Ryan Reynolds Urged Sony to Defend Blake Lively Amid It Ends With Us Backlash

Private messages sent by Ryan Reynolds show him demanding that Sony Pictures publicly defend Blake Lively while she faced intense backlash over the promotion of It Ends With Us. The messages, part of documents tied to the legal dispute between Lively and Justin Baldoni, were reported by Page Six. In them, Reynolds pressed talent agent Warren Zavala during August 2024 to push the studio toward a firmer public stance.

In a conversation dated August 17, 2024, Reynolds complained that Sony was staying on the sidelines and argued the studio should present the criticism as an organized effort to damage his wife's image. According to the messages, he wrote that the studio had to frame it the right way and get straight to the point instead of looking for a middle ground. He called the company's handling of the situation unforgivable and said he had even drafted a statement for Sony to release, though it never became public. In another message he insisted the studio had to step up.

Reynolds had already voiced his frustration days earlier, on August 9, saying he was deeply upset by the attacks he saw online. He argued the situation was unfair because Lively had slept little and missed time with their children while working to promote the film, and wrote that she should be protected. When Zavala explained that Sony was trying to shield itself from possible legal and reputational consequences, Reynolds replied that the matter had reached a critical point, according to the messages.

The criticism of Lively centered on how she promoted a film whose story deals with domestic violence and emotional abuse. Some viewers felt her tone was too light for the subject, while others accused her of using interviews to promote her own ventures, including a hair care brand and a beverage line. An invitation for audiences to gather friends, wear florals and see the movie circulated widely in a negative light. At the same time, reports of friction with Baldoni, the film's director and co-star, along with claims of inappropriate on-set conduct, fueled media attention.

In December 2024, Lively formally accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and of taking part in a campaign to harm her reputation. The conflict led to lawsuits and countersuits, while Baldoni denied the accusations and attributed their differences to creative disagreements. Sony ultimately issued a statement of support for Lively in December 2024, saying it reiterated its full and firm backing and condemning attacks on her reputation as unacceptable.

The legal fight later shifted course. In April 2026, a court dismissed 10 of Lively's 13 claims, including the sexual harassment allegation, on jurisdictional grounds, and the remaining claims were resolved through an out-of-court settlement in May, two weeks before the scheduled trial, with no money paid to either side. Lively then sought more than USD 7.4 million in legal fees plus USD 539,514 in litigation expenses, but in August the court awarded her USD 400,000. In September 2026, Page Six also reported that Lively had parted ways with her longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane, and hired Kelly Bush Novak, known for representing Lady Gaga.