Justin Baldoni was allegedly labelled a “moron” by a senior Sony Pictures executive following controversial remarks he made while promoting It Ends With Us, according to newly unsealed court documents
connected to Blake Lively’s ongoing legal dispute with the actor-director.
An email dated August 5, 2024, reportedly sent by Danni Maggin, a senior marketing executive at Sony Pictures Entertainment, expressed concern over Baldoni’s comments in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. The correspondence, which was recently made public, suggested the studio’s marketing team was alarmed by how Baldoni framed a pivotal scene involving his character Ryle and Lily, played by Lively.
In the email, Maggin wrote, “… 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 also appeared to reference Josh Greenstein, then-president of Sony Pictures’ Motion Group, claiming he believed Baldoni “shouldn’t do any more press but he has a lot left so maybe we can talk asap.”
The email reportedly included direct excerpts from Baldoni’s interview, where he discussed a scene depicting domestic violence and his character’s motivation. Baldoni was quoted as saying, “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 further added, “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.”
According to the unsealed documents, these remarks were seen internally as conflicting with the agreed-upon promotional strategy for It Ends With Us.
Behind the scenes, Sony’s marketing plan reportedly instructed cast members to “avoid talking about this film that makes it feel sad or heavy — it’s a story of hope.” The guidelines also advised talent to “Focus more on Lily’s strength and resilience as opposed to describing the film as a story about domestic violence.”
Lively’s legal team has alleged that Baldoni deviated from this plan in the days leading up to the film’s release. However, Baldoni’s legal team countered in his since-dismissed countersuit that this was “never the plan Baldoni ‘agreed to.'” They maintained that Baldoni had always intended to openly discuss domestic violence as a central theme of the film and “did not ‘go rogue,’ as Lively alleges.”
