Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni.
Getty Images (2)Blake Lively‘s legal team responded to the news It ends with us video sequence broadcast by Justin Baldonithe lawyer.
“Justin Baldoni and his attorney may hope that this latest case will outpace the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is damning. Every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in paragraph 48 of her complaint,” Lively’s legal team said in a statement to Us every week on Tuesday January 21. “The video shows Mr. Baldoni repeatedly leaning toward Ms. Lively, trying to kiss her, kissing her on the forehead, rubbing his face and mouth against her neck, brushing her lip with his thumb, caressing her, saying telling her how good she smells and talking with her out of character.
The statement continued: “Every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni without prior discussion or consent and without the presence of an Intimacy Coordinator. Mr. Baldoni was not only Ms. Lively’s partner, but also Ms. Lively’s director, studio head and boss.
The post also said that in the clip Lively, 37, “leaned over and repeatedly asked the characters to just talk.”
“Any woman who has been touched inappropriately in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively’s discomfort,” the statement concluded. “They will recognize his attempts at levity to try to deflect unwanted touching. No woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by her employer without her consent.
Lively’s legal team also criticized Baldoni, 40, – who also directed the film – and his legal time for release the video to the public rather than entrusting it to the court.
“This matter is the subject of active litigation in Federal Court. Releasing this video to the media, rather than presenting it as evidence in court, is another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public,” the statement read. “It is also a continuation of their campaign of harassment and retaliation. While they focus on misleading media narratives, we focus on the legal process. We continue our efforts to demand that Mr. Baldoni and his associates answer in court, under oath, rather than through fabricated media stunts.
In response to the most recent statement and claims from Lively’s legal team regarding the footage, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said We“Before filing suit in court, Ms. Lively went to the New York Times in an effort to publicly destroy Justin Baldoni. When Mr. Baldoni exercises his right to publicly defend himself by presenting real facts and evidence, for Ms. Lively and her team, this instantly becomes morally and ethically wrong Ms. Lively wishes very different standards applied to her, but fortunately, truth and authenticity apply to everyone and can never be wrong. Looking With the video and evidence coming, I can understand why Ms. Lively wouldn’t want this to play out in public.
The images, obtained by We earlier Tuesday, features the costars romantically slow dancing and laughing in character for a dialogue-free montage during the film. The duo could, however, be heard exchanging ideas on stage as they swayed back and forth.
“MS. Lively’s complaint alleges that during a scene that Mr. Baldoni and Ms. Lively were filming for a slow dance montage, Mr. Baldoni behaved inappropriately,” reads a statement at the beginning of the video “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 wanting to be close to each other. on the other. Both actors clearly behave well in the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism. These are the three filmed takes of the sequence.
Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit against the New York Times has shed even more light on the apparent creative differences between him and his It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively. Baldoni, 40, is suing the Times for $250 million, alleging defamation and false light on invasion of privacy following the newspaper’s reporting on Lively suing him for sexual assault (…)
In addition to releasing the video footage, Baldoni’s lawyer also shared his intention to create a website this will include “relevant videos” and “correspondence” between Baldoni and Lively.
“Justin and his team have the right to defend themselves with the truth,” Freedman’s statement read. “And that’s what we will continue to show with the upcoming website featuring all of the correspondence as well as relevant videos that directly refute his claims.”
Animated and Baldoni ongoing legal drama started last month when she filed a complaint against the director. In her filing, Lively claimed that Baldoni sexually harassed her and created a hostile work environment on the set of It ends with us.
Baldoni, for his part, vehemently denied the allegations. He subsequently continued the New York Times for $250 million following the media outlet’s reporting of Lively’s claims against him.
As Justin Baldoni’s legal battle with Blake Lively continues, his lawyer Bryan Freedman says the actor did not approach the situation with ill intentions toward his co-star. In an interview with NBC News’ Liz Kreutz on the Friday, January 3, episode of Today, Freedman denied Lively’s claims that Baldoni coordinated a defamation against her after…
Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios also filed a complaint last month directly against Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynoldsand Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloaneseeking $400 million in damages. In the paperwork, Baldoni accused the group civil extortion, defamation, invasion of privacy by false light and much more.
After Baldoni’s filing was announced, Lively broke his silence with a statement via its legal team.
“This latest lawsuit filed by Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and his associates is another chapter in the abusers’ playbook. This is an old story: a woman comes forward with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the attacker attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Refuse. Attack. Reverse victim offender,” the post read. “Wayfarer has chosen to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch baseless lawsuits and threaten legal action in order to prevent the public from understanding that what it is doing constitutes retaliation against allegations of sexual harassment.”