Justin Baldoni is facing renewed scrutiny after newly unsealed emails revealed scathing criticism from a Sony Pictures marketing executive over comments he allegedly made while promoting It ends with us.
The messages, now public as part of Blake Lively’s ongoing legal battle with Baldoni, show internal frustration with how the film was discussed in the press.
An email dated August 5, 2024 and attributed to Danni Maggin, a senior marketing executive at Sony Pictures Entertainment, took direct aim at Baldoni’s remarks during an interview.
In the message, Maggin wrote, “…Justin is basically alluding to ‘[assualting]’ Atlas out of Lily when he talks to Dallas Morning News. We cut the ribbon, but he’s an idiot.”
The email has been sealed in legal proceedings connected to Lively’s lawsuit.
Maggin’s message also appeared to refer to Josh Greenstein, who was then president of Sony Pictures’ Motion Group, suggesting that concerns escalated internally.
According to the email, Greenstein reportedly felt that Baldoni “shouldn’t press anymore, but he has a lot left, so maybe we can talk as soon as possible.”
The controversy centers on Baldoni’s description of a key scene in the film, in which his character Ryle attacks Lily, played by Lively.
Maggin quoted Baldoni’s alleged explanation from the interview, saying, “To me, that scene was more about Ryle feeling like he had lost all power and felt so insecure and jealous that the only way in his mind he could show her how much he loved her was um, and I don’t want to say the word that we used to develop it, but what was she basically to force any love out of her.”
He reportedly continued: “So Ryle’s motivation, if you’re talking about character motivation or why he did what he did, from the movie perspective and from the actor’s 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.”
Behind the scenes, emails point to excitement over how It ends with us must be marketed.
Sony’s promotional strategy, which was included in Lively’s lawsuit, instructed cast members to avoid making the film sound “sad or heavy,” and instead framed it as “a story of hope.”
The team specifically asked the cast to focus on Lily’s strength and resilience rather than emphasizing domestic violence.
Lively’s lawyers claim that Baldoni ignored this approach.
In her lawsuit, they claim, “In the days leading up to the film’s release, Mr. Baldoni suddenly veered away from the film’s marketing plan and the types of promotional activities in which he had previously engaged.”
Baldoni has pushed back against that claim.
His legal team said in a countersuit that has since been dismissed that the strategy described by Lively was “never the plan Baldoni ‘accepted’.”
They stated that Baldoni always intended to openly address domestic violence, adding that he “did not ‘go rogue’ as Lively claims,” and that he resisted pressure from the distributor to soften the message.
The unsealed records also revealed blunt and profane language used internally at Sony about Lively herself.
Andrea Giannetti, Sony Pictures’ executive vice president of production and senior creative, acknowledged in a statement that she referred to Lively as a “f—ing terrorist” in a message to Wayfarer Studios producer Jamey Heath.
This reportedly happened after Lively threatened to leave the film unless her “17-point list” of demands were met.
Additional messages from March 2024 show Sanford Panitch, president of Sony’s Motion Picture Group, writing “she is a terrorist [sic]” while discussing Lively’s involvement in her own editing of the film.
Following the film’s release in August 2024, Panitch also criticized the timing of Lively’s hair care brand launch, calling it “stupid on an epic level”, adding: “She wouldn’t listen. She knows better.”
A source said that later PEOPLE that the launch had been planned with Target months earlier and could not be changed, and that the film’s release date was what changed.
Despite the private criticism, Sony publicly supported Lively. On August 14, Tony Vinciquerra, then chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said in a statement: “Blake’s passion and commitment to advancing the conversation around domestic violence is commendable. We love working with Blake and would like to make 12 more films with her.”
Lively sued Baldoni in December 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni has denied the allegations. The case is currently scheduled to be heard in May 2026.
