Justin Baldoni releases 'It Ends with Us' set takes to try to debunk Blake Lively's sexual harassment allegations
Justin Baldoni released a series of video takes during the production of It Ends with Us in an attempt to debunk his co-star Blake Lively's sexual harassment allegations against him.
Variety reported that Baldoni's team dropped three takes from the movie's slow-dance sequence, showing his and Lively's character falling in love.
Multiple outlets, including Entertainment Tonight, also shared the clips.
The video begins with a statement that reads, "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 following videos captured on May 23, 2023, clearly refute Ms. Lively's characterization of his behavior," it continued. "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,” it added.
According to the statement, those were all three takes filmed for the sequence.
The video also showed Lively and Baldoni disagreeing on how to portray the scene.
At one point, Baldoni goes in for a kiss and Lively hesitates, saying, “I think we should be talking. I think it’s more romantic if we’re like dancing and talking.”
Baldoni then compares his marriage to Lively's, saying she and her husband Ryan Reynolds “talk all the time,” while he and his wife Emily will sometimes just stare at each other.
“I think you would find it terrifying,” he says, to which she responds, “I’d be like, ‘Oh no, I found a sociopath.'”
The video also seemingly showed Lively's objection as stated in her lawsuit, as Baldoni referred to her smelling good.
In the take, Baldoni can be seen nuzzling Lively’s neck and asks, “Am I getting beard on you today?”
She laughs and says, “I’m probably getting spray tan on you," to which he responds, "It smells good."
In response to Baldoni's move, Lively's team told Entertainment Tonight that the video fully corroborates her account, noting she can be seen leaning away while Baldoni tries to kiss her and caress her.
“Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively’s discomfort,” she said. “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.”
Lively's team also called the video "damning," and claimed that Baldoni improvised the whole scene without discussion or consent beforehand. He also allegedly shot it without an intimacy coordinator present.
Her team said the release of the video was a “stunt” and “an unethical attempt to manipulate the public.”
Lively, in her suit, objected to Baldoni's conduct during the filming of the sequence. She alleged that he “leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘It smells so good.'”
She also alleged that “Mr. Baldoni was caressing Mr. Lively with his mouth in a way that had nothing to do with their roles.” Following her objections, Baldoni allegedly told her, “I’m not even attracted to you.”
Baldoni to launch website vs. Lively
Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman told PEOPLE Magazine they have plans to launch a website containing "all correspondence" with Lively and "relevant videos" in a bid to disprove her accusations.
The website meant to "quash her claims" is expected to have more footage from the It Ends with Us set.
“Justin Baldoni and team have nothing to hide and this once more proves this," Freedman said, adding Baldoni and others whom Lively had accused "have the right to defend themselves with the truth."
It Ends with Us row
Lively and Baldoni's legal saga stemmed from her filing a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni and Jamey Heath, chief executive officer of Wayfarer Studios. She also accused them of running a smear campaign against her.
In her complaint, Lively accused Baldoni and Heath of telling her about their past sexual relationships and "previous porn addiction."
Heath also allegedly showed Lively a video of his wife naked and giving birth.
Baldoni and Heath likewise supposedly entered Lively's makeup trailer without permission, "including when she was breastfeeding her infant child."
Lively also recalled Baldoni claiming he could communicate with the dead, including her father, Ernie Lively. She found it "off-putting and violative."
Following Lively's complaint, the New York Times published a report titled 'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine. The report used excerpts from alleged text messages and emails that she obtained through a subpoena and detailed the work of crisis management firm TAG PR for Baldoni, including allegedly planting negative stories in the media.
'Categorically false'
Freedman has called the accusations against his client "categorically false." He also said that a crisis manager was hired ahead of the film's marketing campaign "due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production."
Baldoni claimed that Lively threatened him not to show up on set and promote the film.
His legal team also alleged that Lively's camp had "planted negative and completely fabricated and false stories with media."
On Jan. 1, Baldoni filed a $250 million (P14.5 billion) lawsuit against the Times—plus 10 other plaintiffs, including publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel—for libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract for its We Can Bury Anyone report.
The Times defended its article as "meticulously and responsibly reported."
Baldoni's $400 million (P23.4 billion) complaint against Lively and Reynolds alleges her of hijacking the production of It Ends with Us and that she defamed him. He also accused her and Reynolds of extorting him.
Lively previously told PEOPLE that her “serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation” are “backed by concrete facts."
"This is not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences’ or a ‘he said/she said’ situation," she said.
In response, Freedman said they will release "all the evidence" which will "show a pattern of bullying and threats [from Lively] to take over” It Ends with Us.
“None of this will come as a surprise because consistent with her past behavior Blake Lively used other people to communicate those threats and bully her way to get whatever she wanted," he said. "We have all the receipts and more."
