Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have been entangled in legal trouble since the release of It Ends With Us, with the actors filing a lawsuit against each other. However, the latest reports have suggested that Blake was done with Hollywood.
According to the legal documents obtained by People on Wednesday, January 21, the internal emails dated August 21, 2024, were revealed, in which Sanford Panitch, executive vice president and president of Sony Pictures' Motion Picture Group, weighs in with studio leadership.
Blake was reportedly privately lambasted by senior Sony Pictures Entertainment officials, one of whom said she was "done" in Hollywood.
Sanford wrote, “It’s quite ironic because she has a huge hit movie headed to $300M-plus. And probably will never work again, or not for a while. Although even Hathaway recovered. Tom thinks she’s probably and bizarrely unhirable right now.”
However, another executive argued the backlash would fade, writing, “This will pass. She is going to be FINE.”
Sanford disagreed, “No. Disagree,” adding, “She is done for. At least for a while. It’s cooked.”
He continued by speculating that Lively had informed Josh that she was retiring and that it might take years for her to return. He alluded to the actress's protracted retirement from acting by comparing the prospective break to "Eva Mendes time." He wrote, “She did it to herself.”
He added, “What everyone ever has done in show business for time and memorial is protect ‘the show.’ Then none of the sleuthing would have happened.”
Additionally, Sanford described what he thought were the crucial choices that intensified the response.
Also Read: Taylor Swift to testify in Blake Lively’s explosive lawsuit against Justin Baldoni
He went on to question the timing of Lively's business endeavours, referring to the introduction of her haircare line, Blake Brown, during the scandal as "epic-level stupid."
Sanford added, “She wouldn’t listen. She knows better.”
Previously, a source told the outlet that the haircare launch "was set with Target months in advance and could not be changed. The film date pushed to overlap."
It Ends With Us was originally supposed to be released on Valentine's Day in 2024, but it was delayed twice before being released in August of the same year.
Also Read: Justin Baldoni claims Blake Lively was “setting me up for a trap” on It Ends With Us Set
Previous emails indicate a similar level of concern at the studio's highest levels. Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures' Motion Picture Group, outlined the dire circumstances in a statement dated August 9, 2024.
Tom wrote at the time, “It’s all a f---ing disaster. None of the who or right or wrong matters at all. The mess is the story now and it will define the film. No one can watch the film the same way. Tragic.”
Sony took quite a different stance in public. In response to criticism regarding Lively's advertising of It Ends With Us, the studio released a statement on August 15, 2024, highlighting the film's purpose and social message while applauding her "passion and commitment to advancing the conversation around domestic violence."
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