Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have requested a gag order for Justin Baldoni’s lawyer after the actor’s legal team shared leaked footage from the It Ends With Us set.
In December, Lively, 37, filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign against her after the actors starred in the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel.
In the bombshell filing, she claimed her director-costar exhibited “disturbing” and “unprofessional” behavior on set, which caused a “hostile work environment” and “grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety,” cited by People.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, slammed the Gossip Girl alum’s lawsuit, blasting her allegations as “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt,” per another report.
One accusation in Lively’s lawsuit detailed an alleged incident during the filming of “a slow dance scene for a montage in which no sound was recorded,” per US Weekly.
According to the mom-of-three, her 40-year-old co-star “leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘it smells so good’… When Ms. Lively later objected to this behavior, Mr. Baldoni’s response was, ‘I’m not even attracted to you.'”
The Jane the Virgin actor responded to the actress’s claims by releasing behind-the-scenes footage from the set. The 10-minute clip shows the two actors filming a slow dance scene for a slow-motion montage in a bar, appearing relaxed as they laugh and discuss the direction for the romantic sequence.
In the video, Lively is seen suggesting that their characters talk instead of kissing. At another point, Baldoni leans in and asks: “Am I getting beard on you today?” to which Lively laughs and replies: “I’m probably getting spray tan on you.” Baldoni then responds: “It smells good.”
Watch the behind-the-scenes video below:
Baldoni’s legal team said the footage “clearly refutes Ms. Lively’s characterization of his behavior,” adding: “The scene in question was designed to show the two characters falling in love and longing to be close to one another. Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism,” cited by Entertainment Weekly.
They also noted that their client “has nothing to hide,” and said: “Justin and team have the right to defend themselves with the truth and this is what we will be continuing to show with the upcoming website containing all correspondence as well as relevant videos that directly quash her claims.”
Meanwhile, Lively’s legal team fired back at the leaked video, labeling it as “damning”, and saying that “every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in Paragraph 48 of her Complaint”.
They criticized Baldoni for “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,” all of which they say was improvised by him “with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy coordinator present”.
“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 added. “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 and her husband Ryan Reynolds, who are both being sued by Baldoni for $400 million, are seeking further legal protection.
The couple has filed a request for a gag order, citing concerns over Freedman’s public statements about ongoing legal proceedings.
According to court documents obtained by E! News, Lively’s lawyers allege that Freedman has been making daily media appearances since December 21, when Lively filed her Civil Rights Complaint.
The filing states that “virtually every day” Freedman has given “television interviews, appeared on podcasts, issued inflammatory written statements, and leaked information (including, remarkably, documents as banal as document preservation demands to third parties) to the Hollywood press and tabloid media”.
The couple’s attorneys also claim that the lawyer’s comments perpetuate an alleged “campaign of retaliation” that the actress addressed in a cease-and-desist letter to Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios before filing her complaint.
They argue that Baldoni’s lawyer’s public remarks have escalated the situation, stating: “Not only [do these comments] continue the campaign of retaliation that was the subject of Ms. Lively’s First Cease and Desist, but they contain numerous new false statements about Ms. Lively and others”.
The document also includes a list of Freedman’s public communications, which Lively’s legal team says are “surely incomplete”. These statements reportedly include accusations that the actress’ actions and legal proceedings are “unethical,” “shameful,” and “false”.
Adding fuel to the fire, Freedman and Baldoni’s legal team are accused of sharing behind-the-scenes footage with several media outlets, including E! News.
Lively’s team also points to a statement from the actor’s legal team announcing plans to launch a website that will showcase “all correspondence and videos” in an attempt to “quash” Lively’s claims.
The situation escalated further on December 23, when the Age of Adaline star’s attorneys issued another cease-and-desist letter, this time directly to Freedman, urging him to stop making public statements.
Furthermore, Lively’s legal team contends that Freedman’s actions violate New York State’s Rules of Professional Conduct, specifically regarding trial publicity.
In their court filing, the lawyers said: “As Ms. Lively’s counsel have attempted, repeatedly, to caution Mr. Freedman, federal litigation must be conducted in court and according to the relevant rules of professional conduct.”
They warn that Baldoni’s lawyer’s comments could have serious repercussions, concluding: “His conduct threatens to, and will, materially prejudice both the Lively Case and the Wayfarer Case by tainting the jury pool, because his statements are deliberately aimed at undermining the ‘character, credibility, [and] reputation’ of numerous relevant parties.”
