A member of the It Ends With Us crew is supporting Justin Baldoni’s claims that Blake Lively attempted to take over creative control of the film.
“I feel like maybe Blake smelled his kindness, mistook it for weakness and tried to take advantage and take power,” storyboard artist Talia Spencer shared in a Sunday, April 13, interview with 60 Minutes Australia. When asked if she thinks Lively, 37, tried and succeeded in controlling the film’s production, Spencer replied, “I think she tried to, yes. … I think that there was a massive compromise in terms of Justin’s original vision of the film.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Lively and Baldoni’s reps for comment.
Reports of a creative struggle between Lively and Baldoni, 41, first surfaced around the time of the film’s August 2024 premiere. Spencer’s comments support Baldoni’s claims against Lively regarding the movie’s production in their ongoing legal battle.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s reported rift made headlines months before the It Ends With Us costars filed lawsuits. While Lively and Baldoni promoted the film in August 2024, rumors began swirling of an alleged feud between the pair. Fans noticed that Lively was promoting the movie with some of her costars while Baldoni, who […]
In his multiple lawsuits against The New York Times, Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist, Leslie Sloane, Baldoni alleged that Lively shut him out of the film’s editing process, resulting in the creation of two different versions of the movie — one that made it to theaters and another that remains unreleased. Additionally, Baldoni has accused Lively of trying to block him from the movie’s New York City premiere, excluding him from press and isolating him from other cast members.
In her own lawsuits, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and inappropriate on-set behavior, which included adding in additional sex scenes to the film, opening up about alleged pornography addiction and improvising kisses during filming, among other claims. Lively also accused the director of launching a smear campaign against her to ruin her reputation.
Spencer shared a differing opinion of Baldoni during her 60 Minutes interview, stating that “he was one of the few directors I’ve worked with that was very kind and respectful.
She continued, “In my opinion, I find it very hard to believe the allegations against him. And considering his mission statement about the film and him genuinely pitching that he was doing this film to help young women, I just find it hard to believe the allegations, to be honest. … I would say I felt more comfortable being around Justin than a lot of film directors, in my experience.”
Justin Baldoni’s legal team is responding to Blake Lively’s new allegations, claiming that he made other women uncomfortable on the set of It Ends With Us. “Our clients have been transparent in providing receipts, real time documents and video showing a completely different story than what has been manipulated and cherry picked to the media,” […]
Spencer stated that it is “definitely a little bit sad” to see the film’s message of spreading domestic violence awareness be “overtaken” by Lively and Baldoni’s legal drama. “It’d be nice if everybody could put their swords down and acknowledge their part in it and get along, but we don’t really live in that world,” she said. “It’s a little too late for that. So, I hope that the truth comes out. I hope that the innocent parties are proven as innocent and we move on.”
Both sides and their legal teams — as well as The New York Times — have vehemently denied each other’s claims. Lively, Reynolds, 48, and the newspaper have filed to dismiss Baldoni’s lawsuits against. A trial date has been set for March 2026.
