When Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni were announced as the leads in It Ends With Us, a film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s controversial love story, movie lovers were eager to see how their chemistry would play out on-screen. As Screen Rant notes, the duo grossed $80 million on a $25 million budget, although the premiere was overshadowed by rumors of a feud amongst the cast. Eagle-eyed social media sleuths quickly noticed that Baldoni wasn’t participating in many promotional interviews with his co-star, and beyond that, their way of approaching the project’s marketing was vastly different.
While Lively seemed to make light of the serious themes of domestic violence and sexual abuse by urging viewers to don floral attire to the theater, her on-screen lover cautioned people of the story’s potential to trigger some. Though Baldoni publicly sung her praises to combat gossip as It Ends With Us reached audiences late last summer, the Gossip Girl alum and her husband, Ryan Reynolds have since taken legal action against the film’s male lead/director, which he responded to earlier this week with a countersuit. Here’s all the latest on Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni.
How Did We Get Here? An Overview of Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni
Back in December, the 37-year-old actress filed a lawsuit against her co-star pointing to alleged sexual harassment during filming. “At one point, he 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,” documents targeting Baldoni claim.
The Jane the Virgin star was accused of “caressing Ms. Lively with his mouth in a way that had nothing to do with their roles.” Furthermore, he reportedly responded to her objections by stating, “I’m not even attracted to you.” Since word of the lawsuit has reached the public via an investigative report from The New York Times, Baldoni and his legal team have denied the allegations against him in favor of suing the outlet. On Dec. 31, he filed a suit accusing the NYT of libel, false light invasion of privacy and more after journalists suggested Justin Baldoni’s PR team was responsible for orchestrating a smear campaign against Lively.
Baldoni’s Countersuit Brings New Information To Light
In mid-January, the 40-year-old’s studio sued the mother of four, her husband and publicist Leslie Sloane for $400M over alleged defamation and extortion, among other things. Recently released documents targeting the famous couple and their associate shed new light on the he-said-she-said that’s been playing out in the tabloids for months. In regards to the aforementioned dance scene that left Lively uncomfortable, they note, “Lively apologized for the smell of her spray tan and body makeup. Baldoni responded, ‘It smells good,’ and continued acting, slow dancing as he believed his character would with his partner, which requires some amount of physical touching.”
Baldoni’s countersuit points out that Lively continued to take him out of character while joking about his nose, which he laughed off, even as she suggested he look into plastic surgery. In a footnote, attorneys reminded readers of the actress’ prior comments about being body shamed by her director on the set of It Ends With Us. “Lively alleges Baldoni inappropriately commented on her physical appearance. It was the other way around,” they assert.
Elsewhere, the father of two and his team note that he’s been outspoken about his insecurities (specifically on an episode of the Man Enough podcast which explores body dysmorphia). “Lively’s comment about Baldoni’s nose is also captured on camera,” the lawsuit read. “Baldoni, rather than write down a list of grievances against Lively, brushed it off and moved on with the scene.”
Director’s Attorneys Respond to Lively’s Allegations With On-Set Video
On Tuesday, Jan. 21, Us Weekly obtained footage from Justin Baldoni’s attorneys showing what happened between him and Lively during filming. While her December lawsuit suggested there was no audio captured during the “slow dance scene,” the director has since revealed he was wearing a microphone that caught their exchange. “The [above] videos captured on May 23, 2023, clearly refute Ms. Lively’s characterization of his behavior. The scene in question was designed to show the two characters falling in love and longing to be close to one another,” Baldoni’s countersuit argues.
“Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism. These are all three takes filmed of the sequence,” a statement accompanying the new evidence says. At one point in the 10-minute clip, Lively suggests conversation between their characters might enhance the feeling of romance between them. “I know you and Ryan [Reynolds] talk all the time,” Baldoni teases Lively, referring to her Canadian husband. She replies, “Oh my gosh, we don’t, shut up.”
As the co-stars continue their banter, the It Ends With Us director shares that he and his wife, Emily, sometimes bond through eye contact, suggesting Lively might find it “terrifying.” He goes on to call Lively and Reynolds’ marriage “cute,” although she argues it’s “more than cute.” Baldoni replies, “I think it’s amazing.” They continue their performance, ultimately leading to the aforementioned comments about the latter’s nose and Lively suggesting her spray tan might be rubbing off on her co-star.
Justin Baldoni Plans To Share More Details Online
Per Us Weekly’s report on the video, “[Attorney] Bryan Freedman has gone on record numerous times and told the public that Justin Baldoni and team has nothing to hide and this video, once more proves this. Justin and team have the right to defend themselves with the truth and this is what we will be continuing to show with the upcoming website containing all correspondence as well as relevant videos that directly quash her claims. Any suggestion that this scene was filmed in any manner other than pure professionalism by Baldoni is unequivocally countered with actual evidence. Her allegation of sexual harassment is a documented and knowingly fabricated lie.”
Those who are keeping up with this complicated saga might recall a statement given to People by Lively’s team on Jan. 6. This doubled down on her “serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation” that they note are “backed by concrete facts.” They continued, “This is not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences’ or a ‘he said/she said’ situation… sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in every workplace and in every industry.”
The very next day, Freedman responded on Baldoni’s behalf, declaring, “We are releasing all of the evidence which will show a pattern of bullying and threats 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. We have all the receipts and more.”
His legal team has also told People, “[We] have the right to defend [ourselves] with the truth… This is what we will be continuing to show with the upcoming website containing all correspondence as well as relevant videos that quash her claims.” Check back later for the latest on all the drama!
