The truth about that leaked Justin Baldoni voice message.

A newly-leaked seven-minute voice message from Justin Baldoni to Blake Lively has emerged as the latest development in their ongoing legal battle.

The message, notably sent at 2am during the pre-production of It Ends With Us, features Baldoni offering a rambling apology to Lively over a rooftop scene.

This revelation comes amid escalating legal tensions, with Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Ryan Reynolds following Lively's initial lawsuit, which alleged sexual harassment and a coordinated smear campaign against her.

While the authenticity cannot be verified, both parties have addressed the leak. Lively's team has denied providing the recording to any media outlets.

You can hear it below.

@showme.evol

Justin Baldoni comes through with his promise to release all texts and voice notes with Blake Lively. In this 7-minute voice note, Justin is heard apologizing to Blake. #justinbaldoni #blakelively #popculture #CapCut

♬ original sound - charli blake

The Daily Mail published the full recording, but it's unclear who provided it to the news website.

This development follows Baldoni's recent lawsuit against The New York Times for $250 million, claiming they relied too heavily on "Lively's unverified and self-serving narrative".

So what exactly did Justin say to Blake?

From the outset, it's important to remember the context of this exchange. In simple terms, Lively was Baldoni's employee, as he was not only her director but co-owner of the production company funding It Ends With Us. 

"Hey Blake, it's two in the morning. Hopefully this does not wake you up. There is so much I want to say to you," Baldoni began.

He then begins an apology, referencing his tepid response to Lively's rewriting of the film's opening rooftop scene.

"I'm really sorry. I f**ked up. I will admit and apologise when I fail. I'm a very flawed man, as my wife will attest. I'm going to piss you off probably, but I will always apologise and then find my way back to centre," he said.

He then brought up an incident where he claims Blake recruited the help of her husband Ryan Reynolds and a 'famous' friend named Taylor (Swift *cough* Swift) to advocate on her behalf.

"Damn right, you got great friends. If that's how you felt, and they knew that. F**k. We should all have friends like that, aside from the fact they're two of the most creative people on the planet… The three of you guys together is unbelievable. Talk about energy. Force. All three of you."

Watch Blake Lively on the It Ends With Us red carpet. 

Baldoni goes on to heap praise on Lively, but makes several mentions of their apparent chemistry.

"I'm excited to go through the whole movie with you. I'm just excited to spend time with you," he says. Further into the voicemail, he shared a similar sentiment. "All I have to say is, I'm really looking forward to spending time together, and I believe that's going to go a long way for our chemistry, which I believe is there. It's been there from the start," he said.

"You and I have been trying to build a relationship, which I think we've done successfully. Here we are talking together at 2 a.m. in the morning. But largely via text and voicemail and I will admit, that's not my biggest strength. I love being with people and being in somebody's space and being face-to-face, and I think that's where I excel. But I've definitely fallen short at times in our texts and voicemail exchanges because there's so much to communicate and so much happening."

Baldoni then makes mention of some type of issue Lively has had with other sexist collaborators, with the subtext being that he's different.

Blake Lively at the It Ends With Us UK Gala Screening. Image: Getty.

"I am so sorry you have been through what you've been through with these other filmmakers and producers or whoever the people were that you worked with. It just pissed me off," he continues.

"I'm just still kind of blown away that this is the industry that we're in and that you've experienced that as a woman and I know I don't need to say it, but that's not at all going to be or will be and hopefully it's not been the experience with me."

Baldoni adds something here that, errr…. is just straight-up creepy.

"There's nothing more exciting to me like that I get to work with Blake Lively and have her, all of her, that's what I want," he says.

Out of nowhere, Baldoni then mentions Lively's breast. "You probably have kids all over you, and a baby on your boob, and you're listening to me ramble," he says, as he also makes an innuendo about sharing "creative juices".

So yep, it's a lot to digest.

Given the rather intense tone from Baldoni, who is sending a female employee a voicemail at 2am, you'd expect the reaction online to at least be split.

Instead, there are a whole lot of Justin defenders, even some who find the whole voicemail rather sexy.

@ingridbisu

New voicemail drop. Why is this kinda… #justinbaldoni #blakelively #ryanreynolds #voicemail #itendswithus #colleenhoover

♬ original sound - Shannon Hill

"Do you think she listened to this giggling and kicking her feet?" read one popular comment on the TikTok.

@greeneucaryote

#blakelively #justinbaldoni

♬ original sound - TMZ

Aside from some people on X and TikTok raising flags over the 'baby on your boob' comment, the voice memo hasn't seemed to have negatively affected Baldoni's case in the eyes of the public.

The voicemail follows a scene being leaked last week which showed Baldoni attempting to kiss Lively, nuzzling into her neck and smelling her… and yet, it didn't seem to be putting anyone off from being on Team Baldoni.

Baldoni's legal team is claiming that a website is coming to share more texts and correspondence.

Considering that both Lively and Baldoni have pending defamation trials, surely this information could prejudice any potential juries?

It's a concern Lively and Reynolds' legal team have taken into consideration, as they requested a gag order against Baldoni and his lawyers. Her attorneys expressed concern about "tainting the jury pool" due to Baldoni's team's frequent public statements and the release of video and audio footage.

They have argued that a gag order is necessary to protect not just this case but other women who face workplace harassment.

Their attorney, Ezra Hudson, emphasised that requiring counsel to follow ethical rules is not a gag order but a necessary legal safeguard.

They wrote in a letter that "federal litigation must be conducted in court and according to the relevant rules of professional conduct".

In response, Baldoni's team called the request an "intimidation tactic," adding that Lively's "desire to force the Wayfarer Parties to defend themselves privately against allegations made publicly is not a proper basis for a gag order."

The first court hearing to address these matters is scheduled for February 12, 2025. Until a gag order is approved, we can expect more distractions updates to come from Baldoni's team in the following weeks.

Feature image: Getty.