Justin Baldoni‘s legal team has released a behind-the-scenes clip from It Ends With Us amid ongoing legal drama involving co-star Blake Lively. The footage, shared on January 21st, shows Baldoni, 40, and Lively, 37, slow dancing and chatting casually during filming. The release follows the Gossip Girl star’s sexual harassment claims, with her legal team asserting that the unedited footage “corroborates” her allegations about the scene referenced in her December 2024 lawsuit.
The 10-minute clip, shared by Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman, includes a moment where their characters, Lily Bloom (Lively) and Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni), slow dance while joking about personal topics like her spray tan and his nose. Fans online, however, are divided, with some suggesting that the Age of Adaline alum might be “reaching” based on the video.
Blake Lively's Team Responds to Justin Baldoni’s Released On-Set Video: It 'Corroborates' Her Harassment Claims, But Fans Say 'She Is Reaching'
The footage was mentioned in Lively’s lawsuit against the Jane the Virgin actor. Lively accused Baldoni of "behaving inappropriately." She also claimed that Baldoni, who also directed the film, "ignored well-established industry protocols in filming intimate scenes."
The two performers seemed to step out of their roles as Lily and Ryle in the clip, exchanging ideas with each other while they danced.
"I think it's more romantic if we're dancing and talking," Lively told Baldoni, "'cause it's like the moment you kiss, then you give them the thing that they wanna see." The Green Lantern star then brought up her husband Ryan Reynolds and said that they "don’t shut up" when they spend time together.
Lively also shared: "there's not enough time in the day to talk." Baldoni then said: "I think that's cute. You guys are really cute." Lively replied: "I think it's more than cute."
During a particularly intimate moment, Lively joked as Baldoni drew near her neck: "I’m probably getting spray tan on you." The Five Feet Apart director then said: "It smells good." In Lively's complaint, she alleged that Baldoni "leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, 'it smells so good.'" The filing read: "None of this was remotely in character."
It went on: "When Ms. Lively later objected to this behavior, Ms. Baldoni’s response was, 'I'm not even attracted to you.'" Fans headed to TikTok to share their thoughts after seeing the aforementioned footage. "She definitely was flirting. She doesn't look like she is being harassed at all," one wrote as another added: "this girl is Reaching!!!"
Justin Baldoni Rejects Sexual Harassment Accusations And Claims Blake Lively Was 'Unable To Take Direction' When Filming
Someone else replied: "so hard to watch." One other noted: "He even kinda asks for her permission to do an almost super close (I think he means kiss) and she gives her consent." An additional user theorized: "I think that’s why she’s going all scorched earth on him. She was into him and he was definitely not into her."
In his legal response to Lively's claims, Baldoni rejected the accusation of sexual harassment. He claimed that Lively was "consistently unable to take direction" when filming the dancing scene. Baldoni's complaint noted: "Lively continued arguing and tried to direct him for the scene while they were supposed to be in character filming the scene."
It added: "Any suggestion that this scene was filmed in any manner other than pure professionalism by Baldoni is unequivocally countered with actual evidence."
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Baldoni's lawsuit further claimed that Lively made a comment suggesting he should undergo cosmetic surgery for his nose. Additionally, the lawsuit alleged that Lively labeled him and his wife, Emily Baldoni, as "sociopaths" after he mentioned that they frequently gazed silently into each other's eyes.
The making-of video for the slow dance scene featured Lively and Baldoni engaging in similar conversations. "We've done it for five minutes," Baldoni quipped regarding him and his real-life wife. He also said: "I think you would find it terrifying." Lively responded with a chuckle and then said: "I'd be like, 'Oh no, I found a sociopath.'"
As Lively and Baldoni brought their foreheads together while dancing, the actress laughed and made a playful remark: "It’s like, just noses." Baldoni then said: "I know, and my nose is so big." Lively then joked: "Yes, I was hoping that we could address this. It’s not too late. Just gotta shut down. Gotta call an insurance month and just deal with that. Just kidding."
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Ultimately, Baldoni drew significant media attention when he filed a $400 million countersuit against Lively. He accused the actress of taking over the film he was directing and fabricating sexual harassment claims to deflect criticism away from herself. He further alleged that she orchestrated a deliberate and malicious campaign to ruin his career.
This followed her accusations that he had sexually harassed her on set and had orchestrated an online effort to tarnish her reputation.
On December 31, Baldoni also initiated an 87-page lawsuit against the New York Times, alleging defamation after the newspaper released a sensational article regarding Lively's accusations of harassment.
