The bitter Hollywood feud between 'It Ends With Us' stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni movie turned even more sensational after Baldoni's legal team released unseen and unedited footage from the filming of the movie this week, to prove that he did not harass Lively.
The footage showed Baldoni and Lively in a scene during which Lively claims she was sexually harassed, Daily Mail reported.
Earlier, Blake Lively took legal action against 'It Ends with Us' co-star and director Justin Baldoni, alleging sexual harassment and "severe emotional distress." The lawsuit, filed by Lively, 37, outlined multiple claims about Baldoni's alleged behaviour during production.
According to Deadline, Lively cited incidents including inappropriate comments about weight, discussions of sexual topics, and references to Baldoni's "pornography addiction" in front of her and other cast members.
Lively also alleged that Baldoni showed her explicit images and made inappropriate remarks about the cast and crew's genitalia.
The lawsuit also claimed that Lively demanded certain boundaries during a meeting attended by key figures, including her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
The demands reportedly included: "no more showing nude videos or images to Blake," "no more adding sex scenes outside the approved script," and "no further comments about Blake's late father," reported Deadline.
In response, Baldoni's legal team released the slow dance scene between Lively's Lily Bloom character and Baldoni's Ryle Kincaid.
The almost 10 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage shared with outlets including the Daily Mail and Variety, reportedly showed “both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism.”
Meanwhile, Entertainment Tonight reported that the scene released by Baldoni’s legal team is mentioned in Lively’s lawsuit against him where she alleges that she was sexually harassed on set.
Lively's lawyers said it showed him "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," BBC reported.
Every moment "was improvised by Mr Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy co-ordinator present", they said.
Lively's lawsuit cited the scene as an example of how Baldoni "ignored well-established industry protocols in filming intimate scenes, and exploited the lack of controls on set to behave inappropriately".
Her legal documents said he wasn't speaking in character and that no sound was recorded. "At one point, he leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, 'it smells so good.'
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