Justin Baldoni allegedly used auto-deleting messages amid lawsuit, Blake Lively’s lawyer responds

Court filings allege Justin Baldoni’s team used the Signal app to discuss case matters with auto-deleting messages

Blake Lively’s legal team has issued a statement addressing allegations that Justin Baldoni and his team used auto-deleting messages during ongoing legal proceedings related to It Ends With Us.

According to court documents, Baldoni’s representatives at Wayfarer Studios and associated publicists reportedly used the Signal app, which automatically erases messages, to discuss key matters connected to the case.

“Defendants have hid the ball at every turn in the discovery process, either failing to produce documents, or improperly cloaking them in the attorney-client privilege, forcing no less than twelve discovery-related motions to date against Defendants and their aligned third parties,” said attorneys from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and Willkie Farr & Gallagher, representing Lively, via Deadline.

The filing follows a similar claim made this week by Jonesworks LLC, a PR firm and co-defendant, which alleged that Justin Baldoni’s team deliberately used Signal, voice memos, and other communication tools to avoid future court scrutiny.

Stephanie Jones’s legal counsel wrote that evidence “reveals that, soon after Lively initiated this action, [Jennifer] Abel, along with [Bryan] Freedman and others, were actively directing social-media messaging intended to promote Baldoni and disparage Lively.”

Kristin Tahler, chief attorney for Jonesworks’ Stephanie Jones, added, “Jen Abel conspired with Melissa Nathan, Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer to orchestrate a smear campaign and she did it in secret, outside of Jonesworks and behind Stephanie Jones’ back. Conversations were moved to an auto-deleting platform and evidence was destroyed.”

Blake Lively’s lawyers further stated, “Despite Defendants’ clumsy efforts to cover their tracks, there is substantial evidence that the retaliatory campaign was implemented as planned.”

The It Ends With Us lawsuit is expected to proceed to trial in New York City in March 2026.