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Blake Lively And Ryan Reynolds Warned Of ‘Irreparable Harm’ If Celebrity Texts Leaked, Now Hollywood Is Panicking
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are facing fresh scrutiny after newly unsealed court documents revealed private messages in which the actor criticized Sony Pictures for failing to defend his wife amid the backlash surrounding It Ends With Us.
The revelations have also raised questions about the couple’s standing in Hollywood, with industry insiders suggesting that the controversy could make people think twice before associating with them.
Highlights
- Newly unsealed court documents reportedly revealed Ryan Reynolds’ private messages urging Sony Pictures to defend Blake Lively during the backlash over “It Ends With Us.”
- Private messages from Sony executives also reportedly showed criticism of Lively.
- Industry insiders offered mixed views on the couple’s Hollywood standing.
The latest development comes months after the bitter Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni legal battle, which began when Lively accused her co-star and director of inappropriate conduct, harassment, and orchestrating a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni denied the allegations and countersued Lively for defamation and extortion, seeking $400 million, before the pair settled on May 4, 2026.
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Hollywood executives revealed that Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds could lose their industry’s support
For years, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds appeared to be among Hollywood’s most popular couples. Their careers, business ventures, and public image helped make them a fixture in the entertainment industry.
However, a report in the Daily Mail suggests their standing among influential industry figures may have shifted after Lively’s legal dispute with her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni.
One Los Angeles party planner told the publication, “Two years ago, having Blake and Ryan at your party made you look important. Today, having them there might make people uncomfortable.”
The source added, “They’re still famous. They’re just not the social prize they used to be.”
A veteran casting director also suggested that industry professionals were now thinking more carefully about working with the couple.
“The question isn’t whether Blake and Ryan are talented. It’s whether working with them comes with complications,” the casting director said.
The report described the legal dispute as a source of uncertainty for Hollywood figures who may worry about getting caught up in future controversies.
The controversy followed the recent release of Reynolds’ text messages with Sony Pictures
The latest controversy follows the release of previously sealed court records containing text messages between Reynolds and talent agent Warren Zavala from August 2024, as reported by Bored Panda.
The messages reportedly showed Reynolds pushing Sony Pictures, the studio behind It Ends With Us, to respond more forcefully to the public criticism directed at Lively during the film’s promotional campaign.
At the time, Lively faced backlash over several aspects of the promotion, including the launch of her haircare brand, Blake Brown, and themed cocktails connected to the film. Critics also accused her of failing to focus enough on the story’s subject of domestic violence.
On August 14, 2024, Sony’s then-chairman and CEO, Tony Vinciquerra, publicly praised Lively’s “passion and commitment to advancing the conversation around domestic violence.”
However, Reynolds reportedly wanted a stronger response from the studio.
In a message to Zavala dated August 17, 2024, Reynolds wrote that Sony needed to “start advocating for her.”
He later insisted, “[Sony] need[s] to frame it the right way! This isn’t hard… They just need to go f***ing straight at this.”
Reynolds also criticised the studio for not doing enough to defend his wife, writing, “They have to stop bullsh***ing us and get in front of this.”
Zavala responded, “They are covering their a*s. It’s about exposure.”
According to the report, Reynolds even drafted language that he wanted Sony to use in a public statement. He suggested that the studio describe the negative narrative surrounding the film as part of a “systematic and coordinated campaign by a crisis PR team.”
Sony did not release the statement Reynolds had drafted.
The newly revealed messages also drew attention to earlier private conversations involving senior Sony executives
According to the report, messages released in January 2026 showed executives criticizing Lively’s decisions during the film’s promotion.
Sanford Panitch, president of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, reportedly wrote, “She did it to herself.”
He was discussing the controversy surrounding Lively’s reported insistence that Baldoni be excluded from the film’s New York premiere until she had cleared the press line.
Panitch also criticized the timing of Lively’s haircare launch, calling it “epic level stupid” and adding, “She wouldn’t listen. She knows better.”
Tahra Grant, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s executive vice president and chief communications officer, reportedly accused Lively of handling the situation poorly.
“She orchestrated all this drama in a totally unsavvy and amateur way (and basically threatened…Sony) and now is mad it backfired on her,” Grant wrote.
In a deposition taken by Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, Sony executive Ange Giannetti also reportedly admitted to calling Lively a “f***ing te**orist.”
These private remarks offer a different picture from the public support Lively received during the film’s promotional campaign.
Reynolds’ messages have prompted conflicting interpretations from people familiar with the dispute
A source close to the actor told the Daily Mail that Reynolds believed his wife was being targeted by a crisis PR team allegedly hired by Baldoni.
“It is no secret that Ryan believed his wife was being targeted by a crisis PR team hired by Baldoni,” the source said.
The insider also referred to allegations involving the PR firm in other legal disputes.
However, another source challenged Reynolds’ position, arguing the team had been involved for only six days when the backlash was already underway.
“How could it have orchestrated a backlash that predated its involvement? Even a movie star cannot rewrite the timeline,” the source said.
The source added, “Demanding that a studio repeat an accusation does not make it true, no matter how famous you are.”
Despite the negative attention, industry insiders quoted in the report did not suggest that Lively and Reynolds had lost every supporter or that their careers were over
One entertainment insider said that a major success could quickly change how Hollywood views them.
“Give Ryan another Deadpool-sized blockbuster or Blake a major hit and watch what happens,” the source said. “The executives who are nervous today will be fighting to have dinner with them tomorrow.”
Another industry figure argued that the couple needed to deliver a commercial success more than anything else.
“They don’t necessarily need to win back every former friend, silence every critic or convince everyone they behaved perfectly. They need to deliver the one thing Hollywood values above everything else. A hit,” the source said.
“The only person more insufferable than her is him,” wrote one netizen
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