Blake Lively's team have insisted "every frame" of a video released by Justin Baldoni corroborates her allegations of sexual harassment and accused him of trying to "manipulate" the situation. Picture: Bang Showbiz
Blake Lively's team have insisted "every frame" of a video released by Justin Baldoni corroborates her allegations of sexual harassment.
The “It Ends With Us” stars are locked in a legal battle, with the “Gossip Girl” actress having accused the 40-year-old actor-and-director of sexual harassment and waging a smear campaign against her, and him suing for defamation.
In the latest move in their public spat, Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, released a video of the pair shooting a dialogue-free scene for the 2024 movie, in which they broke character to speak about his nose and her spray tan.
And Lively's legal team have been quick to respond and condemn the release of the footage.
They said in a statement: “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,” reads the 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.
"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. The video shows Ms Lively leaning away and repeatedly asking for the characters to just talk.
"Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognise Ms Lively’s discomfort.
"They will recognise 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.”
The lawyers claimed that releasing the footage was "another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public".
They added: "It is also a continuation of their harassment and retaliatory campaign. While they are focused on misleading media narratives, we are focused on the legal process.
“We are continuing our efforts to require Mr Baldoni and his associates to answer in court, under oath, rather than through manufactured media stunts.”
When the 37-year-old actress filed her lawsuit against Baldoni and his production company in December, she accused her co-star of causing a "hostile work environment" with "disturbing and unprofessional" behaviour.
She specifically cited a slow dance scene, in which she claimed he “leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘It smells so good’.”
Meanwhile in his own lawsuit, Justin accused Blake of having suggested he should get cosmetic surgery to fix his nose while they filmed a "romance montage".
In the newly-released video, both could be seen joking about his hooter, including the 'Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants' star mentioning an operation.