Extortion and Illegal Recordings: Blake Lively’s ‘Smear Campaign’ Unravels as Top Agent Labels Her Actions ‘Extortion’ in Court

What began as a contentious film-set feud that morphed into a high-profile sexual harassment lawsuit has now exploded into a scandal involving accusations of extortion, alleged illegal wiretapping, and the unsettling use of power by one of Hollywood’s most celebrated couples, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. Newly released court documents, including damning deposition transcripts from powerful Hollywood agents and crew members, are dismantling the narrative Lively’s team constructed, turning the spotlight onto a pattern of alleged coercive behavior aimed at wresting creative control of the film It Ends With Us from director and co-star Justin Baldoni.

The evidence presented by Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, suggests the conflict was never about on-set misconduct but about a high-stakes power play, with a key Hollywood agent going so far as to label Lively’s cumulative actions as “extortion.”

The Smoking Gun: An Agent’s Extortion Testimony

In a Hollywood courtroom, one word buried in a deposition transcript can send shock waves—and that word is extortion.

Danny Greenberg, a top WME agent who at one point represented both Lively and Baldoni, delivered sworn testimony that has become the cornerstone of Baldoni’s defense. Greenberg testified that Lively’s behavior on and off set was not mere creative tension or negotiation, but “pressure” that escalated until she got what she wanted. He admitted to using the term extortion in text messages with Baldoni to describe Lively’s actions, which allegedly included threatening to skip the film’s premiere, pressuring Sony executives, and demanding control over editing rights she was not contractually entitled to.

While Greenberg later clarified that he did not mean literal criminal extortion, his use of the term—describing the “cumulative behavior that both the studio and [production company Wayfarer Studios] and Justin was having to manage”—paints a devastating picture of a powerful star using every tool at her disposal to gain leverage. The agent’s testimony, an objective account from someone with a direct, professional view of both parties, strongly suggests the heart of the conflict was not a safety issue but a creative power struggle.

The Illegal Recording: A Mystery Witness Exposed

Adding an explosive layer of criminality to the case is the revelation of a secret, allegedly illegal recording used by Lively’s team. The mystery witness supporting Lively’s claims has been identified as Claire Ayoub, a struggling independent filmmaker who wrote and directed the tiny indie movie Empire Waste, which was produced by Baldoni’s company, Wayfarer Studios.

According to court documents, Ayoub recorded a private phone call with Wayfarer’s chairman, Steve Sarowitz, without his consent. Both Illinois and Connecticut, the states where the call allegedly took place, are two-party consent states, meaning hitting record without the knowledge of the other party constitutes a crime.

The documents reveal this audio was not obtained through a subpoena or court order; it was allegedly handed directly from Claire Ayoub to Blake Lively’s team. This immediately raises ethical and legal questions about Lively’s lawyers knowingly accepting and using illegally obtained evidence to construct a narrative of conspiracy or harassment against Baldoni and his company. Insiders suggest the tape itself does not contain evidence of a conspiracy, but Lively’s team allegedly attempted to twist the context, which Wayfarer Studios is presenting as a premeditated smear campaign using compromised materials.

A struggling filmmaker, whose work was backed by Wayfarer, secretly recording the company’s chairman and then feeding the audio directly to their legal opponent, suggests a level of premeditation and an undisclosed motive that goes far beyond a simple desire for justice.

The Failed Narrative: Crew and Agents Contradict Claims

The most devastating blow to Lively’s case may come from the very people who were on set with her. The court documents include sworn testimony from key personnel who were in a position to witness any alleged misconduct, and their accounts do not back Lively’s version of events.

Vivian Baker, who was Blake Lively’s own makeup artist, testified that after Lively’s initial complaints were made, the filming days were simply “normal.” Baker stated that during that phase of filming, she witnessed “nothing inappropriate,” no shouting, no harassment, and no chaos.
Warren Zavala, another high-ranking WME agent, corroborated that the issues Lively was reporting during the post-production process were exclusively about “creative control,” specifically citing her fury over test screenings and editing rights—decisions she had no contractual right to stop. Zavala confirmed that her complaints were about power, not misconduct.

Put simply, no one who was actually there—not her agent, not her crew, not even her own makeup artist—backed the narrative of a hostile, toxic environment. The consensus from the depositions is that the conflict was about power and creative control, not a safety issue.

Weaponizing Fame: Ryan Reynolds’ Alleged Intervention

The aggressive nature of the power play allegedly extended to Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds. According to Greenberg’s sworn testimony, when Lively’s demands on set failed, Reynolds personally called the agent and accused Baldoni of being a sexual predator.

Greenberg testified that this accusation came “out of nowhere.” This single, unproven claim from one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars had an immediate, chilling effect on the studios, painting Baldoni as a villain before any facts were established. Reynolds, using his immense influence, allegedly sought to smear Baldoni’s character and isolate him from the creative decision-making process. The move is being presented by Baldoni’s defense as a cynical attempt to gain leverage through defamation, using personal influence not for justice, but for control.

The Reversal of Fortune

What started as an attempt by a powerful Hollywood couple to seize control and publicly shame a director into submission is quickly becoming a catastrophic public relations and legal reversal. Every piece of evidence released—the agent’s testimony, the neutral crew statements, and the illegal recording investigation—contradicts the harassment claims.

Lively and Reynolds, who have built a ‘golden couple’ brand on charm and relatability, are now being exposed in court documents as quiet power bullies who allegedly weaponized their fame and influence. The truth, as Baldoni’s team is proving with receipts and legal restraint, is beginning to leak, suggesting that the actress who tried to rewrite the story as a victim may have just written a career-ending chapter for herself and her husband.