Blake Lively has broken her silence after Justin Baldoni and the It Ends With Us actor and director’s legal team released raw footage from the movie’s set as evidence in his favour, after she accused him of sexual harassment.
The actress spoke out following the release of unedited footage, in response to her allegations of sexual harassment.
The actress, 37, claims that the video, which captures three takes of a dance scene between her and Baldoni, 40, reinforces her discomfort during the filming.
“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 lawyer told TMZ.
Her legal team asserts that the footage shows 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.”
They insist that “every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in Paragraph 48 of her Complaint.”
Lively’s lawyer further emphasized that none of the interactions shown in the video were choreographed. “Every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy coordinator present,” the statement read.
“Mr. Baldoni was not only Ms. Lively’s co-star, but the director, the head of the studio, and Ms. Lively’s boss,” her legal team pointed out, adding that Lively’s visible discomfort in leaning away from Baldoni during the scene was genuine, not acting.
The footage reportedly shows her “repeatedly asking for the characters to just talk.”
“Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively’s discomfort,” the statement continued.
“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.”
Lively’s team also criticized the release of the footage, calling it “another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public” and “a continuation of their harassment and retaliatory campaign.”
“We are continuing our efforts to require Mr. Baldoni and his associates to answer in court, under oath, rather than through manufactured media stunts,” Lively’s lawyer concluded.
