In a Weird Email to Ben Affleck, Blake Lively Said Justin Baldoni Was in a Cult — What Gives?

If you're anything like us, then you can hardly remember a time when Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni weren't part of the gossip news cycle. Believe it or not, someone took the time to start a Wikipedia page for the It Ends With Us controversy because it grows more complicated by the minute. Anyone who is unfamiliar should definitely check it out. In the meantime, we're going to fast-forward to some weird emails that have since come to light.

On Jan. 20, 2026, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ordered hundreds of court documents unsealed ahead of a hearing regarding Blake's sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni, per ABC News. The document dump included a lot of strange communication, including an email from Blake to Ben Affleck. In it, she accused Justin and his associates of being part of a cult.

The text of Blake's email to Ben was shared by DeuxMoi in an Instagram post. Lively begins by buttering Affleck up. "Ryan [Reynolds] was going on and on about you recently amongst all the chaos," she wrote, "So now you have a Canadian fan club in my house, and a Burbank one too." She goes on to say that the making of It Ends With Us was the most "upsetting experience" she's ever had making a movie. It was so bad that it deserves its own "making of" documentary.

Included in Blake's list of grievances was rewriting and restructuring the entire script, directing the movie via the "chaotic clown director, actor, producer, financier, studio head at the center," and working with people who were in a cult. One of the documentaries Blake referenced while suggesting one needs to be made about It Ends With Us was Wild Wild Country, which is about a cult.

In a separate email to Matt Damon and his wife, shared by Entertainment Weekly, Blake said making this movie nearly killed her. She also described Justin in the exact same way she did to Ben, using all of his titles. Blake also brought up Justin's alleged cult again. She accused him of having "zero experience," and "an enormous ego, but only because he's in a cult and believes he's our century's prophet."

In February 2021, Justin posted a video to TikTok about celebrating something called Ayyám-i-Há. In the caption, he said this was a very special time of year for Baháʼís. During a four-day period at the end of February, Baháʼís exchange small gifts, but the focus is on showing love and fellowship.

The Baháʼí Faith was established in the 19th century by an Iranian religious leader named Baháʼu'lláh. Their beliefs address themes such as the oneness of God and humanity, freedom from prejudice, the fundamental equality of the sexes, harmony between religion and science, and the importance of education.