Blake Lively privately approached Ben Affleck in 2024 to express serious concerns about her experience working with Justin Baldoni, newly unsealed court documents reveal, shedding new light on the escalating legal battle surrounding Finish with us.
The email, along with text messages involving Taylor Swift and statements from Jenny Slate and Isabela Ferrer, are now part of the growing paper trail linked to Lively’s lawsuit.
According to the documents, Lively sent an email to Affleck on May 17, 2024, describing what she called one of the worst experiences of her career.
He made it clear that the message came with “zero pressure,” but explained that he was seeking feedback on his own editing of the film after what he characterized as months of behind-the-scenes turmoil.
“I just came out on the other side (well, almost) of the most disturbing experience I’ve ever had on film,” he wrote, adding that the story behind the production was more dramatic than the film itself.
In the same message, Lively claimed that she rewrote and restructured the entire script and effectively directed the film through what she called a “chaotic clown director/actor/producer/financier/studio head at the center,” emphasizing that it was “all the same person.”
She went on to allege serious internal problems, including “wild HR issues and more,” and described being placed on a last-minute editing “bake off” after Baldoni had been working on his version for months.
Lively asked Affleck if he would be willing to watch the film and offer notes, including thanking his family for feedback and pointing out the film’s themes of domestic violence.
Emphasizing how much the project had cost him emotionally, he wrote, “This movie almost killed me,” adding that he could think of few people whose ideas he trusted more.
She also mentioned that Ryan Reynolds had asked Matt Damon to see the film, jokingly marveling at the idea of “Jason Bourne” seeing his work, while expressing gratitude for what she called “good men showing up.”
The email emerged amid Lively’s broader legal claims filed in December 2024, in which she accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and a coordinated effort to damage her reputation.
Baldoni has denied the allegations, with his legal team calling them false, and his countersuit was dismissed earlier this year.
The newly released documents offer a deeper look into how isolated and overwhelmed Lively says she felt as the conflict unfolded behind closed doors.
