Justin Baldoni is suing his It Ends with Us co-star Blake Lively for defamation. Photos / Getty Images
Justin Baldoni is suing his It Ends with Us co-star Blake Lively for defamation. Photos / Getty Images
Justin Baldoni has leaked raw footage from the set of It Ends With Us in a bid to cast doubt on sexual harassment allegations made by Blake Lively in her bombshell lawsuit.
Lively, 37, filed a lawsuit in the New York federal court against her co-star on December 31. Among the litany of claims it included a specific instance relating to a slow-dancing scene the pair shot for the romantic drama, which was released in August.
In Lively’s documents, she alleged Baldoni, who also directed the film, was “behaving inappropriately” during filming of the sequence. “At one point, he [Baldoni] leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘It smells so good’,” the lawsuit read.
Lively’s legal team claimed “no sound was recorded” during the scene, as it was intended to be used in a montage in the film set to music.
Now, Baldoni’s camp has shot back by releasing a 10-minute long video of the scene, which does have sound, in which the actors can be heard making casual, light-hearted small talk with one another.
“The scene in question was designed to show the two characters falling in love and longing to be close to one another. Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism,” a statement from Baldoni’s lawyers, obtained by Page Six, read.
US actress Blake Lively attends the LACMA Art+Film Gala at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles, California, on November 2, 2024. Photo / Getty Images
At one point in the footage, the Gossip Girl star can be heard telling Baldoni, 40, she felt it came across as “more romantic” if they engaged in conversation while they danced.
As part of their chat, Baldoni joked he was “getting beard” on Lively, to which she replied she was probably getting spray tan on him.
He replied, “It smells good”, with the pair both laughing at his comment as they continued dancing and staring into one another’s eyes.
Elsewhere, the duo talked about their respective spouses, Ryan Reynolds and Emily Baldoni, and made seemingly good-humoured quips about the size of Baldoni’s nose.
Lively mused she felt “so nosy” as the pair nuzzled close to one another, with Baldoni responding, “I know. And my nose is so big.”
Lively continued, “Yes. I was hoping we could address this. It’s not too late.” Both laughed and and carried on dancing.
Baldoni’s legal team said they released the footage in a bid to refute Lively’s accounts of his allegedly inappropriate behaviour.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in It Ends with Us.
However, Lively’s legal team swiftly returned serve in a lengthy statement, using Baldoni’s footage against him by pointing out it lined up with Lively’s allegations.
“Every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms Lively described in paragraph 48 of her complaint,” Lively’s legal team said in a statement to Deadline.
“The video shows Mr Baldoni repeatedly leaning in toward Ms Lively, attempting to kiss her, kissing her forehead, rubbing his face and mouth against her neck, flicking her lip with his thumb, caressing her, telling her how good she smells, and talking with her out of character. Every moment of this was improvised by Mr Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy co-ordinator present. Mr Baldoni was not only Ms Lively’s co-star, but the director, the head of studio and Ms Lively’s boss.”
The statement continued, “The video shows Ms Lively leaning away and repeatedly asking for the characters to just talk. Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize [sic] Ms Lively’s discomfort. They will recognize [sic] her attempts at levity to try to deflect the unwanted touching. No woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by their employer without their consent.
“This matter is in active litigation in federal court. Releasing this video to the media, rather than presenting it as evidence in court, is another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public. It is also a continuation of their harassment and retaliatory campaign. While they are focused on misleading media narratives, we are focused on the legal process. We are continuing our efforts to require Mr Baldoni and his associates to answer in court, under oath, rather than through manufactured media stunts.”
Justin Baldoni and Jamey Heath arrive to the It Ends With Us premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on August 6, 2024 in New York City. Photo / Getty Images
In Baldoni’s $644 million ($1136m) federal countersuit filed mid-January, in which he’s suing both Lively and Reynolds, the actor has accused the couple of extortion and defamation.
He claimed Lively “began inserting herself into the production process in intrusive ways well beyond the scope of her contractual entitlement”.
“For example, Lively began to insist on creative control over her character’s wardrobe,” he continued.
Pop superstar Taylor Swift, who is a godparent to Reynolds and Lively’s daughter, was dragged into the saga, with Baldoni accusing Lively of using the singer to gain further control over the production.
Baldoni claims he was invited to Lively’s New York City penthouse, where Reynolds and “a famous, and famously close, friend” of the couple was present, and allegedly gushed about the direction in which Lively had taken the script with her rewrites.
After the meeting, Baldoni then texted Lively about the pivotal “rooftop scene” from the movie, per the complaint, and seemingly appeared open to the feedback.
“I really love what you did. It really does help a lot,” he wrote. “Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan or Taylor).”
Lively responded by telling her co-star that she wanted him to “win” as a director and actor, and that they are on the same team with the same goal.
Lively also gushed over Reynolds and Swift, calling them “absolute titans” as writers and storytellers, adding, “I’m so lucky to have them as creative barometers” and saying that they are her “dragons” who protect her in her battles.
However, Baldoni’s lawyers argued their client “felt obliged to text Lively to say that he had liked her pages and hadn’t needed Reynolds and her mega-celebrity friend to pressure him.”
“The message could not have been clearer. Baldoni was not just dealing with Lively. He was also facing Lively’s ‘dragons’, two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who were not afraid to make things very difficult for him,” his lawyers added.
“While lead actors are sometimes granted approval over their characters’ general look, they generally do not receive full control over.”
Blake Lively as Lily Bloom and Justin Baldoni as Ryle Kincaid in It Ends With Us.
Lively was first to bring on a complaint, issuing a California Civil Rights Department complaint December 20, which was detailed in a New York Times article, before launching a lawsuit against Baldoni in New York federal court on December 31 for alleged sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and lost wages.
In addition to Baldoni, Lively is suing his publicists, Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, whom she claims orchestrated a smear campaign against her in the press.
“Ms Lively previously sent her California Civil Rights Department Complaint in response to the retaliatory campaign Wayfarer [Baldoni’s production studio] launched against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns,” her lawyer said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, Ms Lively’s decision to speak out has resulted in further retaliation and attacks. As alleged in Ms Lively’s federal complaint, Wayfarer and its associates have violated federal and California state law by retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns. Now, the defendants will answer for their conduct in federal court. Ms Lively has brought this litigation in New York, where much of the relevant activities described in the complaint took place, but we reserve the right to pursue further action in other venues and jurisdictions as appropriate under the law.”
Hours before Lively launched her lawsuit, Baldoni and nine others who were named in the New York Times’ article filed a US$250m ($402m) lawsuit against the newspaper in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
The group, which includes Baldoni, Nathan, Abel and Wayfarer CEO Jamey Heath, are suing the newspaper for libel and false light invasion of privacy. The 87-page complaint also accused New York Times of promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract.
Baldoni’s lawsuit against the newspaper offered a rebuttal, citing text messages and other evidence, to a number of the specific allegations in its 4000-word piece.
