More details emerge as Claire Ayoub’s call recording with Steve Sarowitz was presented by Lively’s attorneys in court. Justin Baldoni‘s business partner claimed on the recording that Blake Lively‘s allegations were “manufactured” (via TMZ). The conversation between Ayoub and Sarowitz lasted 38 minutes. Lively used portions of this conversation to prove that Sarowitz allegedly planned a smear campaign against her and threatened her.
The call took place on August 29, 2024, and was recorded by Ayoub, the writer and director of Empire Waist, a film produced by Wayfarer Studios. She stated in a September 2025 declaration that she had endured “repeated, negative interactions” and “verbal abuse” from Baldoni when they worked together on her film.
In one of the crucial portions of the audio referring to Lively’s allegations, Sarowitz told Ayoub that “everything was made up”, adding that “it was manufactured on purpose to take Justin down.” He can be heard saying in the call, “Justin never has a bad set, but it was the worst set he’s ever been on.”
Steve Sarowitz’s Rant About Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds in His Call to Claire Ayoub
Earlier, Blake Lively’s attorneys claimed the audio recording to be the strongest piece of evidence in her defamation suit. In the secretly-recorded audio clip, Steve Sarowitz allegedly unleashes a rant on Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. However, this evidence appears to have come back to haunt Lively.
Lively’s lawyers claimed in court that Sarowitz was recorded saying, “If Ms. Lively or Mr. Reynolds ever cross the line, ever, then I will go after them.” They further wrote what Sarowitz said:
I will protect the studio like Israel protected itself from Hamas. There were 39,000 dead bodies. There will be two dead bodies when I’m done.
Sarowitz allegedly clarified the last statement, sharing, “Minimum. Not dead, but ‘you’re dead to me.’ So that kind of dead. But dead to a lot of people.” He was also recorded saying, “I’m gonna spend a lot of money to make sure the studio is protected.” However, he also shared, “But I don’t think we’ll go there. That’s not the world I want to live in.”
In Lively’s deposition, she shared that Sarowitz’s comments were scarier than when Melissa Nathan told Jennifer Abel that they were going to “bury her.” She shared in her deposition:
When they said that, I felt reputationally. When [Wayfarer co-founder] Steve Sarowitz said there would be two dead bodies by the time that he was done with us, yeah, I considered that that might be literal.
She further shared that it was “terrifying” as a “mother.” Lively only submitted the recording partially, and a transcript of the same was sealed on her request. However, lawyers for Baldoni asked a Manhattan judge that the entirety of Sarowitz’s recording be made public. The filing argued (via Business Insider):
Mr. Sarowitz should be allowed to have the entire recording made public to ensure accuracy and provide context.
It was also alleged that Lively placed Claire Ayoub as a spy in Baldoni’s team. Influencer and journalist Kjersti Flaa earlier brought up the ‘spy’ theory in her YouTube video. It was speculated that Ayoub, who was earlier mentioned as an unidentified witness, had close ties to Lively or Reynolds.
Other Important Bits from the Call Recording Between Steve Sarowitz and Claire Ayoub
Steve Sarowitz also mentioned in the audio recording that Jamie Heath, Justin Baldoni’s partner at Wayfarer, was in “crisis control” to protect the set and the movie. He shared in the call, “Jamie was the most exhausted out of everybody,” adding, “He was the one who was taking the brunt of the hits because you didn’t see the brunt of the hits, like the slam jobs on us.”
Sarowitz also ranted about the professionalism of Blake Lively in the audio. He shared, “You work with so many people and almost everybody’s nice. And then there’s Blake who… she’s totally different than everyone else.” He shared that he wasn’t saying anything bad about her, but he added, “I just think you know some people forgot to learn how to be nice.”
Claire Ayoub appeared to sing praises for Sarowitz and Baldoni during the entire clip. According to many fans online, the release of the full clip might be a major win for Team Baldoni.
What do you think about this audio clip? Let us know in the comments below!
