Sony Pictures executive labels Justin Baldoni ‘moron’ over controversial It Ends With Us comments

The email reportedly included direct quotes from Baldoni’s interview, in which he explained a scene depicting domestic violence and his character’s motivation.

• Sony exec called Baldoni a "moron" over his comments on It Ends With Us scene
• Baldoni's remarks on a domestic violence scene alarmed Sony's marketing team
• Sony emails reveal they wanted Baldoni to halt press interviews post-controversy.

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Justin Baldoni was reportedly called a “moron” by a senior Sony Pictures executive following controversial comments he made while promoting It Ends With Us, according to newly unsealed court documents tied to Blake Lively’s ongoing legal dispute with him.

As reported by People, an email allegedly sent by Danni Maggin, a senior marketing executive at Sony Pictures Entertainment, on August 5, 2024, revealed that the marketing team had concerns about Baldoni’s remarks in an interview.

The correspondence, now public, indicated that the studio’s marketing team was alarmed by how Baldoni described a pivotal scene involving his character Ryle and Lily, played by Lively.

“… Justin is basically alluding to 'raping' Atlas out of Lily when talking to the Dallas Morning News. We cut the tape but he is a moron,” Maggin wrote in the email, recently unsealed as part of Lively’s legal proceedings against Baldoni.

The email also referenced Josh Greenstein, then-president of Sony Pictures’ Motion Group, suggesting that Greenstein commented Baldoni, 42, "shouldn't do any more press but he has a lot left so maybe we can talk asap."

The email reportedly included direct quotes from Baldoni’s interview, in which he explained a scene depicting domestic violence and his character’s motivation.

Justin said, “For me what that scene was more about was Ryle feeling like he had lost all power and feeling so insecure and jealous that the only way in his mind that he could show her how much he loved her was um and I won’t say the word that we used in developing it, but what was essentially to force any love she had for Atlas out of her."

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He added, “So Ryle’s motivation, if you’re talking about character motivation, or why he did what he did, from the filmmaking perspective and from the actor perspective, was um he was trying to, in his twisted mind, love… Atlas out of her. There’s another word we used and I’m sure in your imagination you can go there."

The unsealed documents indicate that Baldoni’s statements were viewed internally as conflicting with the promotional strategy that had been planned for It Ends With Us.