Key takeaways from Blake Lively's 'embarrassing' email to Ben Affleck
Revealing conversations between Blake Lively and her A-List friends have emerged as part of her court battle with her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni.
One of the conversations released as part of the ongoing legal proceedings was an email sent from Lively to her previous The Town co-star, Ben Affleck, appearing to ask for his advice about the alleged chaos on set in a way that some have called 'embarrassing'.
The email to Affleck, 53, seemingly reveals more information about what went on behind the camera on It Ends With Us, which was released in August 2024, and saw Lively, 38, file a lawsuit against 41-year-old Baldoni just months later, alleging sexual harassment and violations of her personal boundaries.
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Baldoni then filed a $400 million countersuit, however, the case was dismissed in June 2025 before being thrown out in October.
The director's team previously slammed all of the allegations as 'completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious'.
With Lively's email to Affleck totalling over 500 words, we've broken down its key takeaways below.
The Gossip Girl star opens her request for help by telling Affleck that she hopes 'life is treating you beautifully', before gushing about how she and husband Ryan Reynolds had enjoyed his recent roles, including his Dunkin' Donuts commercial.
She then said: "I'm writing with a zero pressure ask. I've just come out the other side (well almost) of the most upsetting experience I've ever had on a movie. The making of doc of this film would be more interesting than the movie could ever be. It's like if Wild Wild Country, Fyre Festival and Going Clear had a baby with The Room."
Lively called Baldoni a ‘chaotic clown’
Lively's email with Affleck alleges that she had to 'rewrite and restructure the entire script' and pitch in with directing duties alongside Baldoni, who she described as a 'chaotic clown director'.
She went on to claim that the lack of clear distinction had allegedly made the production a mess, describing Baldoni as the 'actor/producer/financier/studio head at the center'.
Lively added: "Yes that's all the same person."
Everyone was allegedly ‘in a cult’
"Oh and did I mention he and everyone he had on the movie is in a cult," Lively claimed as she blasted Baldoni and what she alleges took place on set.
She complained that the alleged clash of personalities on set made the production 'so difficult', without even including the 'HR issues'.
Lively told Affleck: "If I would've just formally directed it, it would've been much easier, but having to troubleshoot through his taste, ego and preexisting decisions made it so difficult and that's not even touching on any of the wild HR issues and beyond."
With an apparent lack of direction on the movie, she then claims that she and Baldoni were in a 'bake off' over the final cut, alleging that he had been given extra time to work on his version while she had just '10 days'.
Requested Affleck watch the film and give his notes
"If you have 1:58 of free time at any time in the next few days, would you be willing to watch the movie and give me any ideas or notes," Lively wrote, before adding: "I will pix it to you."
The version of It Ends With Us that hit the cinemas was about 10 minutes longer than this.
It's likely that she would have valued his opinion as Affleck has won a joint Oscar with Matt Damon for Good Will Hunting's screenplay, and another Best Picture Academy Award for Argo, which he directed and starred in.
But Lively seemingly did not want to impinge on his time too much, adding that Affleck could just 'literally text me a voice memo so you don't have to formally write thoughts'.
Asked that his kids and then-wife J-Lo watched it too
Although this might seem a big ask of Affleck, according to the email, in the next sentence, Lively also asked if his then-wife, Jennifer Lopez, could pitch in with her opinion as well as asking if his kids could watch it.
Lively wrote: "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."
Lively claimed the movie ‘nearly killed her’
Explaining why she was taking this extraordinary step of asking Affleck to give his advice on her cut of the film, Lively then alleged that the whole process had 'nearly killed her'.
She wrote: "Again, zero pressure. I just really want this to work after all I've put into it. This movie nearly killed me."
Lively added that she 'can think of very few people who would be as prescriptive and insightful as I know you would be'.
Also asked Matt Damon to watch the film
Lively then claimed that Reynolds had convinced Matt Damon to watch the film.
She then pointedly said that it shows 'good men showing up' to help her and that she is 'beyond grateful for that'.
As the lengthy email began to wind down, Lively then made a quip about getting Affleck an autograph from 'Jason Bourne', a character not played by Damon for eight years at that point.
That and Affleck and Damon have been good friends for 45 years now.
She joked: "Also. can you believe Jason Bourne is watching my movie!?!?! I'll get you an autograph one day. Don't worry."
Ending the email, Lively said: "If you're still reading this, whoa. You're not nearly as busy as you think. or you're a very nice person.
"Sending you all the best always. Xx B '87."
UNILAD previously reached out to Lively's legal rep for comment.
Topics: Ben Affleck, Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Ryan Reynolds, Celebrity
William Morgan