Originally appeared on E! Online
Blake Lively is breaking her silence amid her legal battle against Justin Baldoni after never-before-seen video showed what it was like on the “It Ends With Us” set.
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A legal team representing the actress — who is suing her costar for sexual harassment in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act and the California Civil Code — said on Jan. 21 that the 10-minute footage “corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described” in her lawsuit.
“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,” her attorneys told E! News in a Jan. 21 statement. “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.”
They alleged that “every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy coordinator present.”
READ Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni’s It Ends With Us Behind-the-Scenes Footage Revealed
“Mr. Baldoni was not only Ms. Lively’s co-star, but the director, the head of studio and Ms. Lively’s boss,” their statement continued. “The video shows Ms. Lively leaning away and repeatedly asking for the characters to just talk.”
The “Gossip Girl” alum’s counsel added, “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.”
E! News has reached out to Baldoni’s rep for comment on Lively’s statement but hasn’t heard back. Earlier in the day, his legal team released the behind-the-scenes footage to E! News, saying that Baldoni’s actions in the video “clearly refute Ms. Lively’s characterization” of him.
In the footage, provided by Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman, Lively and the actor both appeared to be speaking out of their respective characters, Lily and Ryle, while filming a slow dance for a soundless montage in the movie.
“I think it’s more romantic if we’re dancing and talking,” Lively told Baldoni, “’cause it’s like the moment you kiss, then you give them the thing that they wanna see.”
The 37-year-old went on to note that she and real-life husband Ryan Reynolds “don’t shut up” whenever they’re together and often marvel over how “there’s not enough time in the day to talk.”
“I think that’s cute,” Baldoni told her. “You guys are really cute.”
And when filming a particularly intimate moment in the dance, Lively quipped as Baldoni got close to her neck, “I’m probably getting spray tan on you.”
The “Jane the Virgin” actor replied with a laugh, “It smells good.”
In her lawsuit against Baldoni, Lively alleged that her costar “leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her
ear and down her neck” during the filming of the slow dance scene.
“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,” her complaint read. “Mr. Baldoni was caressing Mr. 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.'”
Baldoni denied Lively’s accusation in his countersuit against her, calling it a “knowingly fabricated lie.”
Instead, he accused her of being “consistently unable to take direction” throughout the filming of the adaptation of Colleen Hoover‘s book. Baldoni — who also served as the movie’s director — alleged Lively and her husband Reynolds eventually hijacked “It Ends With Us” and launched a smear campaign against him when “her thoughtless promotions fell flat.”
“At bottom, this is not a case about celebrities sniping at each other in the press,” his complaint read. “This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio.”
For her part, Lively has slammed Baldoni’s countersuit, with her legal team accusing him of “trying to shift the narrative.”
“This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim,” Lively’s lawyers said in a Jan. 16 statement to E! News. “This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender.”
PHOTOSJustin Baldoni, Blake Lively
