Ryan Reynolds pressured Sony Pictures to publicly defend Blake Lively during the August 2024 backlash over her “It Ends With Us” press tour, according to newly unsealed text messages.
The texts, exchanged between Reynolds, 49, and talent agent Warren Zavala on Aug. 17, 2024, were filed in November 2025 as part of Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal battle and obtained Friday. At the time, Lively, 39, was facing intense criticism for telling fans to “grab your friends, wear your florals, and head out to see it” while promoting the domestic violence drama, and for using appearances to promote her haircare brand and beverage line.
Reynolds demanded Zavala push Sony into immediate action. “They need to frame it the right way! This isn’t hard. The sentence needs to start with… feels like they’re trying to thread the needle. They just need to go f–king straight at this,” he wrote. The “Deadpool” star wanted the studio to blame the negative coverage on “a systematic and coordinated campaign by a crisis p.r. Team.”
Zavala had attempted to calm Reynolds by suggesting others could share positive stories about Lively, while warning that Baldoni’s team likely “have a cadre of things they plan to utilize” to make her “look bad.”
Reynolds was unmoved. He accused Sony of leaving the “Gossip Girl” star exposed, calling their inaction “unforgivable.” He revealed he had already drafted his own statement for the studio, which they never released. “This needs to be addressed immediately. This is the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen in this business,” he texted.
“Sony needs to step up for real,” Reynolds continued. “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.”
He pressed harder, writing that Sony “need to stop bulls–tting and get in front,” adding, “Not just because it’s the right thing to do but because these guys are doing this all with ZERO repercussions.” He insisted Baldoni, 42, “needs to see that an entire studio knows what he’s doing.”
When Zavala explained Sony was “covering their ass” due to “exposure,” Reynolds shot back that their “backs are against the wall.”
The exchange came one week after Reynolds voiced similar frustration in an Aug. 9 text. He wrote he was “super frustrated” that Lively faced online hate after she “didn’t sleep” and “missed countless moments with her kids” to make the film. “They should be protecting B,” he said of Sony. “They can and should accept the consequences of their actions, and lean into the countless and willfully gross behavior before it leans into them. They made a big f–king mess.”
Reynolds added that Lively “under no circumstances should be asked to clean up this sloppy, cliched f–kstorm.”
A source close to the situation said that “it is no secret that Ryan was trying to protect his wife who was being targeted by a crisis p.r. Team hired by Baldoni.” The same source noted this crisis team “has been accused of these smear tactics in at least five other lawsuits according to the NYT.”
Sony did eventually issue a statement in December 2024, months after Reynolds’ texts, following Lively’s public accusation that Baldoni had sexually harassed her and orchestrated a smear campaign. “We have previously expressed our support for Blake in connection with her work on and for the film. We fully and firmly reiterate that support today,” a Sony Pictures Entertainment spokesperson stated. “Further, we strongly condemn any reputational attacks on her. Any such attacks have no place in our business or in a civil society.”
Lively and Baldoni’s legal battle, which saw 10 of her 13 claims against the director dismissed, was scheduled for trial in May. The co-stars settled two weeks before the court date with no money exchanged. Lively later sought $7,495,526 in attorneys’ fees and $539,514 in litigation costs but was awarded only $400,000 in August.
Following that ruling, the outlet exclusively reported that Lively fired her longtime publicist Leslie Sloane, who had represented her throughout the Baldoni dispute, and hired Kelly Bush Novak.
Reps for Reynolds, Lively, Zavala and Sony did not immediately respond to requests for comment.