Newly released private text messages reveal that Blake Lively’s It Ends With Us costar Brandon Sklenar seemingly supported her throughout her battle with Justin Baldoni.
Sklenar initially offered support for Lively and the film’s female cast shortly after It Ends With Us came out in August 2024, as he credited “the women of this cast” with standing for “hope, perseverance and for women choosing a better life for themselves.”
“Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about,” he wrote in an open letter on August 20, 2024.
Sklenar once again publicly backed Lively when she filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department in December 2024, where she accused It Ends With Us director and costar Baldoni of creating a hostile work environment. Two days after the suit was filed, Sklenar shared a link via Instagram to New York Times coverage of the case along with the caption, “For the Love of God Read This.”
With a courtroom showdown looming between Lively and Baldoni in May 2026, lawyers for the Gossip Girl alum released a selection of private text messages between her and Sklenar from May and August 2024.
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of those text messages — or head here for an even deeper dive into the newly released documents:
Post-Production Demands
The initial string of text messages between Blake Lively and Brandon Sklenar mostly revolved around their post-production schedule in the lead-up to It Ends With Us’ release on August 9, 2024.
On May 24, 2024, Sklenar sent Lively some rerecorded dialogue for insertion in her cut of It Ends With Us. (By this point, Lively was battling with Baldoni over control of the editing of the film.)
Sklenar kept it light by joking that he “deeply loath[es] s***ty obvious adr lines.” Lively then discussed Sklenar’s availability to promote It Ends With Us since she wasn’t willing to rely on Baldoni.
“I’m becoming pimp adjacent. Put on a short little skirt and get on that corner, Skelnar [sic],” she quipped. “[Because] I’m not selling this movie on [Baldoni].”
Lively credited herself for making “sure” that Baldoni was “really good” in It Ends With Us, though she added: “But he’s the abuser, and It shouldn’t be centered on him. Regardless of the process.”
Sklenar responded with an unidentified GIF and “liked” Lively’s text about making sure Baldoni was “really good” in It Ends With Us.
Brandon Sklenar Threw Shade at ‘1923’
As the conversation progressed, Blake Lively hoped that Brandon Sklenar could make time to promote It Ends With Us given his TV show 1923’s shooting schedule. (Sklenar was shooting the second season of 1923 in Texas in the summer of 2024.)
“I hope your show gives you space to hustle,” Lively wrote. “Especially once It comes out, week 2 will be a time that it will get especially heated for you. Just something to think about and maximize.”
Sklenar seemingly threw some shade about the 1923 production team accommodating cast members promoting other projects.
“I’m working on it,” he replied. “They are particularly s***ty about that. But I’m gonna do everything I can to make it happen. It would be a crime to not ride that momentum.”
“It would be,” Blake agreed.
She encouraged Sklenar to get his agent Warren Zavala “on that” to ensure that the actor could actively promote It Ends With Us.
“Its what [agents] do,” Lively advised, with Sklenar confirming: “On it!”
Blake Lively and Brandon Sklenar Both Criticized Their Iconic TV Shows
In the May 24, 2024, text messages, talk then turned to the way Brandon Sklenar might be able to alter his shooting schedule for 1923.
Given her experience on Gossip Girl, Lively offered some suggestions about how 1923 might be more amenable to Sklenar shifting his schedule.
“Bank some [scenes] beforehand , and maybe theres something you can do in Austin too,” she added. “It doesn’t really matter, the impact will be evergreen, but as someone who’s show kept me from every opportunity outside of it, I look back now and see how s***ty that was and how I could’ve (along w my team) pushed harder to make space for the few moments I needed during production to honor the work I did outside of it.”
She went on, “They feel like you owe them, so they tend to attempt to dim your light so you don’t outgrow them. And it has the opposite effect than they intend. It makes you resent them and wanna get out. If they just made space for you to do the work you needed in a way that worked for everyone you would be indebted and grateful. At least that was my experience on my show, it was all of ours.”
Sklenar indicated that he was looking forward to finishing work on 1923 since the second season “was only meant to be the 8 and they added 7 more as soon as we started the first 8.”
“No more shows after this. That’s for damn sure,” he vowed.
Later that day, Sklenar confirmed that he would be able to promote the movie over three days in Texas.
“If you’re going back to [Los Angeles] you can ride with me and my baby boy,” Lively offered.
Blake Lively Brought Up the Controversy Over Her Late Father
Blake Lively and Brandon Sklenar discussed potential Father’s Day plans in that same May 24, 2024, text exchange.
“Because Justin speaks to my dead father often, maybe he can help let him know I’m in [L.A.] for Father’s Day,” Lively quipped.
Sklenar replied with a laughing emoji.
In her December 2024 lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, Lively alleged that the filmmaker “[claimed] he could speak to the dead, and on several occasions told [Lively] that he had spoken to her dead father.” (Lively’s late father, Ernie, died at age 74 from cardiac complications in June 2021.)
Lively’s lawyers complained that it was “off-putting and violative” of Baldoni to suggest he had “a personal relationship with [Lively’s] recently deceased father.”
Blake Lively Delved Into Her Power Struggle With Justin Baldoni
After discussing some potential travel plans, Blake Lively encouraged Brandon Sklenar to attend a screening of her cut of It Ends With Us once they were back in Los Angeles.
“You should see it then. And not watch before,” she asked on May 24, 2024.
Sklenar agreed to hold off watching It Ends With Us until Lively’s screening before asking whether it was “safe to assume it’ll be [her] cut.”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “But Justin is emailing today saying he took some things from my cut so I felt acknowledged and can move forward and he’s locking his cut. Before the bake off.”
At this time, Lively and Justin Baldoni were both working on their own separate edits of It Ends With Us so the studio, Sony Pictures, could decide which version to release. (In her private text messages with Taylor Swift, Lively suggested that Bradley Cooper and Matt Damon were consulting on her cut.)
Lively accused Baldoni of being “bats***,” adding, “He wasn’t authorized to watch my cut yet. But went into the avid to watch and then to take things from it.”
“Well it’ll still be yours in the end,” Sklenar assured her.
Lively clarified that It Ends With Us would not “be a Frankenstein cut” of her and Baldoni’s two separate edits of the movie.
“It will be his or mine. In their entirety,” she said.
Sklenar replied, “Thank god. It’ll be yours. Can’t believe he did that. I mean I can. He’s definitely scrambling. Also totally f***ing himself for any future work.”
“Oh you don’t know the first of it,” Lively hinted.
The Gossip Girl star insisted that she “would’ve continued to let [Baldoni] take credit for everything” if he hadn’t created issues on set.
“He would’ve been handed a career. He would’ve been f***ed on his next job, but he at least would have been a big sucesss [sic],” she argued. “And he’ll still hit. But the word is out. And I’ve been protecting it from getting out bc all I want to do is focus on the work and not be pulled into the f***ing mess they make. But they [wreak] havoc everywhere they go. And everyone sees it. Then they come to me.”
Brandon Sklenar Was Asked About On-Set Interaction With Justin Baldoni
The final section of text messages from May 24, 2024, dealt with Blake Lively asking Brandon Sklenar about an apparent interaction with Justin Baldoni on the set of It Ends With Us.
“He said something hushed to you on set at Root [the restaurant in It Ends With Us], but I didn’t hear the rest, he said ‘Oh man I have something to tell you but I’ll probably get cancelled for saying it. You can’t say anything on this set anymore.’ Do you remember that?” she asked Sklenar.
Her costar admitted he only “vaguely remember[ed]” the interaction but didn’t “even remember if he told me.”
“He was always trying to rope everyone into his messiness,” Lively replied.
Sklenar admitted to feeling “so baffled by his lack of foresight especially given [Baldoni’s] TED talks and podcasts and books” on toxic masculinity.
“I mean they all make perfect sense. He’s running from something gnarly and hiding in all that,” Lively claimed, with Sklenar agreeing: “It does make perfect sense.”
Lively compared Baldoni’s conduct on It Ends With Us to “some Tom Ridley s***.” (Lively seemingly meant the Talented Mr. Ripley character Tom Ripley, a serial killer and con artist from author Patricia Highsmith’s hit crime novels.)
Blake Lively Called Justin Baldoni a ‘Monster’
The next series of messages were sent on August 12 and 13, 2024, following the release of It Ends With Us on August 9, 2024. Brandon Sklenar and Blake Lively addressed coordinating the release of domestic violence resources in the wake of controversy surrounding the movie.
“Definitely getting hit with comments, “ Sklenar admitted. “Really grinding my gears.”
Later, he suggested that Sony should “hold” off with the release of a behind-the-scenes It Ends With Us featurette from the scene where Lily Bloom (Lively) covers up a wound she suffered from abusive partner Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni).
“No one is touching any special content until we get through the Baldoni s*** storm,” Lively stated. “This man is a monster to levels I never imagined and I thought I saw it all.”
“It’s actually insane,” Sklenar concurred. “[Baldoni is] projecting the exact opposite of everything. Constructing all of it. Just praying it all comes out. Have no idea how.”
Lively suggested that “at some point” the full cast would “have to confirm [the drama], even if anonymously or jointly.”
“This is so painful and awful. For everyone,” she wrote. “He has an entire machine and bots prepared for this. None of us do. Not even Sony. [Because] none of us had anything to hide.”
“I agree,” Sklenar responded. “None of us deserve all the hate at all. Especially you. Pissing me off so much. Just have to block it out but every time I go on Insta I read something.”
Lively acknowledged feeling “legitimately heartbroken and depressed” over how their experience on It Ends With Us turned out.
“Like [I’m] in an immense amount of pain. I’m sorry it’s being aimed at all of us. You included,” she wrote to Sklenar.
One week later, Sklenar released a public statement of support for the female cast of It Ends With Us.
“What may or may not have happened behind the scenes does not and hopefully should not detract from what our intentions were in making this film,” he wrote in an open letter on August 20, 2024. “It’s been disheartening to see the amount of negativity being projected online.”
He closed the note with a message to fans, writing, “All I ask is that before you spread hate on the internet, ask yourself who it’s helping. Ask yourself if your opinions are based in any fact. Or if you simply want to be part of something. Let’s be part of something better together. A part of a new story being written for women and all people everywhere.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Sklenar’s representative for comment.
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