Blake Lively Accuses Justin Baldoni of "Unwanted Touching" in New It Ends With Us Video - E! Online
Blake Lively's legal team said behind-the-scenes It Ends With Us video "corroborates, to the letter" what she described in her lawsuit against her costar Justin Baldoni.
Watch : Blake Lively Accuses Justin Baldoni of "Unwanted Touching" in New It Ends With Us Video
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.
A legal team representing the actressâwho is suing her costar for sexual harassment in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act and the California Civil Codeâsaid 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. Livelyâs co-star, but the director, the head of studio and Ms. Livelyâs 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. Livelyâs 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 Livelyâs 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. Livelyâs characterizationâ of him.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Sony Pictures
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 "donât shut up" whenever theyâre 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."
Sony Pictures
And when filming a particularly intimate moment in the dance, Lively quipped as Baldoni got close to her neck, "Iâm 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 herear 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, "Iâm not even attracted to you.'"
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
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. Baldoniâwho also served as the movie's directorâalleged 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."
âThis 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."
For a complete timeline of Lively and Baldoni's legal battle, keep reading.
Lisa/Shutterstock; AFF-USA/Shutterstock
Dec. 20, 2024: Blake Lively Files CRD Complaint Against Justin Baldoni and His Wayfarer Associates
Four months after the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's book It Ends With Us debuted in theaters, Blake Lively filed a California Civil Rights Department (CRD) complaint against her costar Justin Baldoni and his associates on Dec. 20, according to The New York Times.
In the complaint obtained by E! News, Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios (Wayfarer), its CEO Jamey Heath, its cofounder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni's publicist Jennifer Abel, her company RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, her company The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace and his company Street Relations Inc. were listed as defendants.
Lively alleged in her complaint that Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates "embarked on a sophisticated press and digital plan in retaliation" for her voicing her concerns about purported misconduct on setâwith her saying she and other cast and crew members "experienced invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional and sexually inappropriate behavior" by Baldoni and Heath.
The actress added the alleged campaign against her caused "substantial harm" to her personally and professionally.Â
The accusations listed in the complaint include sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent and/or remedy harassment; aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligence; false light invasion of privacy and interference with prospective economic advantage.
Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
Dec. 21, 2024: The New York Times Publishes Report About the Alleged Smear Campaign Against Lively
The next day, The New York Times published a report about a retaliatory smear campaign Baldoni and his associates allegedly waged against Livelyâciting her CRD complaint. In its article, the outlet quoted messages sent from Baldoni and his teamâincluding publicist Abel and crisis communications specialist Nathanâthat were part of her complaint. Readers could also scroll through the court documents on The New York Times' website.
 âI hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct," Lively told the outlet, "and helps protect others who may be targeted.â
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Sony Pictures
Baldoni and Wayfarerâs Attorney Responds to Livelyâs CRD Complaint
After news of Livelyâs complaint broke, Bryan Freedmanâthe attorney for Baldoni, Wayfarer and its representativesâslammed Livelyâs allegations.
âIt is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to âfixâ her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions,â he said in a statement on The New York Times website. âThese claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.â
Freedman also defended Wayfarerâs decision to hire a crisis manager, saying this was done before the marketing campaign of the movie.
"The representatives of Wayfarer Studios still did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity,â he later added. âWhat is pointedly missing from the cherry-picked correspondence is the evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals.â
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
Baldoni Is Dropped by Talent Agency
Talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) dropped Baldoni after The New York Timesâ article was published on Dec. 21, Ari Emanuel, CEO of the agencyâs parent company Endeavor, confirmed to the outlet.
However, WME denied that Lively's husband Ryan Reynolds was to blame for the agency's parting of ways with Baldoni, which the It Ends With Us director later allege in his lawsuit filed against The New York Times (more on that below). Â
"In Baldoniâs filing there is a claim that Reynolds pressured Baldoniâs agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. This is not true,â WMEâwhich also represents Reynolds and Livelyâsaid in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter Jan. 1. "Baldoniâs former representative was not at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere nor was there any pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time to drop Baldoni as a client."
John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images
It Ends With Us Cast Members and More Stars React to Livelyâs Allegations Against Baldoni
In the days following Lively's CRD filing and The New York Times article, several famous figures shared their reactions to her allegations against Baldoniâincluding It Ends With Us author Hoover.
"@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met," she wrote on Instagram Stories Dec. 21, linking out to The New York Times. "Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt."
Jenny Slate, who played the sister of Baldoni's character Ryle, also noted she stood with Lively.
âAs Blake Livelyâs castmate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation,â Slate said in a Dec. 23 statement to Today. âBlake is a leader, loyal friend and a trusted source of emotional support for me and so many who know and love her.â
âWhat has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing, and wholly threatening," she added. "I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side.â
In addition, Brandon Sklenarâa love interest for Lively's character Lily Bloomâshared a screenshot of the complaint published to The New York Times' website and linked out to the outlet writing, "For the love of God read this."
Plus, Lively's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn wrote they "stand with her in solidarity."
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for The Ford Foundation
Dec. 23, 2024: Baldoni and Heath's cohost on The Man Enough Podcast Liz Plank Leaves ShowÂ
Liz Plank also announced her departure from The Man Enough Podcast, which she cohosted with Baldoni and Heath, on Dec. 23.
"I'm writing to you today to let you know that I have had my representatives inform Wayfarer that I will no longer be co-hosting The Man Enough podcast," she wrote on Instagram at the time. "Thank you for trusting me with your hearts and stories, for holding space for mine, and for making this show what it was. I will miss you, the listeners, so much. I love what this community created together with every fiber of my being, and that's because of you."
While Plank did not give a reason for her exit from the podcast, it came days after Lively's complaint against Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates.
"As this chapter closed for me, I remain committed to the values we've built together," the author continued in her message to her followers. "Thank you for being here, for trusting me, and for being by my side for the last four years. We all deserve better, and I know that together, we can create it."
She added, "I will have more to share soon as I continue to process everything that has happened. In the meantime, I will continue to support everyone who calls out injustice and holds the people standing in their way accountable."
Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images
Dec. 24, 2024: Baldoni's Former Publicist Sues Him, Abel, Nathan and Wayfarer
Baldoni's former publicist Stephanie Jones and her agency Jonesworks LLC filed a lawsuit against him, his company Wayfarer, his current publicist Abel and crisis communications specialist Nathan in New York Dec. 24.
"Defendants Abel and Nathan secretly conspired for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and Jonesworks, to breach multiple contracts and induce contractual breaches, and to steal clients and business prospects," the lawsuit obtained by NBC New reads. "Behind Jonesâs back, they secretly coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to implement an aggressive media smear campaign against Baldoniâs film co-star, and then used the crisis as an opportunity to drive a wedge between Jones and Baldoni, and to publicly pin blame for this smear campaign on Jonesâwhen Jones had no knowledge or involvement in it."
Per Abel's LinkedIn profile, she worked at Jonesworks until last summer. The lawsuit alleges Abel and Nathan "continue to point the finger falsely at Jones now that their own misconduct is coming to light," and "defame and attack" her in the industry.
As for Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer Jonesworks clients, the suit alleges they "repudiated their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and rebuffed Jonesâs efforts to settle this dispute privately in arbitration."
E! News reached out to the defendants for comment.
Gotham/GC Images
Lively's attorneys told Variety in a Dec. 23 piece that they obtained the texts featured in The New York Times article via a subpoena to Jonesworks. Freedmanâwho represents Nathan and Abel in addition to Baldoni and his Wayfarer associatesâadded to the outlet none of his clients were subpoenaed over this topic and that he intends to sue Jones for releasing messages from Abelâs phone to Livelyâs attorneys.
Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty Images
Dec. 31, 2024: Baldoni, Wayfarer & Others Sue The New York Times
Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace and Street Relations filed a lawsuit against The New York Times Dec. 31.
In the lawsuit obtained by E! News, The New York Times is accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract for its article about a retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs allegedly conducted against Lively after she voiced concerns about purported misconduct on set.
Saying the report was "false" and based on Livelyâs CRD complaint, the plaintiffs denied the accusations and alleged messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context.
âDespite its claim to have 'reviewed these along with other documents[,]' the Times relied almost entirely on Livelyâs unverified and self-serving narrative," the lawsuit says, "lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives."
They also allege "it was Lively, not Plaintiffs, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign." She has denied this.
The New York Times said it plans to "vigorously defend against the lawsuit."
âThe role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead,â it stated to E!. âOur story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article."
Lia Toby/Getty Images
Dec. 31, 2024: Lively Files Lawsuit Against Baldoni and Wayfarer Associates
That same day, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, production entity It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, Nathan's company TAG and Abel in New York.
According to the court documents obtained by E! News, she is suing the defendants for sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent and/or remedy harassment; aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence infliction of emotional distress and false light invasion of privacy.
The allegations in the lawsuit were first detailed in the CRD complaint Lively filed earlier that month.
In response to the lawsuit Baldoni and his associates filed against The New York Timesâwhich does not list Lively as a defendantâher attorneys noted in a statement to E! that "nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims" in her CRD and federal complaints.
"This lawsuit is based on the obviously false premise that Ms. Livelyâs administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ruse based on a choice 'not to file a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer,' and that 'litigation was never her ultimate goal,'" they continued. "As demonstrated by the federal complaint filed by Ms. Lively earlier today, that frame of reference for the Wayfarer lawsuit is false."
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Jan. 2, 2025: Baldoni's Lawyer Expresses Intent to Sue Lively
In Baldoni and his associates' lawsuit against The New York Times, the plaintiffs expressed that they âare not done.â
"There are other bad actors involved," the court documents state, "and make no mistakeâthis will not be the last lawsuit."
In a Jan. 2 interview with NBC News, Baldoni and Wayfarer's attorney Freedman said they "absolutely" plan to sue Lively.
Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty Images and Gotham/GC Images
The headlines about Baldoni and Lively haven't stopped there.Â
For instance, social media users have speculated that her husband Reynolds trolled Baldoni in his movie Deadpool & Wolverine through the character Nicepool.
Reynolds has not publicly commented on the rumors; however, Baldoni's lawyer Freedman shared his reaction.
"What I make of that is that if your wife is sexually harassed, you don't make fun of Justin Baldoni," Freeman said during an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show posted to YouTube Jan 7. "You don't make fun of the situation. You take it very seriously. You file HR complaints. You raise the issue and you follow a legal process. What you don't do is mock the person and turn it into a joke."
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Meanwhile, Lively's attorneys say there have been more "attacks" against her since her lawsuit.
"Ms. Livelyâs federal litigation before the Southern District of New York involves serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation, backed by concrete facts," her lawyers said in a Jan. 7 statement to E! News. "This is not a 'feud' arising from 'creative differences' or a 'he said/she said' situation. As alleged in Ms. Livelyâs complaint, and as we will prove in litigation, Wayfarer and its associates engaged in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Ms. Lively for simply trying to protect herself and others on a film set. And their response to the lawsuit has been to launch more attacks against Ms. Lively since her filing."
"While we go through the legal process, we urge everyone to remember that sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in every workplace and in every industry," they added. "A classic tactic to distract from allegations of this type of misconduct is to 'blame the victim' by suggesting that they invited the conduct, brought it on themselves, misunderstood the intentions, or even lied. Another classic tactic is to reverse the victim and offender, and suggest that the offender is actually the victim."
Lively's lawyers said "these concepts normalize and trivialize allegations of serious misconduct." They also noted "media statements are not a defense" to her claims and that they'll prosecute her claims in court.
John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images
In response, Baldoni's lawyer Freedman told E!, "It is painfully ironic that Blake Lively is accusing Justin Baldoni of weaponizing the media when her own team orchestrated this vicious attack by sending the New York Times grossly edited documents prior to even filing the complaint."
"We are releasing all of the evidence which will show a pattern of bullying and threats to take over the movie," he added. "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."
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family).
Â
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin / GC Images / Robert Kamau / GC Images
Jan. 16, 2025: Baldoni, Wayfarer, Nathan & Abel File Lawsuit Against Lively, Reynolds & Others
Baldoni, Heath, Wayfarer, publicist Abel, crisis communication specialist Nathan and production entity It Ends With Us Movie LLC filed a lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, her publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane's firm Vision PR in New York Jan. 16.
According to the suit obtained by E! News, the plaintiffs accused all the defendants of civil extortion, defamation and false light invasion of privacy. As for Lively and Reynolds specifically, she is accused of breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and they're both accused of intentional interference with contractual relations and economic advantage as well as negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.
In the suit, the plaintiffs denied Lively's allegations of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign against her. They also accused her of seizing control of It Ends With Us and working with Reynolds, Sloane, Jones and others to "tar and feather Plaintiffs in the press" after she received backlash for her marketing of the film. (Lively said in her filings she promoted the movie in accordance with Sony's marketing plan.)
Plaintiffs allege in the lawsuit the defendants worked with The New York Times "to put out a blockbuster news report as devastating as it was false.â The outlet stands by its report.
In part of a statement to E!, Freedman said, "Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth."Â
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Jan. 16, 2025: Lively's Lawyers Slam Baldoni's "Desperate" Lawsuit
Lively's legal team called his lawsuit "another chapter in the abuser playbook," saying in a statement to E! News, "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. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender. "
She further accused him of retaliating once she made allegations against him, saying Baldoni is trying to shift the narrative that Lively "seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni."
"The evidence will show," it continued, "that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer. The evidence will also show that Sony asked Ms. Lively to oversee Sonyâs cut of the film, which they then selected for distribution and was a resounding success."
Her team went on to slam Baldoni's reaction to her allegations of harassment.
"Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, itâs her fault. Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing," her lawyers added. "In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Livelyâs complaint, and it will fail.â
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Jan. 21, 2025: Behind-the-Scenes Footage of It Ends With Us Released
Baldoni's legal counsel released behind-the-scenes footage from the filming of It Ends With Us, saying that the actor's actions in the video "clearly refute Ms. Livelyâs characterization" of him.
"The scene in question was designed to show the two characters falling in love and longing to be close to one another," Baldoni's attorneys said in a statement. "Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism."
However, Lively's legal team believes the video "corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described" in her lawsuit and that "every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance."
"The video shows Ms. Lively leaning away and repeatedly asking for the characters to just talk," they told E! News in a statement. "Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Livelyâs discomfort."
Â
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App