At the end of 2024, after months of suspected drama between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, the star of It Ends With Us filed a complaint against the director, with allegations that included sexual harassment, retaliation and more. Since then, it’s escalated into a massive legal battle between the two parties, with both sides filing lawsuits against each other. Now, a crew member from the movie has shared her take on the ongoing issue, noting that she finds Lively’s accusations against Baldoni “hard to believe.”
Talia Spencer, a storyboard artist for the film, made it very clear that she found it “hard to believe” the claims made against Justin Baldoni. During an interview with 60 Minutes Australia, she said he was “one of the few directors” she’d worked with who was “very kind and respectful.” Then, she explained why she found the allegations hard to comprehend:
In my opinion, I find it very hard to believe the allegations against him. And considering his mission statement about the film and him genuinely pitching that he was doing this film to help young women, I just find it hard to believe the allegations, to be honest.
Right after that, she also made it clear that she never felt uncomfortable working with the director. In fact, she noted that she felt “more comfortable” around Baldoni than she did with other directors she’d worked with.
This transitioned into the conversation surrounding whether Blake Lively was being controlling during the making of this film – seeing as there have been claims of a second cut, Ryan Reynolds rewriting a key scene, demands she made on set and more. To that point, Spencer was asked if she thought Baldoni was sidelined by the actress during the making of the film. In response, the storyboard artist said:
I feel like maybe Blake smelled his kindness, mistook it for weakness, and tried to take advantage and take power.
When directly questioned about whether she thought Lively tried to sideline Baldoni, Spencer said, “I think she tried to, yes.” Then, when asked if the It Ends With Us actress succeeded, the storyboard artist said:
Probably, yeah. I think that there was a massive compromise in terms of Justin’s original vision for the film.
Meanwhile, another crew member did agree that they didn’t think Baldoni was “capable of doing the things that he’s accused of doing.” However, they also noted that apparently, “Blake clearly got grossed out” during production.
Lively’s team has also said two other women had incidents with Baldoni.
Ultimately, it’s unclear what exactly happened, and both sides have been aggressively fighting to prove the other wrong with various stories, evidence and claims. Meanwhile, in the court of public opinion, this crew member made it clear she finds it “very hard to believe” the allegations against Baldoni, while a lawyer has claimed that they think Lively has a stronger case.
Overall, we’re in the midst of all this playing out legally, and updates and allegations are coming out on a daily basis. A trial is currently set for March 2026, and as we learn more about the situation, we’ll keep you updated.