Justin Baldoni has shared extra textual content messages he says are from his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Vigorous and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
The textual content messages have been launched on a web site, titled The Lawsuit Data, created to assist defend himself towards Vigorous’s sexual harassment allegations.
On the brand new web site, revealed on Sunday, Baldoni, 41, additionally shared an amended grievance in his case towards Vigorous, Reynolds, Vigorous’s PR agency and the New York Instances, in addition to a 168-page doc entitled “Timeline of related occasions” associated to the case and the manufacturing of the movie.
Baldoni sued his co-star Vigorous, 37, and her husband, Reynolds, 48, for defamation earlier this month. Baldoni’s go well with seeks a minimum of US$400 million in damages that embody misplaced future revenue. That lawsuit got here the identical day that Baldoni sued the New York Instances for libel, alleging the paper labored with Vigorous to smear him.
The timeline contains emails and textual content messages that have been allegedly despatched main as much as and throughout the filming of the film. Lots of the textual content messages have been beforehand shared in courtroom paperwork, however a few of them are new.
“Lemme know what you like 🙂 in the event you knew me (in individual) longer you’d have a way of how flirty and yummy the ball busting would play. It’s my love language. Spicy and playfully daring, by no means with tooth,” the textual content continued. “And him serving it again to her is simply as necessary. You don’t often see each the person AND the lady with such company and humor. Anyway, I can act it out for you subsequent week to ensure it comes by. Or I can ship now. Lemme know what you like. Xx.”
Baldoni’s workforce additionally uploaded screenshots of textual content messages that they allege are between the Jane The Virgin actor and Reynolds.
The texts are dated February 2023 and present Baldoni introducing himself to Reynolds. The Deadpool star responds with a message about his pleasure for It Ends With Us.
“I’m excited so that you can work collectively,” Reynolds allegedly wrote. “I’m excited for Blake to crack open her inventive piggy financial institution with somebody as dynamic as you. That is gonna be INCREDIBLE… I occur to adore you, Justin.”
Baldoni additionally claims that Vigorous and Reynolds ready a press release for him and his agency, asking him to take the blame for the “troubled manufacturing” of the movie and the unfavourable press Vigorous acquired whereas selling it. Baldoni and his workforce declare they refused to situation the assertion supplied by the couple.
The assertion was allegedly written in August 2024 by Vigorous and Reynolds after they claimed that Baldoni was allowed to debate “extra critical messaging” whereas selling the movie.
The assertion reads, “It Ends with Us was a troubled manufacturing which we take full accountability for. We’re very sorry to everybody we precipitated upset to privately and publicly.”
“Blake Vigorous, Katie Scott Colleen Hoover, the whole solid and crew led with professionalism each step of the way in which, any negativity aimed toward them is ours to personal,” the assertion continued. “We mutually agreed that the solid could be selling the movie individually and understood why.
“We have now at all times mentioned we’re not excellent and even when unintentionally make errors, we’ll at all times personal them. We maintain ourselves accountable, it’s not anybody’s job however ours and that’s a part of being ‘man sufficient.’ We are going to follow what we preach. We’re studying and rising from the expertise and we thank everybody for his or her persistence as we discover a higher solution to proceed.”
After the web site was revealed, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman launched a press release to the press, saying, “The choice to amend our lawsuit was a logical subsequent step because of the overwhelming quantity of latest proof that has come to gentle. This recent proof corroborates what we knew all alongside, that attributable to purely egotistical causes Ms. Vigorous and her total workforce colluded for months to destroy reputations by a fancy net of lies, false accusations and the manipulation of illicitly acquired communications.”
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“The continued public curiosity on this case on-line has sarcastically make clear the plain details pertaining to The New York Instances and the way closely Ms. Vigorous and her representatives weren’t solely deeply concerned within the tried take down and smear marketing campaign of Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and their groups however that they themselves initiated it,” Freedman added.
Textual content messages between Vigorous and Baldoni, the place she seemingly alludes to Taylor Swift as “considered one of her dragons,” have been launched earlier this month. Swift and Vigorous have been very shut mates since 2015 and the pop star is the godmother of Vigorous’s kids.
(Swift will not be named as a defendant in Baldoni’s new go well with and her title will not be talked about within the submitting. There’s solely a reference to “Taylor” in a textual content message between the 2 co-stars.)
Within the textual content messages between the pair, Baldoni goes into element concerning the rooftop scene within the film that Vigorous had allegedly reworked. His attorneys declare that the actor “felt obliged to textual content Vigorous to say that he had appreciated her pages and hadn’t wanted Reynolds and her megacelebrity pal to strain him.”
In line with the go well with, Vigorous invited Baldoni to her penthouse in New York, the place Reynolds and a “megacelebrity pal” each praised Vigorous’s model of the rooftop scene.
“Additionally was engaged on rooftop scene at present, I actually love what you probably did. It actually does hep lots,” Baldoni wrote within the textual content message. “Makes it a lot extra enjoyable and fascinating. (And I’d have felt that approach with out Ryan and Taylor). You actually are a expertise throughout the board. Actually excited nd [sic] grateful to do that collectively.”
In a textual content from Vigorous, in line with the go well with, she calls Reynolds and one other individual, whose title is redacted, “absolute titans as writers and storytellers exterior of their major gig.”
“In addition they know I’m not at all times nearly as good at ensuring I’m seen and utilized for worry of threatening egos, or worry of affecting the benefit of the method. They don’t give a sh*t about that. And due to that, everybody listens to them with immense respect and enthusiasm. So I assume I’ve to cease worrying about folks liking me,” Vigorous allegedly wrote.
Vigorous goes on to match herself to Khaleesi, a Sport of Thrones character performed by Emilia Clarke.
“In case you ever get round to watching Sport of Thrones, you’ll recognize that I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I occur to have a couple of dragons. For higher or worse, however often for higher. As a result of my dragons additionally defend these I combat for. So actually all of us profit from these beautiful monsters of mine. You’ll too, I can promise you,” Vigorous wrote.
Vigorous and Baldoni’s case headed to courtroom on Feb. 3 because the Gossip Woman actor’s authorized workforce started to debate a possible gag order.
On Monday, a U.S. choose admonished attorneys for Baldoni and Vigorous to not publicly focus on the actors’ competing civil lawsuits.
Vigorous’s lawyer Michael Gottlieb complained to U.S. District Choose Lewis Liman at a listening to in Manhattan federal courtroom that Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman violated skilled ethics guidelines for attorneys by accusing Vigorous of “bullying.”
“It’s very arduous to un-ring the bell,” Gottlieb mentioned, arguing that such statements might taint the jury pool for the scheduled March 2026 trial.
Freedman recommended that his feedback to Folks journal and in a podcast look have been a response to the Dec. 21 New York Instances article that “utterly devastated” Baldoni.
“This has not been a one-way avenue,” he mentioned.
Liman adopted a New York state rule barring most out-of-court statements that might have an effect on a case’s end result, with an exception for safeguarding a consumer from prejudicial antagonistic publicity.
The choose might sanction attorneys for violations. Neither Gottlieb nor Freedman objected. Baldoni and Vigorous weren’t in attendance at Monday’s listening to.
Vigorous’s attorneys Gottlieb and Esra Hudson mentioned in a press release, “We’re happy with the results of at present’s listening to and keen to maneuver ahead instantly with discovery on this case.”
“The courtroom granted our request that each one attorneys within the matter truly comply with the rule of legislation and never make any statements that might prejudice a jury,” they continued. “This case offers with critical allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. We are going to maintain the defendants accountable, and we’re assured that after all of the proof is submitted on this matter, Ms. Vigorous will prevail.”
In line with The Hollywood Reporter, Freedman mentioned, “I couldn’t be extra happy with how the case was dealt with at present. We’re going to maneuver as shortly as potential and show our innocence.”
On Jan. 21, the identical day Baldoni’s authorized workforce launched uncooked, unedited footage from the movie following Vigorous’s sexual harassment claims, Vigorous and Reynolds’ attorneys issued a letter to New York federal choose Lewis J. Liman looking for a gag order for Baldoni’s lawyer, Freedman.
In line with paperwork obtained by a number of leisure publications, Vigorous’s authorized workforce alleged that “just about daily” since she filed her lawsuit towards Baldoni, “Mr. Freedman has given tv interviews, appeared on podcasts, issued inflammatory written statements, and leaked data (together with, remarkably, paperwork as banal as doc preservation calls for to 3rd events) to the Hollywood press and tabloid media.”
The couple’s attorneys additionally alleged that lots of the public statements made by Freedman, “not solely proceed the marketing campaign of retaliation that was the topic of Ms. Vigorous’s First Stop and Desist, however they include quite a few new false statements about Ms. Vigorous and others.”
International Information has not independently considered the authorized paperwork.
In a press release to International Information on Jan. 22, Freedman mentioned his workforce launched the footage as a result of “Baldoni workouts his proper to publicly defend himself by placing forth precise details and proof.”
“Previous to submitting her lawsuit in courtroom, Ms. Vigorous went to The New York Instances in an effort to publicly destroy Justin Baldoni. When Mr. Baldoni workouts his proper to publicly defend himself by placing forth precise details and proof, for Ms. Vigorous and workforce this immediately turns into morally and ethically improper,” the assertion learn.
“Ms. Vigorous needs very totally different requirements to use to her however happily, fact and authenticity apply to everybody and may by no means be improper. Trying on the video and the proof to come back, I can perceive why Ms. Vigorous would now, not need this to play out in public.”
On Jan. 27, Choose Liman set a March 9, 2026 trial date and moved an preliminary convention from mid-February to this week as the general public feud between Vigorous and Baldoni continues to develop. He advised attorneys to be ready to handle complaints about pretrial publicity and lawyer conduct.
Vigorous and Reynolds haven’t responded publicly to the web site as of this writing.
—With information from International Information’ Michelle Butterfield, Reuters and The Related Press
