The battle over claims of what occurred on the set of It Ends With Us continues as Blake Lively’s authorized group responded to Justin Baldoni’s group releasing uncooked, unedited footage from the movie following Vigorous’s sexual harassment claims.
The ten-minute video, shared by Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman on Tuesday, contains one scene the place the actors’ characters Lily Bloom (Vigorous) and Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni) are sluggish dancing. (The scene was referenced in Vigorous’s lawsuit in opposition to her co-star, accusing him of “behaving inappropriately” and claiming he “ignored well-established business protocols in filming intimate scenes.”)
The footage exhibits Baldoni, 40, and Vigorous, 37, filming a scene with no dialogue, talking about their spouses and joking about his nostril and her spray tan.
In a press release following the discharge of the footage, Vigorous’s group says that “each body of the launched footage corroborates, to the letter,” what Vigorous included in her lawsuit, filed on Dec. 20, 2024, concerning the particular scene.
“Justin Baldoni and his lawyer might hope that this newest stunt will get forward of the damaging proof in opposition to him, however the video itself is damning,” Vigorous’s authorized group stated of their assertion.
“The video exhibits Mr. Baldoni repeatedly leaning in towards Ms. Vigorous, making an attempt to kiss her, kissing her brow, rubbing his face and mouth in opposition to her neck, flicking her lip together with his thumb, caressing her, telling her how good she smells, and speaking along with her out of character. Each second of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni with no dialogue or consent upfront, and no intimacy coordinator current.”
In addition they point out that Baldoni was able of energy because the movie’s director and Vigorous’s boss.
“The video exhibits Ms. Vigorous leaning away and repeatedly asking for the characters to only speak. Any girl who has been inappropriately touched within the office will acknowledge Ms. Vigorous’s discomfort,” her authorized group stated. “They are going to acknowledge her makes an attempt at levity to attempt to deflect the undesirable touching.
“No girl ought to need to take defensive measures to keep away from being touched by their employer with out their consent,” her attorneys stated. “This matter is in lively litigation in federal courtroom. Releasing this video to the media, relatively than presenting it as proof in courtroom, is one other instance of an unethical try to control the general public. Additionally it is a continuation of their harassment and retaliatory marketing campaign.”
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The just lately launched footage opens with a press release from Baldoni’s authorized group: “The next movies captured on Might 23, 2023, clearly refute Ms. Vigorous’s characterization of his behaviour.”
“The scene in query was designed to point out the 2 characters falling in love and longing to be shut to at least one one other. Each actors are clearly behaving nicely inside the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism. These are all three takes filmed in sequence,” the assertion learn.
Each actors have been participating in small speak, picked up by their mics. At one level, Vigorous prompt that it will be “extra romantic” if their characters spoke to one another whereas they danced.
After they put their heads nearer collectively whereas dancing, Vigorous made a joke about the way it felt “so nosey,” in reference to their noses touching. Baldoni replied, saying, “I do know. And my nostril is so huge.”
“Sure. I hoped we may handle this. It’s not too late,” Vigorous responded.
Later, Baldoni stated that he was most likely “getting beard” on Vigorous whereas they danced so intently. She responded by saying she was most likely getting spray tan on him.
“It smells good,” Baldoni replied.
Vigorous’s lawsuit claimed Baldoni sexually harassed her on the set of It Ends With Us and talked about a “sluggish dance scene” with the actor. She alleged that in the course of the filming of the scene Baldoni “leaned ahead and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he stated, ‘It smells so good.’”
“When Ms. Vigorous later objected to this behaviour, Mr. Baldoni’s response was, ‘I’m not even drawn to you,’” the criticism learn.
Vigorous claimed {that a} assembly was held to deal with Baldoni’s behaviour, the place she alleges that he talked about his previous “porn habit” and confirmed her “nude movies or pictures of ladies.”
His legal team responded to the claims on behalf of Baldoni, calling them “utterly false, outrageous and deliberately salacious.”
Final week, Baldoni sued his co-star Vigorous and her husband, Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds, for defamation. Baldoni’s go well with seeks at the least $400 million for damages that embody misplaced future earnings.
That lawsuit came the same day that Baldoni sued the New York Occasions for libel, alleging the paper labored with Vigorous to smear him.
The lawsuit filed in federal courtroom in New York says the plaintiffs didn’t wish to file the go well with, however that Vigorous “has unequivocally left them with no alternative, not solely to set the file straight in response to Vigorous’s accusations, but additionally to place the highlight on the elements of Hollywood that they’ve devoted their careers to being the antithesis of.”
In response to the $400-million defamation and extortion lawsuit, the Gossip Woman star’s authorized group stated, “This newest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is one other chapter within the abuser playbook.”
“That is an age-old story: A girl speaks up with concrete proof of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser makes an attempt to show the tables on the sufferer,” the assertion continued. “That is what consultants name DARVO. Deny. Assault. Reverse Sufferer Offender.
“Wayfarer has opted to make use of the assets of its billionaire co-founder to subject media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the general public’s capability to grasp that what they’re doing is retaliation in opposition to sexual harassment allegations.”
It Ends With Us, based mostly on the bestselling 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover, was launched in August 2024 and exceeded field workplace expectations with a $50-million debut. It begins as a typical romantic drama earlier than taking a darkish flip into home violence. The fallout in its aftermath has made main waves in Hollywood and led to discussions of the therapy of feminine actors each on units and in media.
—With recordsdata from The Related Press
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