Did Jameela Jamil call Blake Lively a ‘villain’? Actress clarifies ‘timing is the key for context’ after leaked messages

Jameela Jamil has responded after private text messages in which she referred to Blake Lively as a “villain” were made public, saying the timing of the messages is key to understanding them.

The texts were released in court documents connected to Blake Lively’s ongoing lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, the director and co-star of It Ends With Us. Lively filed the lawsuit in December 2024, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni has denied the claims and reached a legal settlement that saw his countersuit dismissed.

What the leaked texts show

Unsealed messages from August 2024, shared as part of the legal proceedings, included an exchange between Jameela Jamil and Jennifer Abel, Baldoni’s publicist. In those texts, Jamil wrote about Lively, “She’s a suicide bomber at this point.” In another message she said she had “never seen such a bizarre villain act before.”

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Those comments followed an online conversation about Lively’s promotional approach for It Ends With Us, particularly a viral TikTok criticising how the film’s sensitive subject of domestic violence was being discussed in the press cycle.

Jamil’s clarification on context and timing

After the texts circulated in headlines and on social media, Jamil took to Instagram Stories to explain her take on what happened, stressing that timing matters.

“I am ready to say some things, mostly to clarify timing ‘cause timing is the key for context,” she said in a video. “I think it’s really weird that my private text messages from 18 months ago have suddenly been released now.”

She also pointed out that the messages were sent months before Lively’s lawsuit was filed, saying the texts had nothing to do with the legal case when written. “Check the dates. They were [sent in] August 2024. The lawsuit wasn’t filed until December 2024,” Jamil added.

On feminism and criticism among women

While Jamil did not directly name Lively in her clarification, she addressed broader questions about feminism and criticism. In her Instagram video she said that being a feminist means supporting “the political, social and economic equity for women”, but it does not require liking every woman.

“Just gender equity. It does not mean you have to like every single woman. It doesn’t mean you have to be friends with every single woman. It means you can actually beef with other women. You can criticise them, you can do whatever you want, as long as you are also fighting for their human right to the same things that men have in this world,” she said.

“That’s all feminism is. It’s a moral and political stance. It is not a sleepover where we braid each other’s pubes, OK? So if you are fighting for women’s rights, but you don’t get along with every single woman, it doesn’t make you a bad feminist,” she added.

Jamil’s comments came to light amid intense scrutiny around the It Ends With Us lawsuit, which has already drawn in other celebrities via unsealed communications, including Taylor Swift, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

Some feel Jamil’s messages undercut her public persona as an advocate for women. Others  argue that private exchanges taken out of context do not reflect her broader views.