Blake Lively’s Legal Team Slams Released It Ends With Us Footage, Says ‘Every Frame’ Corroborates Her Claims

Lawyers for Blake Lively called the ‘It Ends with Us’ footage that Justin Baldoni’s team released to the media part of a “harassment and retaliatory campaign”

Justin Baldoni; Blake Lively. Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Blake Lively’s legal team is firing back after attorneys for Justin Baldoni released footage shedding light on the actors’ behind-the-scenes conflict on It Ends with Us.

On Tuesday, Jan. 21, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman released a video, obtained by TMZ, in an effort to refute some of Lively’s claims made in her Dec. 20 sexual harassment complaint against her director-costar. The footage depicts Baldoni, 40, and Lively, 37, filming a dialogue-free scene in the hit 2024 movie, speaking out of character to joke about his nose and her spray tan.

The actress-producer’s lawyers now say in a statement shared with PEOPLE that “every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter,” what Lively included in her lawsuit about that scene.

In her Dec. 20 complaint suing Baldoni and some of his associates, alleging sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign against her, Lively claimed he exhibited “disturbing” and “unprofessional” behavior on the set of the hit Colleen Hoover adaptation, causing a “hostile work environment” and “grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety.”

In Lively’s complaint was the accusation that during a “slow dance scene,” Baldoni “leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘It smells so good.’ ”

Blake Lively; Justin Baldoni.Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock; Christopher Peterson / SplashNews

After “caressing” Lively “with his mouth in a way that had nothing to do with their roles,” Baldoni later allegedly responded to her objection by saying, “I’m not even attracted to you,” according to the filing.

Baldoni countered with a Dec. 31 lawsuit against The New York Times for libel, false light invasion of privacy and more over an article covering her allegations. He then filed a $400 million lawsuit on Jan. 16 against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and their publicist, claiming defamation, extortion and more.

The latter suit alleges that, while filming a “romance montage” of their characters, the Gossip Girl alum implied that Baldoni should get plastic surgery to fix his nose. In the released video, both can be seen making quips about his nose, including a joke Lively makes referencing plastic surgery.

“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 from Lively’s legal team.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in ‘It Ends With Us’.Sony Pictures Entertainment

“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.”

Lively’s lawyers continue, “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 recognize Ms. Lively’s 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.”

The statement concludes that releasing the It Ends with Us footage to the media “is another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public. 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.”

Also on Jan. 21, Baldoni’s attorneys promised to launch a website that will contain “all correspondence as well as relevant videos that quash her claims.”