Justin Baldoni's newly leaked audio might be shock to fans: ‘Beautiful'

A newly leaked voice note from Justin Baldoni has surprised fans amid his ongoing legal battle with Blake Lively, after the actor-director was heard warmly praising his co-star during the early stages of filming It Ends With Us.

In the audio, obtained by TMZ and recorded around early 2023, Baldoni responds to photos Lively had sent from a costume fitting for her role as Lily Bloom. 

His tone is friendly and complimentary as he reflects on seeing the images during a production meeting. 

“Hey Blake, I hope the fitting was super successful,” he says in the message. “Thank you for sending those pictures, it was really cool.” 

He goes on to describe the moment the photos loaded on his screen, adding, “I was in the department head meeting, and they came through, and I was waiting for them to load, and I legit got the chills when I saw it.”

Baldoni then tells her directly, “You look beautiful. It’s going to work so well.”

Fans react to Justin Baldoni calling Blake Lively 'beautiful'

Fans reacted on social media platforms without missing a beat, and their reactions were unexpected, siding mostly with Baldoni.

"I hear you but is it a crime to compliment someone? It would easily be a polite compliment," one fan wrote, while another added, "I heard YOU. However, is it a crime to call someone beautiful?"

A third chimed in he comments section of a post about the news, "So what now I can't tell a woman she's beautiful."

More comments followed, "How is this a concern? He’s responding to pictures she sent him of outfits. How are people dragging 'evidence' out of the air because of this? Really??.

"I heard 'you' but in the rest of his statement context tells it was totally about wardrobe and her CHARACTER looking beautiful in the outfits chosen."

Other reactions said they have had enough of the feud.

"Can they just settle this already… continue to keep dragging it out just to have your name in the headline," a fan frowned, with another saying, "The [sic] need to move on! What is supposed to be accomplished here????"

Someone slammed, "So tired of this mess. Finish it already !!!!"

On the other side, one commentator also took jab at Baldoni.

"oh my the nerve of him to compliment her. When is this going to be over," he wrote.

Blake Lively called Justin Baldoni 'friend'

The resurfaced voice memo comes just days after another private exchange between the two was unsealed. 

In that February 2023 message, Lively referred to Baldoni as a “friend” while discussing the film’s production schedule, according to PEOPLE.

She shared that her husband, Ryan Reynolds, had encouraged her to speak openly with Baldoni because they had “such a great trust.”

At the time, Lively was navigating returning to work after welcoming her son, Olin, in February 2023. 

She explained that she was speaking to Baldoni “as a friend more than anything” while balancing preparations for It Ends With Us and another project, Proxy. 

Lively also noted that she did not “talk to [that director] like [she] talk[s] to” Baldoni and expressed hope that he would be open to accommodating her needs.

Lively filmed Proxy between March and May 2023, before moving on to It Ends With Us from May to June that year. 

Production on the Colleen Hoover adaptation later resumed in January 2024 following the writers’ strike. 

It was not until the film’s release in August 2024 that rumours of tension between the co-stars began to circulate.

The situation escalated in December 2024 when Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment, allegations he strongly denied. 

Baldoni countersued in January 2025, though his case was later dismissed. 

Since then, the dispute has remained in the spotlight, fuelled by the unsealing of private communications involving several high-profile figures, including Taylor Swift and Ben Affleck.

With emotions running high and public interest growing, the former co-stars are now set to confront the matter formally. 

Lively and Baldoni are scheduled to face each other in court on 18 May 2026, as their legal battle continues to unfold.