Jenny Slate, one of the stars of It Ends With Us, described the production as “really gross and disturbing” in private texts, new court documents have revealed.
The 2024 romantic drama is currently the subject of a hard-fought legal battle between Justin Baldoni, who directed and starred in the film, and Blake Lively, who played the lead role.
Lively is suing Baldoni and the film’s producers over claims of sexual harassment and a campaign to “destroy” her reputation.
Extensive court documents unsealed on Tuesday (20 January) included transcripts of depositions and text messages from Lively and others involved in the film. Among those to feature were Lively’s co-star Slate, It Ends With Us novelist Colleen Hoover, and Taylor Swift, a friend of Lively.
One text, sent by Slate on 4 June, 2023, read: “I honestly have never ever encountered anything like this dude [Baldoni]. He’s the biggest clown and the most intense narcissist. Lots of lessons learned!
“Justin is truly a false ally and I’m unwilling to do anything that promotes the image that he’s crafting as a ‘male feminist,’” she also stated, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Honestly I have no words to describe what a fraud he is.”
Slate, who played the sister of Baldoni’s character in the movie, also stated that the film was “a really gross and disturbing shoot, and I’m one of many who feel [this] way”. She alleged that she and Lively “both complained directly” to the studio, Sony.
Also included in the transcript of Slate’s deposition was a message she sent to her former agent in May 2023, when the film was in production.
“This week was really intense for a few reasons,” she wrote at the time. “It’s like fascinating and also so s***ty. Justin and [producer Jamey Heath] are truly unfit. I’m not scared or anything, just repulsed and deeply irritated, and I know Blake is experiencing that on a much more serious level.”
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Slate’s deposition also recounts an alleged incident in which Baldoni commented on her appearance. She claimed that the director told her she “look[ed] sexy” in an her costume, a remark that was, she says, “not appropriate” in “any workplace”.
The transcripts also contain messages sent by Slate to her representatives in June 2023, in which she stated that she did not want to appear alongside Baldoni or Heath during the film’s promotional tour.
Lively is seeking around $500m in damages from the lawsuit, which will go to trial in May if a settlement is not reached next month. As part of the suit, she claims that Baldoni orchestrated online smear campaign against her in retaliation for her complaints about sexual harassment.
Baldoni has denied all allegations. A countersuit launched by the actor-director was dismissed last year.
The Independent has contacted representatives of Slate and Baldoni for comment.
Text conversations between Lively and Swift were also relayed in the court documents, with Lively calling Baldoni a “doofus” and a “clown”, while asking Swift to read a version of the It Ends With Us script she had revised.
Swift replied: “I’ll do anything for you !!”