Justin Baldoni is facing renewed scrutiny after newly unsealed emails revealed sharp 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 over how the film was being 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 talking to the Dallas Morning News. We cut the tape but he is a moron.” 

The email has been unsealed in court filings connected to Lively’s lawsuit.

Maggin’s message also appeared to reference Josh Greenstein, who was then president of Sony Pictures’ Motion Group, suggesting concerns were escalating internally. 

According to the email, Greenstein allegedly felt Baldoni “shouldn’t do any more press but he has a lot left so maybe we can talk asap.”

The controversy centers on Baldoni’s description of a key scene in the film, in which his character Ryle assaults Lily, played by Lively. 

Maggin quoted Baldoni’s alleged explanation from the interview, where he said, “For me what that scene was more about was Ryle feeling like he had lost all power and feeling so insecure and jealous that the only way in his mind that he could show her how much he loved her was um and I won’t say the word that we used in developing it, but what was essentially to force any love she had for Atlas out of her.”

He allegedly continued, “So Ryle’s motivation, if you’re talking about character motivation, or why he did what he did, from the filmmaking perspective and from the actor 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, the emails point to tension over how It Ends With Us should 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,” framing it instead as “a story of hope.” 

The team specifically asked the cast to focus on Lily’s strength and resilience rather than emphasising domestic violence.

Lively’s attorneys argue that Baldoni ignored this approach. 

In her lawsuit, they claim, “In the days leading up to the Film’s release, Mr. Baldoni abruptly pivoted away from the Film’s Marketing Plan and the types of publicity activities in which he had previously participated.”

Baldoni has pushed back against that claim. 

His legal team, in a countersuit that has since been dismissed, said the strategy described by Lively was “never the plan Baldoni ‘agreed to.’”

They stated that Baldoni had always intended to openly address domestic violence, adding that he “did not ‘go rogue,’ as Lively alleges,” 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 during a deposition that she referred to Lively as a “f—ing terrorist” in a message to Wayfarer Studios producer Jamey Heath. 

This allegedly happened after Lively threatened to leave the film unless her “17-point list” of demands was met.

Additional messages from March 2024 show Sanford Panitch, president of Sony’s Motion Picture Group, writing “she is a terroridt [sic]” while discussing Lively’s involvement in her own edit of the film. 

After the movie’s release in August 2024, Panitch also criticised the timing of Lively’s haircare brand launch, calling it “epic-level stupid” and adding, “She wouldn’t listen. She knows better.” 

A source later told PEOPLE that the launch had been scheduled with Target months earlier and could not be changed, and that the film’s release date was what shifted.

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 we want to do 12 more movies 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 go to trial in May 2026.