There is an update in the ongoing legal drama between It Ends with Us co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, and this thing is getting even more bizarre.
The Video
As you may remember from when we had Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, on the show earlier this month, one of the allegations in Lively’s complaint against Baldoni had to do with his behavior while filming a dance scene montage together. It was laid out in paragraph 48 of her lawsuit filed on December 31. It read:
“On another occasion, Mr. Baldoni and Ms. lively were filming a slow dance scene for a montage in which no sound was recorded. Mr. Baldoni chose to let the camera roll and have them perform the scene but did not act in character as Ryle. Instead, he spoke to Ms. lively out of character as himself. 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.’ None of this was remotely in character or based on any dialog in the script, and nothing needed to be said, because, again, there was no sound. Mr. Baldoni was caressing Ms. Lively with his mouth in a way that had nothing to do with their roles. When Ms. lively later objected to this behavior, Mr. Baldoni’s response was, ‘I’m not even attracted to you.'”
Well, guess what? TMZ has gotten its hands on the raw footage of the scene in question, and you can clearly hear Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni interacting as themselves, knowing that this is all on video to create this dance scene. No such moment resembles the allegation. Watch it below:
As you see, he puts his head in the crook of her neck at one point and says, “Am I getting beard on you today?” She laughs and says, “I’m probably getting spray tan on you.” Baldoni says it smells good, which Lively credits to her body makeup. That is her big harassment moment.
They are playfully acting for the camera, trying to make it look like two people in a relationship are dancing with one another. She is giggling. She is holding his hands. They are not speaking as their characters because the sound was not going to be used in the film. But they are in character in the way they are acting towards each other.
Obviously, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are not choosing to hold hands, nuzzle each other, and behave as lovers in front of this room full of people. They are doing that because they are in character, and they are trying to make it look – for the camera – like they love each other. She is completely flirtatious with him. He is flirtatious back. But they are heard talking about their respective spouses, and it is all in good fun.
A Pattern of Behavior
This is what Lively has done throughout this process. She said in her lawsuit that Baldoni came to her trailer while she was breastfeeding. Then, he produced the text messages showing her saying, ‘I’m breastfeeding. Come on over.’
She accused his producing partner of showing her pornography. Then, in Baldoni’s countersuit, they produced a picture of the alleged pornography and it was a beautiful, artistic, absolutely not pornographic shot of his business partner and his wife with their newborn baby in a bathtub after a home birth.
Time and time again, she accuses him of doing something that, when you hear the full context, is an absolute nothing burger. You tell me whether what we witnessed in that video looks like actionable harassment.
The Gag Order Request
On Tuesday, the legal team representing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, issued a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman asking for a gag order in the case. They claim the leaks to the media are retaliatory and are asking the court to shut Baldoni and Bryan Freedman up.
Before Lively’s lawsuit, she filed a complaint against Baldoni and his production company with the California Human Rights Office. That complaint coincided with a New York Times piece laying out her allegations. Freedman argues the reason Lively submitted the complaint was so she could leak it to the Times and start to rehabilitate her reputation that took a hit after a series of unflattering stories about her came out last summer.
Now that she has had her shot against him via the complaint, and the Times article, and the lawsuit, she wants a complete gag order. She argues in this gag order request that Baldoni should not be able to release snippets to the media without the full context even though that is what she did initially. She alleges that she is a #MeToo victim. That is absurd.
As somebody who is not a Hollywood actress – notwithstanding my very short stint in the cartoon Mr. Birchum – I can tell you that this is not an honest broker. I believe her less than ever. I actually disbelieve her fully now, and Baldoni’s team should not be gagged. I will happily participate in releasing any further leaks they have because the truth should be out there. What does she have to fear if she is telling the truth?
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 988 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.