Jenny Slate Calls ‘It Ends With Us’ Set ‘Disturbing’ Amid Legal Drama
Jenny Slate’s candid texts about the ‘It Ends With Us’ production have surfaced, revealing her discomfort with co-star Justin Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath as legal tensions escalate.
Fresh details have emerged from the ongoing legal stoush between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, with unsealed court documents shining a light on the behind-the-scenes chaos of the much-hyped film adaptation of ‘It Ends With Us’. Jenny Slate, who played Baldoni’s on-screen sister, didn’t mince words in her private messages, describing the experience as anything but pleasant.
During a September deposition, transcripts of which were made public in January, Slate’s texts were read aloud, painting a picture of a set fraught with tension. In one message, she wrote,
“been a really gross and disturbing shoot, and I’m one of many who feel [this] way.”
She wasn’t alone in her concerns, with both Slate and Lively reportedly raising issues directly with the studio.
Slate’s Scathing Critique of Baldoni and Heath
Slate’s texts didn’t hold back when it came to her co-star and the film’s producer, Jamey Heath. She described Baldoni as
“truly a false ally and I’m unwilling to do anything that promotes the image that he’s crafting as a ‘male feminist’.”
She went further, saying,
“Honestly I have no words to describe what a fraud he is.”
Her messages to her former agent in May 2023 revealed just how tough things had become:
“This week was really intense for a few reasons. It’s like fascinating and also so shitty. Justin and Jamey are truly unfit. I’m not scared or anything, just repulsed and deeply irritated, and I know Blake is experiencing that on a much more serious level.”
Slate also expressed concern for Lively, suggesting the situation was even more difficult for her. She added,
“I feel like it’s about to get really bad and I’m not sure what Blake’s limit is but she’s really taken a lot of crap from them, like crazy shit, and I’m not kidding when I tell you that Justin and Jamey me freak me out. Like they tell really weird lies and Justin is astoundingly wrongheaded.”
Allegations of Inappropriate Behaviour
Baldoni, who once gave a TED Talk on empowering women, didn’t impress Slate. She said,
“He is worse than the bros I’ve encountered, not because he’s predatory but because of his general fragility and misogyny, like not seeming to be aware of any of the obvious no-no’.”
Slate also took issue with a comment Baldoni allegedly made about her appearance on set, calling it
“not appropriate […] in any workplace.”
Determined to keep her distance, Slate told her team she wanted nothing to do with Baldoni or Heath during the film’s promo run:
“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.”
Legal Battle Escalates
‘It Ends With Us’ follows Lily Bloom, played by Lively, as she moves to Boston and meets neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid, portrayed by Baldoni. Off-screen, however, the drama has spilled into the courts. Lively has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation, as well as orchestrating an online smear campaign against her. The case is set to be heard in March.
Baldoni’s own $400 million defamation suit against Lively was thrown out in June, with a judge dismissing his claims of extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist. The legal wrangling shows no sign of slowing down, with both sides digging in for a lengthy fight.