“It Ends with Us” stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are embroiled in a heated legal battle with “a number of ‘he said/she said’ allegations,” with the intimate scenes from their movie being the biggest points of contention.
Lively sued Baldoni in December for sexual harassment that allegedly took place while filming the Colleen Hoover-adapted film. The “Gossip Girl” star claimed an intimacy coordinator had not been present on set and later demanded one be at all times in a bulleted list of non-negotiable requests for her return to filming. However, in his own complaint, Baldoni shut down the idea that he choreographed sex scenes without an intimacy coordinator.
In his lawsuit, obtained by Fox News Digital, Baldoni explained an intimacy coordinator had been hired but that Lively had “refused to meet” with her. Baldoni included screenshots of text messages with a female producer to back up his claim. At the time, Baldoni had to meet alone with the intimacy coordinator to write the sex scenes and then relay the information to Lively.
BLAKE LIVELY VS JUSTIN BALDONI: EVERYTHING TO KNOW
Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit against his “It Ends With Us” co-star Blake Lively focused on intimate sex scenes highlighted in the actress’s sexual harassment accusations. (Getty Images)
“These meetings often took place, at Lively’s insistence, in the couple’s home, and often while Lively’s husband was present,” the lawsuit reads. “Lively’s method of work was unconventional and uncomfortable for Baldoni. To suggest Baldoni was the one who created this scenario is knowingly false.”
“Most egregiously, Lively later used these circumstances, created entirely by her, to accuse Baldoni of insisting Lively do ‘uncomfortable’ or ‘gratuitous’ scenes – scenes that were in fact proposed by the intimacy coordinator and by all accounts very typical asks of any actor performing simulated sex scenes. This is well-documented in handwritten notes Baldoni took during meetings with the intimacy coordinator and later read to Lively.”
According to Baldoni’s team, Lively demonstrated an “inability to discern the basic premise of the divide between collaborating on a film and personal interactions with her co-star and director,” which can be seen throughout her sexual harassment allegations. In her complaint, obtained by Fox News Digital, Lively accused Baldoni of personally adding “graphic content, including a scene in which Ms. Lively was to orgasm on camera.”
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively film “It Ends with Us.” (Getty Images)
Baldoni hit back at the “false” claim saying, “During a creative meeting, which Lively requested to take place in her home, Baldoni read to her his notes from the intimacy coordinator, including a suggestion that Lively’s character orgasm during the scene, similar to the book. Lively remarked, ‘oh no, I’m too old for that’ and Baldoni offered another suggestion instead, also from his notes from the meeting with the intimacy coordinator. Baldoni then moved on.”
WATCH: HOW COULD RELEASED TEXTS IMPACT BLAKE LIVELY-JUSTIN BALDONI CASE?
BLAKE LIVELY AND JUSTIN BALDONI LAWSUIT: MESSAGES EXPOSE ALLEGED LIES, THREATS AND INTIMATE SECRETS
Justin Baldoni attends the “It Ends with Us” premiere with his wife. (Getty Images)
While both lawsuits largely rely on each actors’ accounts of what occurred on the “It Ends with Us” movie set, Baldoni and Lively have produced what they both call concrete evidence.
“Although there are a number of ‘he said/she said’ allegations in both lawsuits, the parties also have produced other alleged evidence, including text messages, emails and videos, each of which are likely to play key roles in helping future jurors decide who they believe is more truthful, Lively or Baldoni,” Hollywood lawyer and mediator Angela Reddock-Wright told Fox News Digital.
Justin Baldoni is suing Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for $400 million in a lawsuit for defamation, civil extortion and more. (Cindy Ord)
“A key question in a sexual harassment case is whether the conduct alleged was welcome or unwelcome by the alleged victim,” the lawyer noted. Through Baldoni’s “detailed rebuttal,” the actor attempted to prove that his alleged conduct was not unwelcome and that “Lively herself engaged in alleged friendly banter and flirtatious conduct toward him” while working together, according to the legal expert.
“Although there are a number of ‘he said/she said’ allegations in both lawsuits, the parties also have produced other alleged evidence, including text messages, emails and videos, each of which are likely to play key roles in helping future jurors decide who they believe is more truthful, Lively or Baldoni.”
“While Baldoni’s rebuttal alone does not prove his innocence, it does represent his effort to paint a different story than the story told by Lively and to plant alternative views in the minds of the public and potential jurors.”
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Legal experts note that “there are a number of ‘he said/she said’ allegations” in both Lively and Baldoni’s lawsuits. (Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
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In the meantime, Baldoni’s lawyers have “done a masterful job changing the narrative,” West Coast Trial Lawyers founder Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital.
WATCH: JUSTIN BALDONI’S LAWYERS ‘HAVE DONE A MASTERFUL JOB CHANGING THE NARRATIVE’ IN BLAKE LIVELY CASE: EXPERT
“In a case that is more about the court of public opinion than the courtroom, Baldoni went from being canceled, dropped by William Morris agency and having his women’s advocacy award rescinded to having overwhelming public support,” Rahmani explained. “Freedman’s strategy has been to share key pieces of evidence with the public, including the video of the rooftop scene, voice message to Lively and more text messages between the two. This supports Baldoni’s argument that the New York Times cherry-picked messages and presented a one-sided account of the case. It is also powerful evidence because people can lie, but video, audio and screenshots do not.”
“It’s still early, and Lively’s lawyer has said he will file an amended complaint this week, so I wouldn’t count her out,” the former federal prosecutor added. “But I think Lively and Reynolds underestimated Baldoni’s resolve and his lawyer’s effectiveness in trying this case inside and outside the courtroom. This reminds me a lot of Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard, a case that went to trial not because of money but to clear their respective names.”
Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital that Baldoni’s lawyers have “done a masterful job changing the narrative” and that the actor has gone from being “canceled” to “having overwhelming public support.” (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
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Lively detailed allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and more made by Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights Department and later in federal court in December.
Baldoni, in his own lawsuit filed in January, insisted Lively “falsely” accused him in an attempt to repair her reputation amid the fallout around the movie’s press tour after the actress took control of the film. Baldoni’s legal team claimed Lively had no evidence of a deliberate smear campaign and instead worked to repair her reputation by accusing the actor and others of sexual harassment.
Both sides have denied the allegations they are accused of.
Lively and Baldoni’s attorneys were in court Monday to discuss what can and cannot be said to the public on behalf of their clients. A judge ordered the stars’ legal teams to follow the New York Rules of Professional Conduct, which limit speaking to the press. Neither party will be allowed to make statements to the press that have a “substantial likelihood” of prejudicing a jury. However, the legal teams will be allowed to defend their client in the media against publicity not created by either side.
