Justin Baldoni Tells Blake Lively He’s a ‘Flawed Man’ and ‘Fell Short’ in Apology Voice Note Leaked amid Legal Battle

Justin Baldoni apologized to Blake Lively after the two discussed changes she made to an It Ends with Us scene, according to a newly-leaked voice note he purportedly sent to the actress. (PEOPLE cannot verify when the message was recorded.)

Amid Baldoni, 41, and Lively’s, 37, ongoing legal dispute, where Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment during the making of the 2024 hit film he directed, which he has denied, a text exchange between the actors was released in Baldoni’s $400 million defamation countersuit against Lively.

In the text messages, the costars discussed Lively’s alleged changes to the romantic drama’s rooftop scene. Lively allegedly told Baldoni she was disappointed in his initial response to her tweaks, and added that her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and close friend, later revealed to be Taylor Swift, applauded the changes.

Baldoni tells Lively he “really love(d) what (she) did” and that her changes “[made] it so much more fun and interesting.”

In audio obtained by Daily Mail Jan. 27, Baldoni purportedly later left a voice note for Lively where he addressed her script suggestions. The nearly 7-minute audio began with an apology.

“I’m really sorry. I for sure fell short and you worked really hard on that,” he is heard saying.

“And the way you framed it and how that made you feel, I just want to say thank you for sharing that with me,” Baldoni continued. “That takes a lot of trust and vulnerability. I feel really grateful that you feel safe enough to tell me that’s how you feel and share that with me. I’m really sorry, I f—– up.”

The Jane the Virgin alum said he was willing to “admit and apologize when I fail,” calling himself, “a very flawed man as my wife will attest.”

After apologizing again and vowing to “do better,” Baldoni saluted Lively’s close circle and said, “Damn right you’ve got great friends if that’s how you felt and they knew that. We should all have friends like that; aside from the fact that they’re the two most creative people on the planet. The three of you guys together is unbelievable. Talk about energy; just a force, all three of you.”

He continued and praised Lively’s scene as “really good” and said it would “make the movie sing.”

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“I’m excited to go through the whole movie with you. I’m just excited to spend time with you,” Baldoni is heard saying.

Lively’s representatives could not be reached for comment.

Since filing the countersuit, Baldoni’s lawyer has since pledged to launch a website “containing all correspondence as well as relevant videos that quash [Lively’s] claims.” “If they want to unethically gag the truth by threatening to wield their power in Hollywood, we will fight it every step of the way,” Baldoni’s team tells PEOPLE in a Jan. 27 statement, referencing Lively and Reynolds. “Defending ourselves is not retaliation, it is a human right.”

Also on Monday, Lively’s lawyers asked Judge Lewis J. Liman of the Southern District of New York to expedite a pretrial conference to address Baldoni’s upcoming website, per a memo obtained by PEOPLE.

The trial for Lively and Baldoni is set to start on March 9, 2026, with a pretrial conference scheduled for February 3, 2025. 

During the conference, New York federal judge Lewis J. Liman plans to merge the two cases and have the parties outline a briefing schedule in preparation for the trial date.