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January 29, 2026 \u2014 3:30pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n In a private email to Matt Damon<\/a>, his producer wife Luciana Damon, and Blake Lively<\/a>, Ryan Reynolds<\/a> wrote the\u00a0It Ends With Us film<\/a> was \u201cone of the all-time zingers on and off set. One day, we\u2019ll make a movie about the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n The message was one of many buried in previously sealed court documents<\/a>, made public in a dump so mammoth in volume that, more than a week later, new revelations and reactions continue to emerge daily.<\/p>\n Taylor Swift\u2019s private text messages to Lively<\/a>, revealing the true toll of Lively\u2019s legal battle against It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni on their friendship, were only a fraction of what was unsealed by a US court ahead of a summary judgment hearing.<\/p>\n In December 2024, Lively filed a complaint<\/a> accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and running a smear campaign against her. Baldoni denied all accusations against him, and filed a countersuit against Lively. His case was dismissed in June<\/a>. The trial of Lively\u2019s lawsuit is set for May.<\/p>\n Related Article This week, Reynolds (Lively\u2019s husband) addressed the mortifying reality of his private correspondence becoming public by court order. A spokesperson for Reynolds told Puck News<\/a> in an article published on Tuesday: \u201cYes, Ryan got involved \u2013 what husband wouldn\u2019t support his wife and the mother of his children?<\/p>\n \u201cHe saw his wife fighting daily to stand up against sexual harassment in a private and respectful way, only to face retaliation for doing so.<\/p>\n \u201cIf anything, Ryan feels like he wasn\u2019t angry enough. He passionately believes in and will stand up for the basic right to a safe workplace free of harassment and retaliation for his wife and others. Then, now and always.\u201d<\/p>\n Reynolds isn\u2019t the only high-profiler to address the latest document dump. Here\u2019s what to know about the celebrities embroiled in the It Ends With Us case.<\/p>\n Jameela Jamil<\/p>\n Baldoni and Jameela Jamil<\/a> share publicist Jennifer Abel. That\u2019s who the British actress and activist was texting, according to an eight-page exchange dated August 2024, buried in 181 pages of court documents unsealed on January 20 and obtained by TMZ<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Good Place star and Abel were reacting to a TikTok video, centred on Lively\u2019s alleged \u201ctone-deaf\u201d promotion of It Ends With Us.<\/p>\n At the time, Lively was facing backlash<\/a> for spruiking her haircare line and seemingly encouraging floral-clad women to watch the film in cinemas for a girls\u2019 night out, rather than centring the film\u2019s serious theme of domestic violence, as Baldoni was doing in his interviews.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cI want to officially incorporate nightmare c— and demon c— into my vocabulary; UNBELIEVABLE; She\u2019s doing this to herself,\u201d Abel wrote to Jamil regarding Lively.<\/p>\n Jamil, who also said in the text exchange that she had \u201cnever seen such a bizarre villain act before\u201d, responded: \u201c[Lively\u2019s] a suicide bomber at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n Two days after the messages were made public, Jamil took to Instagram<\/a> \u2013 where her profile reads \u201cfeminist-in-progress\u201d \u2013 to clarify, without referencing Lively or Baldoni specifically, her belief that being a feminist does not prevent having personal differences with other women.<\/p>\n By January 24, she had also made an eight-minute TikTok<\/a> video claiming her name was unredacted \u201cdeliberately\u201d to \u201ccause as much trouble as possible for me even though these text messages have nothing to do with the case\u201d.<\/p>\n She also noted her messages were sent four months before Lively filed her sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni. <\/p>\n \u201cI had no idea about any of this stuff, so I was just purely venting to my friend about how I felt about the press rollout for that f—ing terrible movie,\u201d Jamil added.<\/p>\n In a later Substack<\/a> essay, she said, \u201cthe epic fallout of this outrageous, and entirely pointless invasion of privacy\u201d included enduring death threats.<\/p>\n Hugh Jackman<\/p>\n Reynolds\u2019 friend and Deadpool & Wolverine<\/a> co-star Hugh Jackman\u2019s name has also been thrown around.<\/p>\n Court documents filed by Baldoni\u2019s legal team, obtained by People<\/a> in November, alleged Jackman and Swift were present during a meeting between Baldoni and Reynolds at Reynolds and Lively\u2019s New York penthouse.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n During the alleged April 2023 confrontation, Reynolds is said to have \u201cunloaded\u201d on Baldoni and accused him of fat-shaming Lively after Baldoni allegedly asked Lively\u2019s fitness trainer how much she would weigh on the date they would be shooting a scene where he has to lift her, citing back and bone density issues.<\/p>\n Baldoni, per his team\u2019s filing, felt \u201ccompletely embarrassed and apologised\u201d, and also cried. Their wider argument is that Lively used her high-profile network to intimidate Baldoni.<\/p>\n Related Article According to court documents unsealed on January 20 and obtained by USA Today<\/a>, Lively testified in a deposition that although Jackman stopped by at the penthouse to pick Reynolds up for lunch, he merely \u201cexchanged niceties\u201d with Baldoni.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one but Baldoni, myself, and Reynolds was anywhere in our office during the discussion about Baldoni\u2019s inappropriate inquiries into my weight,\u201d Lively testified. Jackman has been named as a potential witness.<\/p>\n Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez<\/p>\n \u201cBen, It\u2019s Blake. Don\u2019t hang up,\u201d opened Lively\u2019s email to Ben Affleck, with whom she co-starred in 2010\u2019s The Town. Lively said she was about to come out the other side of \u201cthe most upsetting experience I\u2019ve ever had on a movie\u201d thanks to \u201cwild HR issues and beyond\u201d before making a \u201czero-pressure\u201d request: would he be willing to watch her cut of the film and provide feedback on it?<\/p>\n If Affleck\u2019s then-wife, Jennifer Lopez,<\/a> was available, Lively wrote that \u201cit would be an honour to have her take\u201d too.<\/p>\n Lively, who was also a producer on It Ends With Us, commissioned a separate edit of the film from Deadpool & Wolverine editor Shane Reid. Distributor Sony Pictures Releasing chose Lively\u2019s version over Baldoni\u2019s.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear if Affleck responded to Lively. If he did, and it was filed, it hasn\u2019t been unsealed by the court.<\/p>\n Matt Damon and Luciana DamonRelated Article \u201cWe\u2019ll give you any help we can. And if this experience hasn\u2019t totally destroyed your soul, Blake, you should come direct your next movie at Artists Equity,\u201d Damon wrote in a group email with Lively, Reynolds and his wife, Luciana Damon, according to unsealed court documents.<\/p>\n Reynolds and Lively had asked the Damons to watch Lively\u2019s cutand provide feedback after a screening in New York the next day.<\/p>\n Luciana Damon is a partner in Artists Equity, the production company Matt Damon co-founded with Affleck. She responded: \u201cOf course! We\u2019re happy to watch and [hopefully] be helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnny Depp and Amber Heard<\/p>\n Reynolds compared the It Ends With Us saga to the circus that surrounded Johnny Depp\u2019s mostly successful 2022 defamation suit<\/a> against ex-wife Amber Heard.<\/p>\n While discussing PR strategies with his agent, Warren Zavala, following what appeared to be Baldoni swaying public opinion via the press, Reynolds wrote to Zavala: \u201cBut honestly, someone is just gonna tell a journalist the real deal, and it\u2019s gonna blow up in [Baldoni\u2019s] face.\u201d<\/p>\n Zavala, who described Baldoni as a \u201cfraud shit weasel\u201d, sent Reynolds a link to an article about Lively and Baldoni\u2019s feud over It Ends With Us\u2032 final edit with the note: \u201cThis is all spin. I think we let it burn.\u201d<\/p>\n Reynolds responded: \u201cHow\u2019d that work out for Depp??\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot well,\u201d Zavala answered. \u201cCratered both of them ultimately.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n After Lively filed her sexual harassment claim in December 2024, which also alleged that Baldoni hired Melissa Nathan<\/a> \u2013 the PR crisis manager Depp hired during his 2022 lawsuit against Heard \u2013 to damage her reputation with an orchestrated \u201cretaliatory social manipulation campaign\u201d, Heard offered her support to Lively.<\/p>\n \u201cSocial media is the absolute personification of the classic saying, \u2018A lie travels halfway around the world before truth can get its boots on\u2019,\u201d Heard told NBC<\/a>. \u201cI saw this firsthand and up close. It\u2019s as horrifying as it is destructive.\u201d<\/p>\n Zavala, through agency WME, represents Reynolds and Lively, and Lively\u2019s It Ends With Us co-star Brandon Sklenar. Baldoni was previously a client of WME, but as reported by Deadline<\/a>, the agency dropped him after Lively filed her December 2024 complaint.<\/p>\n Anna WintourRelated Article It Ends With Us was a \u201cvery brave and moving film\u201d, according to an unsealed email sent to Lively allegedly by former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour<\/a> in August 2024, after the film premiered. Lively and Reynolds co-hosted the Met Gala<\/a> with Wintour in 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing how hard a situation it was for you made me especially proud of you,\u201d Wintour allegedly wrote.<\/p>\n The Sisterhood<\/p>\n Lively\u2019s The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants cast-mates issued a statement supporting Lively when The New York Times<\/a> published its \u201cWe Can Bury Anyone\u201d : Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine investigation.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Blake\u2019s friends and sisters for over twenty years, we stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation,\u201d the statement, shared to Instagram<\/a> and co-signed by Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera and Amber Tamblyn, began.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are struck by the reality that even if a woman is as strong, celebrated, and resourced as our friend Blake, she can face forceful retaliation for daring to ask for a safe working environment. We are inspired by our sister\u2019s courage to stand up for herself and others.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The star-studded witness list<\/p>\n Lively\u2019s potential witness list, which was submitted in July and unsealed by court order in November, included more than 100 names.<\/p>\n In addition to Swift, Jackman and Lively\u2019s Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants co-stars, actress Emily Blunt, all three members of the HAIM band \u2013 Este Haim, Danielle Haim, and Alana Haim \u2013 and model Gigi Hadid were named.<\/p>\n Speculation that Bradley Cooper, who has been in a relationship with Hadid since 2023, would be called to testify has so far not eventuated. Lively\u2019s sister Robyn Lively, and brother-in-law Bart Johnson of High School Musical fame, have also publicly supported Lively.<\/p>\n American businessman Scooter Braun<\/a> \u2013 most famous for his long-running feud with Swift<\/a> regarding the ownership of her music catalogue<\/a> \u2013 was name-checked by Lively in a text exchange with the songstress. Lively subpoenaed Braun due to a 51 per cent investment stake HYBE America, where Braun serves as CEO, has in The Agency Group (TAG), a publicity firm founded by Nathan.<\/p>\n Twelve days before Lively filed her complaint against Baldoni, Hasan Minhaj<\/a> \u2013 who played Baldoni\u2019s brother-in-law in It Ends With Us \u2013 presented Baldoni with the Vital Voices Solidarity Award, recognising his work as a women\u2019s rights ally.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you for being a true friend and always showing up \u2013 but most importantly, when the cameras aren\u2019t rolling,\u201d Baldoni wrote of his \u201csoul brother\u201d Minhaj in a since-deleted Instagram<\/a> post after the ceremony. Vital Voices confirmed it rescinded Baldoni\u2019s award two days after Lively filed her complaint.<\/p>\n Brandon Sklenar, who played Lively\u2019s love interest, has voiced his support on social media for Lively and the women involved in It Ends With Us.<\/p>\n Privately, according to unsealed texts, Sklenar and Lively discussed getting Zavala, their mutual agent, to adjust Sklenar\u2019s 1923<\/a> shooting schedule so he could spend more time promoting It Ends With Us.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cI\u2019m becoming pimp adjacent. Put on a short little skirt and get on that corner, Skelnar [sic],\u201d Lively wrote in May 2024. \u201c[Because] I\u2019m not selling this movie on [Baldoni].\u201d<\/p>\n Jenny Slate, who played Baldoni\u2019s sister, said in a text message unsealed last week that Baldoni was \u201ctruly a false ally and I\u2019m unwilling to do anything that promotes the image that he\u2019s crafting as a \u2018male feminist\u2019 \u2026 Honestly I have no words to describe what a fraud he is.\u201d<\/p>\n She was deposed in September 2025, and the transcript revealed Slate claimed Baldoni made a comment on her appearance that was \u201cnot appropriate\u201d in \u201cany workplace\u201d. Baldoni, Slate alleges, told her on her first or second day on set: \u201cI can say this because my wife is here, but you look sexy in what you\u2019re wearing.\u201d<\/p>\n A transcript of Isabela Ferrer\u2019s deposition was also unsealed last week, in which the 25-year-old actress \u2013 who played a younger version of Lively\u2019s character \u2013 claimed she felt \u201cuncomfortable\u201d after Baldoni called one of her intimate scenes \u201chot\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt out of place and strange to hear about a scene, especially a scene that is meant to be a PG scene about two young teenagers having a very innocent experience intimately,\u201d Ferrer said in her testimony. \u201cIt felt out of place to hear my director say that as a personal thing to me and my co-star.\u201c<\/p>\n Related Article An unsealed email sent by Colleen Hoover to Sony Pictures Releasing in July 2024 revealed the author\u2019s hesitation to attend an It Ends With Us premiere.<\/p>\n \u201cI have felt backed into a corner more than once with the choices I\u2019ve been asked to make,\u201d Hoover wrote. \u201cAm I going to be comfortable if Justin is there? No, things are beyond uncomfortable at this point. But my comfort isn\u2019t my priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Baldoni\u2019s legal team urged Judge Lewis Liman to dismiss<\/a> Lively\u2019s case in a three-hour hearing last week. Unless Liman rules otherwise, Lively and Baldoni are scheduled to face off in New York\u2019s Southern District Court when the trial begins in earnest on May 18.<\/p>\n Must-see movies, interviews and all the latest from the world of film delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our Screening Room newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Unsealed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/994872b1ce2e21cf26b49ca44e01712d809fadb91086acd34070d84310a59d89.jpeg\")
Unsealed court documents have revealed just how many celebrities are linked to the It Ends With us legal case, which is shaping up to be more star-studded than Christopher Nolan\u2019s The Odyssey.Stephen Kiprillis<\/p>\n![\"Private](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/91884b748fa786773776a4748245857da4ace0d2.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\u201cI](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/3a5b71cb7f09101a611197e0ca98da6b41a78fe5.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Best-selling](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/f958e4e5ea93a56ea20add4db1674d5d57169883255cd8b80418c218a52dd589.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Jennifer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/6385144ecc4effcc251d47b5f484fa413037f126.jpeg\")
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were married at the time, and Lively\u2019s message to Affleck included the admission she was a fan of Lopez.AP<\/p>\n![\"Rebel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/e3fd4f4a92e4bd7a3cf7e5b3bb2fa8ff779aa62d.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Justin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/3b4e27f106c253f72d2dd3027a2bc8d0e97985cc.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Jenny](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/7a9139d75c7ce4450744277abbfa58c631490c28.jpeg\")
Jenny Slate, who played Baldoni\u2019s sister in It Ends With Us, alleged in a deposition he made her uncomfortable on set.Invision\/APWhere do Baldoni and Lively\u2019s co-stars stand?<\/p>\n![\"Blake](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/b8c7ee3862087034675e97ac9f02c4c7815c6952.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Colleen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/55e2df8686d2e55c77b41fefed94230e6a9cd47b.jpeg\")
Colleen Hoover, pictured here at a Regretting You fan screening in September, skyrocketed to household-name status in 2022 when #BookTok helped It Ends with Us shoot to No.1 on the New York Times Best Seller list.Getty Images for Paramount Pictures<\/p>\n![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/6e9df60e6c928b0af4bfc9504c39025a39659607.jpeg\")
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Bronte Gossling<\/a> is a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WAtoday and Brisbane Times.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners