Justin Baldoni's ExAgent Claimed Blake Lively's Behavior Was 'Extortion' in "IEWU" Dispute: Deposition Transcript Jack Smart, Elizabeth RosnerOctober 14, 2025 at 3:20 AM 0 Mike Marsland/WireImage;John Nacion/Variety via Getty Blake Lively; Justin Baldoni Deposition transcripts from Justin Baldoni an...
- - Justin Baldoni's Ex-Agent Claimed Blake Lively's Behavior Was 'Extortion' in "IEWU" Dispute: Deposition Transcript
Jack Smart, Elizabeth RosnerOctober 14, 2025 at 3:20 AM
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Mike Marsland/WireImage;John Nacion/Variety via Getty
Blake Lively; Justin Baldoni -
Deposition transcripts from Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's talent agents about the making of It Ends With Us have been released
Baldoni's former agent Danny Greenberg characterized Lively's behavior on set as "extortion," according to questioning
A spokesperson for Lively said this piece of the depositions is "a recycled distraction that has nothing to do with the actual sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit Baldoni and the Wayfarer Defendants are facing"
Justin Baldoni's former agent Danny Greenberg characterized Blake Lively's behavior during the making of It Ends With Us as extortion, according to a deposition.
Documents obtained by PEOPLE include testimony from Danny Greenberg, who represented Baldoni, 41, during the filming of the movie. The WME agent described the behind-the-scenes conflict between the director and his costar Lively, 38, allegedly using the word "extortion" in July 2024 communications with Baldoni.
The documents indicate that Greenberg helped Baldoni draft emails to distributor Sony about Lively's "continued extortion and effort to gain control of the film." The agent later clarified he did not mean literal criminal extortion.
"My use of the word extortion there was referencing just cumulative behavior that both the studio and [production company Wayfarer Studios] and Justin was having to manage," said Greenberg.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage; Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty
Blake Lively; Justin Baldoni
Greenberg's testimony also indicated that he believed Lively made threats regarding the film's August 2024 premiere. He had conversations with Sony production executive Ange Giannetti "about the behavior that Blake was displaying along the way," referring to "the premiere issue."
Lively and Baldoni's conflict began in December 2024 after the release of the Colleen Hoover adaptation, when the Gossip Girl actress filed a sexual-harassment complaint against Baldoni, alleging misconduct during filming and a retaliatory smear campaign, which he has denied.
The Jane the Virgin alum's counterclaims against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, which involved allegations of extortion and defamation, were dismissed by a judge in June. Baldoni's legal team opted not to refile amended versions of those claims.
A spokesperson for Lively referenced that dismissed suit in a statement provided to PEOPLE on Oct. 13. "The court already dismissed their so-called 'taking over a movie' claim, and this cherry-picked deposition quote from Baldoni's prior agent before he was dropped from WME adds nothing new," the statement reads.
"The court's dismissal even assumed their allegations were true for the sake of argument — and still held that they don't amount to a valid claim under the law," the statement continues. "This is a legal process, not a click-bait one. This is just a recycled distraction that has nothing to do with the actual sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit Baldoni and the Wayfarer Defendants are facing."
Lively's talent agent Warren Zavala was also deposed. When questioned about a visit to the It Ends With Us set, Zavala agreed that he was not "aware of any incidents that made Ms. Lively uncomfortable" and that "everything seemed to be going well."
During the movie's post-production process, however, there were "definitely issues" that Lively reported to Zavala, he said, over her "interaction … with Justin and their collaboration in the final stages of post."
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty
Justin Baldoni on August 8, 2024
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Back in January, Lively's lawyers said in a statement, in part, that "this is not a 'feud' arising from 'creative differences' or a 'he said/she said' situation."
Discovery related to Baldoni and Lively's case ended on Oct. 10. Its next status hearing in the Southern District of New York will be Oct. 21. Lively v. Wayfarer Studios et al. is scheduled for trial in March 2026; attorneys for Lively and Baldoni have indicated that they both plan to testify.
In June, Lively wrote on Instagram that she felt "more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman's right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story."
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