Justin Baldoni’s team is preparing to launch a website aimed at supporting the It Ends With Us director’s claims against Blake Lively.
In a statement on Tuesday, January 21, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said, “Justin and his team have the right to defend themselves with the truth.
This is what we will continue to demonstrate with the upcoming website, which will contain all correspondence as well as relevant videos that directly disprove her claims.”
This announcement comes shortly after the obtained footage from the set of It Ends With Us, which Freedman claims contradicts Lively’s allegations that Baldoni acted “inappropriately” on set.
The video begins with a message explaining, “Ms. Lively’s complaint alleges that during a scene Mr. Baldoni and Ms. Lively were filming for a slow dance montage, Mr. Baldoni was behaving inappropriately.
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 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. These are all three takes filmed of the sequence.”
Following the explanation, the video shows Baldoni, 40, and Lively, 37, laughing and smiling while filming a dance scene without any dialogue. At one point, Lively suggests the scene would feel “more romantic” if they were talking.
The legal battle between Baldoni and Lively began last year amid rumors of tension between the two on set. The situation intensified when the two actors did not promote the Colleen Hoover adaptation together, sparking more speculation.
In December 2024, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. Baldoni has denied these allegations.
The following month, Baldoni’s studio, Wayfarer, took legal action against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloan. The lawsuit accuses them of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and more.
The filing included alleged text message exchanges between Lively and Baldoni while they worked on It Ends With Us. Baldoni is seeking $400 in damages.
“This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team, and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new, and doctored information to the media,” Baldoni’s lawyer stated in a January 16 statement.
“It is clear based on our own all-out willingness to provide all complete text messages, emails, video footage, and other documentary evidence shared between the parties in real time, that this is a battle she will not win and will certainly regret.
Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth.”
“This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook,” Lively’s lawyers told Us Weekly on Thursday.
“This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation, and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim.” They continued, “This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack.
Reverse Victim and Offender. Wayfarer has opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.”