Justin Baldoni Releases BTS ‘It Ends With Us’ Video With Blake Lively, Claims Footage Disproves Sexual Harassment Allegations
Justin Baldoni released raw footage from “It Ends With Us” production that he said Tuesday proves he did not sexually harass co-star Blake Lively while filming.
The 10-minute clip, which all takes place during one romantic dance scene cited in Lively’s original complaint, shows the two actors laughing and improvising small talk for various takes.
The video’s release marked the latest public attack between Baldoni, the film’s star-director-producer, and Lively since sexual harassment allegations against Baldoni were first made public last month. Most recently, Baldoni named Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds in a $400 million defamation and extortion suit last week. Lively’s legal team responded by calling the lawsuit “desperate.”
The actress was first to sue with her federal sexual harassment filing in December that asked for unspecified damages. The dance scene featured in the newly released video, which does not include any dialogue in the finished film, was referenced in Lively’s suit. It cites the fact that the actors were not in character and that at one point, Baldoni “leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘It smells so good'” in a way that the actress found inappropriate.
In a statement to media, Lively’s legal team slammed Baldoni’s behind-the-scenes video, calling it a “manufactured media stunt” that “corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in Paragraph 48 of her Complaint.”
“This matter is in active litigation in federal court,” the statement continued. “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.”
Baldoni, who also directed the domestic abuse drama, has already sued the New York Times for $250 million, citing defamation.
Lively has accused Baldoni of improvising “physical intimacy that had not been rehearsed, choreographed or discussed with [her],” and without the involvement of an intimacy coordinator and of coercing her into an unplanned nude scene.
For his part, Baldoni’s lawyer alleged that Lively used her star power to banish Baldoni at the film’s premiere and that the actor had to “hide in the basement” for an hour.
The former “Jane the Virgin” actor has also suggested that the Nicepool character in Reynolds’ “Deadpool & Wolverine,” who jokes about an intimacy coordinator at one point, was created to “mock” him.
TMZ first reported this story.
Read the full response from Lively’s team below:
“Every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in Paragraph 48 of her Complaint. 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 coordinator present. Mr. Baldoni was not only Ms. Lively’s co-star, but the director, the head of studio and Ms. Lively’s boss.
“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 Ms. Lively’s discomfort. 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.
“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.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story did not include the response from Lively’s Manatt, Phelps & Phillips attorneys and Willkie Farr & Gallagher legal team, which is not included in full above.
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