How A Subpoena And WhatsApp May Be At The Heart Of Conflicting Narratives From Blake Lively And Justin Baldoni's Attorneys

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively embracing in It Ends With Us

(Image credit: Sony)

Ever since its release, the book to screen adaptation It Ends With Us has been synonymous with drama. While it started with Blake Lively's behavior with journalists, now she and director/actor Justin Baldoni are involved in a number of lawsuits surrounding the project (which is streaming with a Netflix subscription). The movie's stars have made a number of allegations against each other, although a subpoena and WhatsApp could potentially clarify the stories coming from Baldoni and Lively's respective legal teams.

Blake Lively's lawsuit against the production team behind It Ends With Us kickstarted a legal storm, with Justin Baldoni suing the New York Times for their reporting, as well as filing a defamation suit against Reynolds and Lively. The situation is made all the more complicated thanks to PR boss Stephanie Jones, who was brought into the narrative over leaked texts is also suing Baldoni and more for defamation and breach of contract. And Jones' litigation has the potential to have a big affect on the legal battle happening between the movie's stars.

How WhatsApp And More Are Involved In The It Ends With Us Brouhaha

While fans are keeping track of Baldoni and Lively's lawsuits, Deadline offered an update about how Stephanie Jones might factor in. The two It Ends With Us stars are seemingly telling conflicting stories about what went down on set, making some serious allegations in the process. Jones' attempts to clear her own name might help to offer the truth about what happened between Baldoni and Lively. Her lawyers reportedly served WhatsApp, Signal, Hostinger, Name Cheap, digital publishing platform AnyFlip, and chatbot company Gab AI in an attempt to procure deleted documents that might corroborate her story. Per this report, the legal notices those entities received read:

Disclosure is being sought because, upon information and belief, You possess documents and communications material and necessary to the prosecution or defense of this Action, including (but not limited to) information related to the allegations in the Complaint in the above-captioned action.

While Jones is hoping this will strengthen her own legal cases, acquiring the documentation about what happened on the It Ends With Us set could also seemingly reveal the "truth" to the conflicting accounts given by Baldoni and Lively. Since those lawsuits could be quite expensive for the pair of actors, it should be fascinating to see if the information procured by the publicist ends up being a smoking gun or not.

New updates are constantly coming out surrounding the This Ends With Us lawsuits, and the stakes certainly feel high for everyone involved. Only time will tell if Baldoni and Lively actually face off in court, and how Stephanie Jones' own suit ends up influencing how things ultimately shake out. Some clarity might be welcomed by the public, given the discrepancy in their respective stories.

The ongoing litigation certainly seems to put the kibosh on an It Ends With Us sequel, despite how successful the first film was. So don't expect any updates to the 2025 release schedule soon, at least not on this front.

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.