In December 2024, when Blake Lively filed a legal complaint against her former co-star, Justin Baldoni, one of the most reported-on claims described an incident in which Baldoni improvised physical intimacy that hadn’t been previously discussed or rehearsed. This week, Baldoni’s attorney refuted that specific claim by publicizing the raw footage.
On Tuesday, Baldoni’s legal team released a 10-minute video in which Lively and Baldoni are seen filming a slow dance sequence.
“The following videos captured on May 23, 2023 clearly refute Ms. Lively’s characterization of his behavior,” an accompanying statement from Baldoni’s attorney, Brian Freedman, reads. “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.”
In the footage (which includes three different takes), Lively and Baldoni are seen slow dancing and surrounded by extras in a scene set in a bar. If you’ve seen It Ends With Us, the scene in question is dubbed over with music and is a part of a montage that shows the early stages of their characters’ relationship. Mics capture their discussion of the scene in which Lively tells Baldoni she thinks it’s more “romantic” for them to be talking instead of kissing. They then can be heard exchanging jokes about Baldoni’s nose and their respective dynamics with their spouses while slow dancing. At one point in the video, Baldoni leans in to Lively and asks her if he’s “getting beard on her today?” Lively laughs, replying, “I’m probably getting spray tan on you.”
“It smells good,” Baldoni says.
In her suit, Lively alleged that Baldoni “leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘it smells so good.’”
“None of this was remotely in character, or based on any dialogue in the script, and nothing needed to be said because, again, there was no sound,” the filing stated, adding: “Mr. Baldoni was caressing Ms. Lively with his mouth in a way that had nothing to do with their roles. When Ms. Lively later objected to this behavior, Mr. Baldoni’s response was, ‘I’m not even attracted to you.’”
In response to the footage, Lively’s attorneys doubled down on her claims.
“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. Every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in Paragraph 48 of her Complaint,” Lively’s attorneys said in a statement. “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 costar but the director, the head of [the] studio, and Ms. Lively’s boss.”
“Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively’s discomfort,” the statement continued. “They will recognize 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.”
Since the footage was made public, Freedman said he has further plans to launch a website that includes more evidence to “quash” Lively’s claims and clear his client. I won’t posture on who’s in the right here, but I shudder to think of the precedent a move like that will set in Trump-era litigations…
- Chris Brown is suing Warner Bros. after a docuseries produced by the studio deemed him “a serial rapist and sexual predator.” [Page Six]
- In better news: Flavor Flav is fundraising for Black families impacted by the L.A. wildfires. [People]
- And in news that’s very important to me: Rihanna DM’s with Real Housewife of Salt Lake City, Mary Cosby. [Daily Mail]
- After her husband unfollowed (then re-followed) her, Hailey Bieber posted a photo of him sleeping, so, I guess they’re good? [Instagram]
- I think Kristin Davis has the right to out the actor who ghosted her after she lent him $5,000. [Us Magazine]
- Prince Harry won a settlement in his privacy invasion lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch‘s U.K. tabloids. [TMZ]
- Speaking of: A documentary is being made about Princess Diana‘s “top secret” dance teacher. [The Hollywood Reporter]
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