For the past year, just about every time Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have been mentioned in the same breath, it’s been in reference to their never-ending legal battle.
Which is why some people are confused by a newly released voice memo in which Blake refers to Justin as her friend and gushes about how close their relationship is.
The memo is part of a mountain of newly unsealed evidence pertaining to Lively’s sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni.
“I hope you’re so well,” the actress began in a transcript published by People on Thursday.
“I just wanted to connect to put something on your radar.”
Blake went on to explain that she was scheduled to shoot two movies — Proxy and It Ends With Us, in which she co-starred with Baldoni, who also directed — back to back.
And it was all set to take place shortly after she had given birth.
“The only reason that I’m doing [that movie] before is because I gave them my word and I wouldn’t go back on that,” she said in the voice message. “But having a week off in between, it’s just a lot.”
“I still don’t have a baby nurse,” Lively continued, adding that she was stressed by the idea of taking on two back-to-back projects so soon after welcoming her youngest.
Blake added that she was reluctant to pour her heart out to Baldoni, but that her husband, Ryan Reynolds, had “encouraged” her to speak her truth.
“You guys have such a great trust. Fill [Baldoni] in,” Reynolds reportedly told her.
Blake went on to state that she won’t be making a similar appeal to the director of Proxy, because she’s unable to “talk to [that director] like [she] talk[s] to” Baldoni.
The memo serves as a stark reminder that these warring co-stars were on excellent terms with one another at the start of filming. However, it seems that things rather quickly went south.
Also unsealed this week were texts that Reynolds sent his agent on the subject of Baldoni.
“I’m super frustrated because this is a moment in which Blake should be celebrating. She made this unbelievable win happen,” he allegedly wrote at the time of the IEWU premiere, adding:
“She WILLED this weekend into reality. Baldoni and these other buckets of dumb-dumb-juice should be acknowledging the speculation and gossip themselves. They should be jumping in front of it in the most full throated, unqualified way. Now.”
He later referred to Baldoni as a “thoroughbred, predatory fraudster” and an “inexplicably toxic mess,” adding:
“I’d put Blake’s reputation on trial any day of the week. She’s worked with … dozens of other mercurial, and abusive people.
“In her experience (and mine) nobody has ever reached the empyrean heights of vile the way Justin Baldoni has. His complete lack of not only remorse but self-preservation is a character study in malignant, lazy-lidded stupidity and darkness.”
“Yes, Ryan got involved — what husband wouldn’t support his wife and the mother of his children?” a rep for Reynolds said today, adding:
“He saw his wife fighting daily to stand up against sexual harassment in a private and respectful way, only to face retaliation for doing so.”
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.