Blake Lively May Be Realizing She’s Fighting A Lost Cause Against Justin Baldoni

Actor Justin Baldoni may be winning his legal battle against "It Ends With Us" costar Blake Lively.

To summarize, the "Gossip Girl" alum has sued the movie director for sexual harassment that she alleges occurred on set. In return, he countersued, claiming that she used her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and close friend Taylor Swift, to take creative control of the movie.

On Wednesday, Lively's legal team made an interesting decision that may hint at her growing desperation in the case.

Justin Baldoni’s team has not been shy about leaking text messages on a website that he set up specifically for fans to review the facts of the case on their own. However, Lively’s team is now firing back, and sending out subpoenas to cell phone carriers AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. They also sent out subpoenas to AOL and Cloudfare, Inc.

But that’s not all. As Deadlinereported, they’re also going after Jed Wallace, who they claim was behind an alleged smear campaign set to ruin her public image. On Wednesday, her attorneys Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb stated, “Ms. Lively has initiated discovery that will expose the people, tactics, and methods that have worked to ‘destroy’ and ‘bury’ her reputation and family over the past year.”

Her legal team’s decision to subpoena these entities now isn’t at all surprising. It’s clear that Lively is trying to get the upper hand after comments that she made a few years ago have resurfaced. While she was attending the Forbes Power Women’s Summit in 2022, Lively claimed that she had a “secret plan” to take over any movie that she’s cast in, which is exactly what Baldoni has been accusing her of.

During the summit, she said that she wasn’t just content to deliver lines as an actress. Instead, she wanted to get her hands dirty with the behind-the-scenes work. In her words: “I also knew that wasn't fulfilling for me, that I wanted to be part of the storytelling, be a part of the narrative, whether that be in the writing, the costume design, creating the character.”

She then admitted that she often waits until she is cast in a role before trying to assert herself in the production of the movie.

“When I was in the meetings, I was like, I’m just here to be the actor and I’m here to get the gig. I wouldn’t reveal that I needed to have authorship to feel fulfilled,” Lively explained. “And I feel for them, it felt like a rug pull, and you’re trying to insert yourself into something we didn’t hire you to do.”

Although some directors apparently don’t mind her increased role, she noted that others have been less welcoming. “Sometimes I had the director, writers, producers who would welcome that once I was able to offer that, and sometimes I had people who resented that, because they just hired me to be the actor," she said.

"It’s just as important to say, ‘I’m standing up for this, and I believe in this, and that’s why I’m not being difficult,’ and there’s other moments to say, ‘Am I being the a--hole here in the room? What is happening here?’” she added.

Lively’s words now take on a different meaning when viewed in the context of her behind-the-scenes power struggle with director Justin Baldoni on “It Ends With Us.” Several text messages that Baldoni’s team have released show that Lively has been pushing to get her way in certain scenes, even incorporating help from her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and Taylor Swift.

In one text message exchange, Baldoni said that he welcomed her changes to the iconic rooftop scene, but "would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor.” Lively responded by referencing the “Game of Thrones” character Khaleesi, and calling Reynolds and Swift her two "dragons."

"I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually for better," Lively's alleged text read. "Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine. [Smiley-face emoji] you will too, I can promise you."

It's no secret that Blake Lively has been trying to do damage control on her reputation ever since the "It Ends With Us" press tour, where she tried to market "It Ends With Us" as a romantic comedy by telling fans to "Grab your girls, wear your florals." Not only that, but Lively also used the press tour to promote her own brands: Betty Booze and Betty Buzz. She was also heavily criticized for launching her hair care brand, Blake Brown, at the same time she was promoting the movie.

Lively herself admitted that she has an agenda to take creative control over films she appears in and accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment may just be an attempt to win back public favor after her negative press tour. Unfortunately, we live in the digital age where we have receipts and Baldoni's team has a lot of them. Not only did Baldoni's team reveal that his production company refused to put out a statement written by Lively and Reynolds taking accountability for her bad press, but they also revealed that Lively had not told the truth when she said there was no lift scene by pulling out old scripts and rehearsed choreography.

Right now, with the evidence that has already been made public, things seem like a slam dunk for Justin Baldoni, even though the court case won't officially start until March of next year. It's clear that Lively's legal team is making a desperate bid to find something, anything, incriminating that they can use against Baldoni to turn the public tide back in her favor.

Blake Lively's ship is sinking, and while her lawyers might be throwing out a life raft, it's possible that she might drown in her own negative reputation before the trial even gets going.