"Consider the email Lively sent to the actor Ben Affleck in May 2024, in which she asked him to watch her cut of It Ends with Us, the movie at the center of the controversy. Despite headlines decrying this email as "desperate," "cringe," and worse, I was more surprised at how warm and even jokey it was, and how hard a time I would have had crafting one nearly as good in a similar situation:"
"Can you believe Blake Lively wrote this? I was hooked from the very first line: "It's Blake. Don't hang up." This is such a nimble-and dare I say funny-way to acknowledge that it's been a while and maybe even that Lively is not a person the recipient is especially eager to hear from. Lively and Affleck starred together in the 2010 movie The Town, which he also directed, but they don't seem to have maintained a close relationship in the time since."
A slew of documents in the Blake Lively–Justin Baldoni legal battle were unsealed, revealing texts and emails with other celebrities. Many items focus on Lively's exchanges with Taylor Swift, but the messages also demonstrate Lively's notable skill at writing effective emails. A May 2024 email to Ben Affleck invited him to watch Lively's cut of It Ends with Us. The message opens playfully, acknowledges distance and potential awkwardness, and balances warmth and humor. Headlines labeled the email "desperate" or "cringe," yet the tone reads as nimble, jokey, and carefully calibrated to reconnect after time apart.
Read at Slate Magazine
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