Blake Lively's legal team has issued a response to a video leaked by Justin Baldoni's lawyers, following the allegations made by Lively regarding the inappropriate behaviour of Justin Baldoni during the filming of the movie It Ends With Us, which is based on the novel by Colleen Hoover.
The video, showing behind-the-scenes footage from a bar scene, was released by Baldoni's team in an attempt to clear his name, claiming it disproves Lively's accusations of harassment during a romantic scene.
The 10-minute video shared by Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer and his lawyer Bryan Freedman to the DailyMail, has three takes from the slow dance scene. Many of the viewers interpreted from the video that Baldoni did not make Lively feel uncomfortable, though it can be interpreted in different ways. In the video, when Baldoni tries to be more intimate with her, Lively continuously says that ‘talking’ would be more ‘romantic’ for the scene.
Baldoni's legal team said that ‘the video clearly refutes Ms Lively’s characterisation of Baldoni’s behaviour’. But Lively’s legal team asserts the footage only supports her version of the incident.
Lively previously accused Baldoni of unwanted physical contact and off-script comments during a slow-dance sequence. In response, Lively’s lawyers argued that the video only strengthens her claims.
“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”, Lively’s legal team told a US news outlet.
They said the footage showed Mr Baldoni repeatedly leaning towards Ms Lively making her feel uncomfortable. “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”, stated Lively’s legal team.
The legal battle continues in active litigation, with both sides focused on presenting their cases in court rather than through media releases.
