film, failed to read the novel on which the movie is based until long after filming had begun and orchestrated a negative publicity campaign of her own with the connivance of her own publicist Leslie Sloane and the New York Times.
The actress and her team are also accused of doctoring text conversations between Baldoni’s publicists to make them look damning and as if they’re plotting a smear campaign against her – which led to both being subjected to social media abuse when the edited texts were published.
Baldoni’s cross-complaint also revealed that he and his family had been forced to spend the premiere of It Ends With Us sitting in a basement because Lively refused to allow him to be in the same room as her.
In the voice note, Baldoni explains that the rooftop scene was meant to create a powerful and emotional moment in the film, highlighting the complex and difficult issues surrounding domestic abuse. He emphasizes that the scene was not meant to offend or upset anyone, but rather to shine a light on an important and often overlooked issue.
Baldoni goes on to express his admiration and respect for Lively as a talented actress and collaborator, and apologizes if there was any misunderstanding or hurt caused by the scene. He reassures Lively that his intentions were always pure and that he deeply values their working relationship.
Overall, the voice note reveals the heartfelt and genuine intentions behind the controversial rooftop scene in “It Ends With Us,” and highlights the importance of open communication and understanding in creative collaborations.
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Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively, It Ends With Us, rooftop scene feud, voice note, revealed, celebrity feud, behind the scenes, on-set drama, Hollywood gossip
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