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Blake Lively breaks silence after Justin Baldoni releases unseen footage
© Getty

Blake Lively breaks silence after Justin Baldoni releases unseen footage

Justin directed and starred in It Ends With Us alongside Blake

Faye James
Senior Editor
January 22, 2025
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The plot thickens in the messy legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, which began after the release of their film It Ends With Us. 

While both sides have accused the other of bad behavior and produced a slew of receipts to try and prove their claims, Justin's lawyers went a step further and released unedited footage of a dance scene from the film.

The video was released on January 21 with the intention of disproving Blake's claim that he made her uncomfortable by nuzzling her neck and telling her, "It smells so good." 

WATCH: It Ends With Us – trailer

Justin's lawyers released a statement alongside the video, claiming that both actors were behaving professionally in the shot. 

"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 statement read. 

"The following 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. 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."

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in It Ends With Us © USW
Blake and Justin starred alongside each other in It Ends With Us

In the video, the pair can be heard chatting about their spouses and laughing about Justin's nose getting in the way of their kissing scenes. 

After the clip surfaced, Blake's team quickly hit back with a statement on why it proves her harassment claims in their eyes. 

"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," the statement read. 

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively kiss on the set of It Ends with Us on January 12, 2024© Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin
Justin's lawyers released an unedited video of their dance scene

"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 frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in Paragraph 48 of her Complaint," the statement continued. 

Blake's lawyers added: "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." 

 Blake Lively attends the 2024 LACMA Art+Film Gala at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on November 02, 2024 © FilmMagic
Blake's team doubled down on their claims after the video surfaced

They claimed Blake was seen leaning away from Justin in the scenes and asking to talk instead. "Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms Lively's discomfort," they added. 

Blake's team ended their statement by slamming the decision to release the footage, claiming it was an "unethical attempt to manipulate the public."

Justin Baldoni at the "It Ends With Us" New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on August 06, 2024 in New York City.© Getty Images
Justin countersued Blake and her husband Ryan Reynolds in January

The mother of four formally sued Justin on December 31, 2024, claiming his team had engaged in a smear campaign to ruin her name ahead of Blake's claims of sexual harassment against the director. 

Blake vs Justin: feud timeline

blake lively justin baldoni lawsuit© Getty Images

2024

9th August – It Ends With Us is released

6th August – Justin walks the red carpet away from the rest of his costars during the movie premiere

 13th August –Justin hires crisis PR Melissa Nathan who represented Johnny Depp during his defamation trial

20th December – Blake files a huge lawsuit against Justin, accusing him of "unprofessional'' behaviour on set

21st December – Justin is dropped by his talent agency

22nd December – The New York Times leaks private messages, attesting to a PR smear campaign against Blake

31st December – Justin files a lawsuit against The New York Times

31st December – Blake files a lawsuit against Justin

2025

16th January  – Justin countersues Blake for $400 million

21st January – Justin's team releases footage from the It Ends With Us set, contradicting Blake's argument

27th January – A trial date is set for March 2026

27th January – Audio of Justin is leaked where he allegedly apologises to Blake during filming

1st February –Justin's team launches a website with two legal documents about the dispute

5th February – Blake is sued by crisis PR firm for $7 million

Justin subsequently countersued Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, on January 17, claiming that the couple sought to deploy their star power to bury his career. He also sued the New York Times after they published an article on the alleged smear campaign. 

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