The plot thickens in the messy legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, which began after the release of their film It Ends With Us.
While both sides have accused the other of bad behavior and produced a slew of receipts to try and prove their claims, Justin’s lawyers went a step further and released unedited footage of a dance scene from the film.
The video was released on January 21 with the intention of disproving Blake’s claim that he made her uncomfortable by nuzzling her neck and telling her, “It smells so good.”
Justin’s lawyers released a statement alongside the video, claiming that both actors were behaving professionally in the shot.
“Ms Lively’s complaint alleges that during a scene Mr Baldoni and Ms Lively were filming for a slow dance montage, Mr Baldoni was behaving inappropriately,” the statement read.
“The following videos captured on May 23, 2023, clearly refute Ms Lively’s characterization of his behavior. 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. These are all three takes filmed of the sequence.”
In the video, the pair can be heard chatting about their spouses and laughing about Justin’s nose getting in the way of their kissing scenes.
After the clip surfaced, Blake’s team quickly hit back with a statement on why it proves her harassment claims in their eyes.
“Justin Baldoni and his lawyer may hope that this latest stunt will get ahead of the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is damning,” the statement read.
© Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin“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 frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in Paragraph 48 of her Complaint,” the statement continued.
Blake’s lawyers added: “Every moment of this was improvised by Mr Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance and no intimacy coordinator present. Mr Baldoni was not only Ms Lively’s co-star, but the director, the head of studio and Ms Lively’s boss.”
© FilmMagicThey claimed Blake was seen leaning away from Justin in the scenes and asking to talk instead. “Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms Lively’s discomfort,” they added.
Blake’s team ended their statement by slamming the decision to release the footage, claiming it was an “unethical attempt to manipulate the public.”
© Getty ImagesThe mother of four formally sued Justin on December 31, 2024, claiming his team had engaged in a smear campaign to ruin her name ahead of Blake’s claims of sexual harassment against the director.
Justin subsequently countersued Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, on January 17, claiming that the couple sought to deploy their star power to bury his career. He also sued the New York Times after they published an article on the alleged smear campaign.
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