Legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has sparked a new legal twist on its head.
Baldoni, 41, who directed and co-starred in the movie, is accusing Lively, 38, of the very conduct which she claims justifies her lawsuit against him.
According to court documents obtained, Baldoni’s legal team submitted a deleted scene as evidence on Thursday, arguing that it shows the actress improvising a kiss during filming – something she has cited of evidence of sexual harassment on the set of the drama.
The clip which was filed as an exhibit in a November 13 motion for summary judgment, shows Lively and Baldoni shooting a hospital hallway scene in May 2023.
In the footage, Lively’s Lily strides up to Baldoni’s Ryle, grabs his arms and plants a quick kiss on him before smiling and walking off.
Baldoni’s legal team says the moment was unscripted and was not part of the written screenplay.
The filing claims that the former Gossip Girl star – who is married to Ryan Reynolds – not only approved the moment, but ‘oversaw’ the scene and ‘herself added to the script, in which her character kissed Baldoni’s character in every take, although there was no kiss in the script.’
Lively’s team said in a November 3 letter that she had requested the presiding judge to put sanctions on producer Jamey Heath after he missed a September 2 deadline to turn over to the court ‘certain materials’ germane to the case.
