NEED TO KNOW
- Jenny Slate slams Justin Baldoni in newly unsealed text messages from June 2023
- At the time, the actress wrote that filming It Ends With Us had been “really gross and disturbing”
- Blake Lively’s case against Baldoni is set to go to trial in May
Jenny Slate distanced herself from Justin Baldoni in newly unsealed text messages featured in the It Ends With Us legal battle.
The actress, 43, played Baldoni’s onscreen sister in the romantic drama, which he also directed.
Ahead of a summary judgment hearing in Blake Lively‘s ongoing case against Baldoni, 41, and Wayfarer Studios, new evidence and documents were unsealed on Tuesday, Jan. 20, including Slate’s text messages from June 2023.
Speaking about doing early publicity for the film, Slate texted to her team: “i don’t want to do anything with Justin, i don’t want to talk about him, like … nothing. And the same goes for Jamey [Heath], who is truly unprofessional.”
Slate added that filming It Ends With Us “has been a really gross and disturbing shoot, and I’m one of many who feel [this] way” and claimed that she and Lively, 38, “both complained directly” to the studio.
“Justin is truly a false ally and I’m unwilling to do anything that promotes the image that he’s crafting as a ‘male feminist’ … like … honestly i have no words to describe what a fraud he is,” Slate wrote in one text at the time. She added in another, “I honestly have never ever encountered anything like this dude.”
“He’s the biggest clown and the most intense narcissist,” wrote Slate. “Lots of lessons learned!”
PEOPLE reached out to reps for Baldoni and Slate for comment.
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In a transcript of Slate’s deposition, held Sept. 26 in New York, the star is asked about Baldoni allegedly telling her on set one day, “I can say this because my wife is here, but you look sexy in what you’re wearing.” Slate said she felt the comment was “not appropriate” in “any workplace.”
“The comment was about me, not my character. It wasn’t useful for my work. It wasn’t anything I wanted. It was unwanted and had no place, in my professional experience,” she said in her deposition. Asked why she didn’t tell Baldoni she didn’t like the comment in the moment, Slate explained, “I didn’t feel comfortable. He was my boss, and I just wanted to do my work and leave.”
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman told TMZ in June 2025 that Baldoni, who has denied Lively’s allegations, “wants to be vindicated, and that’s all that he cares about.” He added at the time: “He knows who he is. He knows what he’s done. He knows what he hasn’t done. And he wants the truth to come out, and he wants to do that in the appropriate way.”
“He’s waiting for his day in court, where he can speak out to tell the truth,” Freedman added. The case is set to go to trial in May 2026.
Attorney Sigrid McCawley, a member of Lively’s legal team, says in a Jan. 20 statement that the “bombshell new evidence” contains “testimony, messages and evidence from numerous eyewitnesses backing the claims in Ms. Lively’s lawsuit.”
After news of Lively’s complaint against Baldoni made headlines in December 2024, Slate spoke out in support of the actress.
“As Blake Lively’s cast mate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation,” Slate said at the time. “Blake is a leader, loyal friend and a trusted source of emotional support for me and so many who know and love her.”
“What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing and wholly threatening,” she added. “I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side.”