Rainn Wilson privately supported Justin Baldoni amid Blake Lively conflict: ‘You were set up and personally attacked’

New details have emerged about Justin Baldoni’s clash with Blake Lively. Variety revealed that Baldoni’s legal team submitted private group chat messages into evidence. The texts show Rainn Wilson stepping in with support during a tense stretch of the It Ends With Us shoot. The thread – dated January 5, 2024 – included Baldoni, Travis Van Winkle, Andy Grammer and producer Jamey Heath.

Wilson kicked off the exchange with a simple check-in: “Any update, Brothers?” What followed was Baldoni walking his friends through what he described as a brutal night and a conversation with Ryan Reynolds that left him rattled.

Rainn Wilson’s messages surface as Baldoni–Lively tension grows

Baldoni wrote that the situation spiralled the moment Reynolds stepped in. “Ryan was talking to me like a five-year-old and scolding me,” he told the group. He said Reynolds and Lively questioned his character, his intentions and even the idea that he and Heath had a podcast. Baldoni said they told him “it’s unsafe because it makes people feel like we are safe.”

In another message, Baldoni added that “the words creepy and abuse were used in reference to me in my behaviour.” He said he was handed specific lines he was expected to say in an apology – something he could not immediately do because, as he put it, “my brain was trying to comprehend what was happening.”

He kept going, writing, “I feel this was so unjust and yet the only path forward was to acknowledge her and Ryan’s feelings and apologise and take the wrath of an angry husband.”

Rainn Wilson’s response: ‘You were set up’

Wilson did not hold back. “Oh my God. I can’t believe it. You were set up and ambushed and personally attacked. I’m stunned,” he wrote. He compared Baldoni’s shock to “a deer in the headlights,” and said it was probably for the best that Baldoni did not immediately dive into an apology. Wilson closed with a push forward: “Onwards, brother. Make a great and important and entertaining piece of storytelling. That’s all you can do now.”

Variety reports that Lively first filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department on December 20, 2024, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. Baldoni responded with his own defamation suit against Lively and Reynolds, though that case was dismissed. On November 12, Baldoni asked the court to dismiss Lively’s harassment claims. That case heads to trial in March.

FAQs

Who revealed the group chat messages?

Baldoni’s legal team filed them as evidence.

What did Ryan Reynolds say to Baldoni, according to the texts?

Baldoni claims Reynolds scolded him and questioned his behavior.

How did Rainn Wilson react?

Wilson told Baldoni that he was “set up and ambushed and personally attacked.”

What is Blake Lively accusing Baldoni of?

She filed a sexual harassment and hostile work environment complaint.

When does the case go to trial?

The trial is scheduled for March.