Blake Lively’s emailed request for Ben Affleck to watch It Ends With Us and share “ideas or notes” has been made public amid the actress’s ongoing legal battle with co-star Justin Baldoni.
In a 73-page document filed on Tuesday (Jan. 20) in support of a motion for summary judgment from Alexandra A.E. Shapiro, representing Baldoni and other defendants, it’s argued that Lively “told Sony she would not agree to promote the film unless she was permitted to participate in the edit.” Lively is also said to have “recruited famous friends,” Affleck among them, to support her in the face of pushback.
One of the exhibits made public as part of the filing is an email said to have been sent by Lively to a “Ben A.” in May 2024. While the last name is redacted, it’s clear the recipient is Affleck.
In the email, Lively opens by expressing hope that “life is treating you beautifully,” adding that Ryan, presumably her husband Ryan Reynolds, was “going on and on about you recently amongst all that [redacted] chaos.” After tucking in a mention of Ryan’s “effusive” praise of Affleck’s then-recent Dunkin’ commercial, Lively moves on to explain her “zero-pressure ask” related to It Ends With Us.
“Anyway, I ended up rewriting and restructuring the entire script,” Lively writes, as seen in court docs viewed by Complex on Wednesday (Jan. 21), adding that she “also ended up having to direct the movie via the chaotic clown ‘director"/actor/producer/financier/studio head at the center.”
The latter is an apparent reference to Baldoni, who she goes on to say has made the post-production process “so difficult.” A mention of “wild HR issues” follows, with Lively ultimately outright asking Affleck to view the then-current version of the film and provide “any ideas or notes” he may have.
“You can literally text me a voice memo so you don't have to formally write thoughts,” she adds. “If your wife or kids are around, I’d love their opinion also (fyi it does cover domestic violence so no one is caught off guard). I'm such a fan of Jennifer’s. I’ve told her as much every time I've met her, and it would be an honor to have her take.”
At the time, Affleck was married to Jennifer Lopez. Affleck’s Good Will Hunting and The Rip collaborator Matt Damon also gets a mention—again, without a last name—before Lively signs off with back-to-back joking remarks about the Jason Bourne franchise and Affleck’s busy schedule.
“If you’re still reading this, whoa,” she writes. “You’re not nearly as busy as you think. Or you’re a very nice person.”
For those unfamiliar with what a “motion for summary judgment” is, here’s the gist: It’s an effort brought by a party in a legal dispute aiming for the court to rule in their favor without going to trial.