Justin Baldoni Accused of Fat Shaming Blake Lively: How Hugh Jackman Got Pulled into the Ryan Reynolds Drama

If you felt like the Baldoni/Lively/Reynolds/Jackman drama already sounded like a group chat gone nuclear, buckle up. New filings, new claims, and yes, more famous bystanders. Here is where this thing actually stands, cleaned up and in plain English.

What kicked this back up

On her podcast Flossom Talk, journalist Kjersti Flaa laid out what she says is coming next in the case and why it matters. According to Flaa, the judge — whom some observers had pegged as leaning toward Blake Lively — is now pushing to open the books on this fight.

"It seems like now this judge is really pro-transparency. And that is why he has decided to unseal a bunch of documents that are coming out next week."

Those expected unsealed materials are said to include emails, texts, and recordings that could add context to the accusations against It Ends With Us star Justin Baldoni. Flaa also reiterated her read on the supposed fat-shaming moment: Baldoni asked about Lively's weight because he has chronic back issues and needed to prep for a lift in a scene — not to body shame her. She says Ryan Reynolds was furious about that question and confronted Baldoni. Flaa also claims Lively exercised tight control on set in ways that made people uneasy, and she openly wondered why any celebrity witness involvement was initially kept quiet — hinting at worries about Hugh Jackman and Taylor Swift being dragged into the headlines.

Baldoni's official response

Baldoni has denied fat-shaming from the start. In court papers filed and reported on November 13 (via Us Weekly), his legal team says he quietly asked a trainer — someone he consulted and someone who also trained Lively — for her weight so he could lift her safely, and did it off the clock and outside Lively's earshot. His side argues that, even if that comment reached Lively later through the trainer and stung, it still doesn't rise to sexual harassment.

Who was in the room (and what they allegedly said)

According to People, newly unsealed exhibits place Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman as witnesses during a blow-up at Reynolds and Lively's New York penthouse on April 25, 2023. The docs say Reynolds confronted Baldoni, Baldoni apologized through tears, and Jackman and Swift were present. The line everyone is passing around allegedly came from Reynolds:

"How dare you f---ing ask about my wife's weight? What's wrong with you?"

Baldoni's team has kept pointing back to the same explanation: he has long-standing back injuries and needed the number for a lift. A separate meeting in January 2024 also comes up in the filings; Page Six described Reynolds there as angry, stern, and impassioned, but not actively berating Baldoni.

Jackman and Swift's role

The paperwork and Flaa's comments paint both as witnesses more than participants. Jackman has been visibly in Lively's orbit — at her premiere and even sharing a Vogue cover moment — which underscores the friendships involved here. But in terms of the incident itself, the docs tie him to being present, not leading the confrontation.

The messy timeline, simplified

• Apr 25, 2023: Per a Wayfarer Studios timeline (sent July 2024), Baldoni visits Reynolds and Lively's NYC penthouse. Reynolds allegedly unloads over the weight question; Baldoni apologizes in tears. Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman are reportedly in the room.
• Jan 2024: Another meeting involving Reynolds; he is described as angry/stern/impassioned, but not berating (via Page Six).
• Nov 13, 2024: Court filings reported by Us Weekly lay out Baldoni's defense: he asked a trainer privately because of his chronic back issues and an upcoming lift, not to shame Lively.
• Dec 2024: Lively files a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment, emotional distress, and a hostile work environment, pegged at $400 million.
• June 2025: Baldoni's lawyers call the suit a sham and say the court dismissed it.
• March 2026: Despite that, the case is currently slated for trial. Yes, those two points clash — which likely means something was dismissed in part, or later revived. We will see what the docket and the next unsealed batch clarify.

What Flaa says is next

Flaa expects more documents to be unsealed next week. If they are what she suggests — emails, texts, recordings — they could either reinforce Baldoni's safety explanation or give Lively's side fresh ammunition. Either way, celebrity testimony may matter a lot at trial. Baldoni, for his part, is gearing up to fight this aggressively.

It Ends With Us is streaming on Netflix if you want to revisit the movie at the center of all this.

Where do you land on this? Team Baldoni, Team Lively, or neither until the receipts drop?