Justin Baldoni submitted an alleged text from his It Ends With Us costar Isabela Ferrer to defend himself against Blake Lively’s claims he was horrible on set, In Touch can exclusively report.
In Touch obtained the alleged message that Isabela, 25, sent Justin on July 11, 2023. The text was included in Justin’s amended lawsuit against Blake, 37, and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for civil extortion and defamation.
Blake sued Justin, 41, for sexual harassment on set of It Ends With Us. She claimed he hired a crisis PR team to smear her publicly in retaliation for her complaining about his alleged behavior. Justin denied the accusations.
In his lawsuit against Blake, Justin accused Blake of being a bully who he claimed seized control of the film. Blake denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
Justin claimed Blake had actually smeared him. Justin accuses Blake of turning their costars and crew against him in her effort to take him down.
He believes she had the cast turn on him and claimed she even had him segregated at the film’s premiere. In his lawsuit, Justin submitted Isabela’s alleged text to back up his claims his costars did not have any issues until Blake got involved.
In the alleged message, sent two weeks after production on the film wrapped, Isabela allegedly wrote to Justin, “Just got my film developed from when we were shooting so here’s this sweet pic! I also have to say thank you SO much for an incredible experience on my first film. I still can’t shake the feeling of it all because it truly was life changing for me.”
The alleged message continued, “You are such a wonderful, smart and sincere director and you created such a comfortable, safe space for me to feel like I could fully step into this role. I couldn’t have asked for a more welcoming environment. It will stay with me for the rest of my life!!! See you soon, whether in the fall or later, & hope you’re doing well.”
Justin allegedly wrote back, “You were such a joy and pleasure to work with. Your openness, your raw talent, your kindness, and your excitement made me fall in love with directing again.”
Justin added, “You have a big career in front of you!!”
As In Touch previously reported, in his amended lawsuit, Justin claimed Blake had him removed from the film’s posters ahead of the premiere.
He said Blake and Ryan, 48, unfollowed him on social media as did the author of the book, Colleen Hoover, “someone with whom [Justin] had maintained a five-year personal relationship, and for whom [Justin] created this opportunity.”
His lawsuit alleged, “The other cast members also unfollowed [Justin], creating the false impression that [Justin] had done something wrong. On information and belief, [Blake] induced the other cast members to shun [Justin, in an early attempt to give fans the impression that [Justin] had committed an egregious sin, something so egregious that no one wanted to even take photos with him or have him around.”
“[Blake] was leaving what she had earlier referred to as ‘crumbs,’ a social media strategy she had learned from a close celebrity friend: to give fans just enough to allow them to come to their own conclusions, thereby launching an army of detectives that, on information and belief, [Blake] hoped would turn against [Justin],” his suit added.
In regard to Isabela, Justin’s lawyer wrote, “Tellingly, [Isabela] worked with [Justin] when [Blake] was not on the set; it was not until [Isabela] spent substantial time with [Blake] during film promotions that [Isabela] felt compelled to shun [Justin] in repudiation of her warm words.”
Isabela has not spoken publicly about Blake and Justin’s legal battle.
