Blake Lively breaks his silence after her It ends with us director and partner Justin Baldoni‘s legal team released footage from the filming of the romantic drama on Tuesday that they say disproves her allegations of sexual harassment against him.
In the sequence above, which Weekly Entertainment received from Baldoni’s legal counsel, Bryan Freedman, the two stars can be seen filming a scene in which their characters, Lily and Ryle, slowly dance romantically for a slow-motion montage. The actors appear to be speaking as themselves, as the final scene was supposed to take place without any scripted dialogue.
The two discuss what is more “romantic” for the scene, with Lively repeatedly suggesting that they talk rather than kiss. At one point in the video, Baldoni leans over to Lively and asks her, “Am I giving you a beard today?” After Lively laughs, she says, “I’m probably putting spray tan on you,” to which Baldoni responds that “it smells good.”
Among Lively’s accusations in her trial filed late last month was that while filming a “slow dance scene for a montage in which no sound was recorded,” Baldoni “leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from his ear up to his neck saying, “It smells so good.” well’… When Ms. Lively later objected to this behavior, Mr. Baldoni’s response was: ‘I’m not even attracted to you.’
A statement preceding the footage claims: “The following videos, captured on May 23, 2023, clearly refute Ms. Lively’s characterization of her behavior. The scene in question was designed to show the two characters falling in love and wanting to be close to each other. Both actors clearly behave well within the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism. It also states that the clips are “all three filmed takes of the sequence”, but it is unclear if there is additional footage that was filmed and not included here.
Jeff Spicer/Getty; James Devaney/GC Images
In a lengthy statement provided to EW on Tuesday, Lively’s legal team calls the images “damning,” saying in part that “every frame of the published footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in paragraph 48 of her complaint. ”
The statement denounces Baldoni “repeatedly leaning towards Ms. Lively, trying to kiss her, kissing her on the forehead, rubbing his face and mouth against her neck, brushing her lips with his thumb, caressing her, telling her to how good she smells, and talking with her out of character,” all of which, they say, was improvised by him “without prior discussion or consent, and without the presence of an intimacy coordinator.”
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The video continues: “The video shows Ms. Lively leaning over and repeatedly asking the characters to just talk. Any woman who has been touched inappropriately in her workplace will recognize Ms. Lively’s discomfort. She will recognize her attempts to lightness to try to distract from unwanted touching No woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by her employer without her consent.
Lively’s legal team also criticized the release of the video itself, instead of showing it as evidence in court, calling it “another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public” and ” the continuation of their campaign of harassment and retaliation.”
Sony
Baldoni’s legal advisor, meanwhile, says his client “has nothing to hide. And this video proves it once again. Justin and his team have the right to defend themselves with the truth and that’s what which we will continue to show with the upcoming website containing all the correspondence as well as relevant videos that directly disprove his claims.
Lively first filed her complaint against Baldoni and her Wayfarer film studio after filing an initial complaint with the California Department of Civil Rights late last month, in which she accused her partner and director of sexual harassment on set and orchestrating a campaign of defamation against her, among others. Baldoni has since filed a defamation suit against The New York Timeswho was the first to report Lively’s allegations.
Then, on January 16, Baldoni filed a separate lawsuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds. This trial, that EW reviewedwas also filed on behalf of Wayfarer and its chief executive, Jamey Heath, a producer on It ends with usand seeks at least $400 million in damages. In it, Baldoni alleges, among other charges, defamation, civil extortion and breach of contract.