Blake Lively’s Alleged Demands for Producer Credit Slammed by ‘It Ends With Us’ Producer in Leaked Email

It Ends With Us producer Jamey Heath slammed Blake Lively’s demand she be given a producer credit on the film in an email leaked as part of their legal battle.

In Touch obtained the email dated June 27, 2024, filed as part of Jamey and the film’s director Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit against The New York Times.

Justin, 40, and Jamey sued the outlet over an article published about Blake’s complaint against them. It claimed the reporters cherry-picked evidence to present a one-sided story.

In the email, that Jamey wrote to partners, “I’m writing to you all regarding a letter that I wrote on behalf of Justin and myself addressed to the Producers Guild.”

“As you know, we received a request to write a recommendation on behalf of Blake for her to receive the PGA mark. This was a request that we feel was unreasonable and cold hearted. Essentially, the movie [It Ends With Us] has been taken unjustly from Justin as a director and essentially from Wayfarer’s control due to the extortion of Blake,” he said.

Jamey continued, “Without going into all the details of the events that have transpired over the months, Justin and I ended up agreeing to write the letter due to feeling trapped. She continues to hold a threat over our heads and every time we try and hold a line she uses that threat either directly or indirectly to get us to fold. Make no mistake, I am not suggesting that we were literally forced to acquiesce, but given the high profile of the movie, the partnership with Sony, the amount of money invested and the need to complete the movie, we have written the letter on her behalf, omitting the truth of how and why she was able to contribute in the ways we listed.”

He ended, “There is nothing to do with this letter now. It only serves as a way to memorialize why the letter was sent in the first place should we ever need to explain it.”

In the letter that Jamey wrote to the Producers Guild, he praised Blake’s work on the film and proposed she receive a producer credit.

In the lawsuit, Justin and Jamey accused The New York Times of publishing a one-sided article based on Blake’s complaint with the California Civil Rights Department. The suit alleged, “The Times relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives. But The Times did not care.” A spokesperson for The New York Times, “Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported.”

The spokesperson said that the outlet had reviewed “thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and email that we quote accurately and at length in the article.”

The legal drama started when Blake, 37, filed her complaint accusing Justin and Jamey of sexual harassment on set. She claimed Justin spoke about his sex life, Justin improvised unwanted kissing, Justin called her personal trainer behind her back, Jamey showed inappropriate videos of his wife on set, and various other issues.

Blake claimed she made a list of demands she wanted Justin and Jamey to meet before she resumed filming. She claimed that Justin hired a crisis PR team to smear her in retaliation for her raising the issues.

In their suit, Justin and Jamey said they were “deeply unsettled” by Blake’s list of grievances but continued filming “despite the fear Lively was intentionally manipulating facts for her own gain.”

Their lawyer wrote, “The stakes were extraordinarily high: financiers had invested substantial resources, hundreds of cast and crew members had endured months without work due to the strikes, and nearly five years of development had gone into bringing this Film to life.”

Justin said production resumed without any “further grievances or references to prior disputes from Lively.” The director said Blake requested to join him in the editing bay despite the Director’s Guild mandating a 10-week “protected” period for directors to work alone.

The lawsuit added, “As a seasoned professional with over twenty years of experience in the entertainment industry—and having grown up in a family deeply involved in the field—Lively was fully aware of the implications of her request. In fact, her request explicitly acknowledged that it infringed upon Baldoni’s ‘protected period.’ Nonetheless, in the aftermath of the serious false allegations she had leveled against the production, Baldoni, Wayfarer, and Sony reluctantly agreed to grant her access to the editing bay for two days.”

“Notably, despite her allegations that Baldoni made her ‘uncomfortable,’ Lively sought to spend prolonged, close time with him in the confined and collaborative space of the editing bay,” the lawsuit continued.

Justin claimed the two-day collaboration extended into ten days which led to Blake demanding she work alone in the editing bay. The suit claims Blake cut her own edit of the film. Justin said the studio agreed to test both Blake and Justin’s cut of the film with an audience.

The suit alleged, “This decision was made with the understanding that Lively had agreed with Sony that, if Baldoni’s director’s cut tested higher, she would drop the matter and fully cooperate and Baldoni could proceed finishing the Film without Lively’s editorial interferences.”

Justin claimed that his cut scored higher but Blake “reneged on her promise” and refused to promote any cut other than hers.

The suit said Blake demanded that Justin and Jamey send letters to the Producers Guild of America in support of her certification for the p.g.a. mark.

“Despite unanimous recognition of the absurdity and the unsettling nature of what appeared to be an attempt at coercion, Sony and other parties ultimately acquiesced and submitted letters of support,” Justin’s lawyer read.

Justin said Blake did not perform the duties of a producer and did not qualify for the p.g.a. mark. His suit said “in the fact of persistent threats” he agreed to write a letter, with Jamey, to the guild. He said Jamey provided a letter to their lawyers “indicating that they signed the letter under duress.”

Justin has yet to respond to Blake’s lawsuit. The actress was not a named defendant in his suit against The New York Times. Justin’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told NBC News he planned to file a separate lawsuit against Blake.