He’s been accused of being creepy on set — staring, sniffing, and leaving Blake Lively visibly uneasy. But new details in the It Ends With Us legal fight suggest Justin Baldoni might’ve actually been the more uncomfortable one in this story.
Blake Lively claims Baldoni made her feel uncomfortable
Blake Lively, 37, says her co-star, who’s married, made her feel “flustered” when he looked her up and down while she wore a low-cut dress. Another time, she says he pressured her at a crowded bar to take off her coat and show her lace bra and “onesie.”
According to the lawsuit, he told her, “I think you look s*xy” in a way that made her feel exposed and objectified. When she pushed back, saying that wasn’t the vibe she was going for, he allegedly shot back, “Sorry I missed the HR meeting.”
Baldoni’s team presents a different version of events
But Baldoni’s legal team tells a totally different story. They released texts and documents that make him seem almost awkwardly shy about their on-set interactions.
He even says Lively was so comfortable around him that she openly breastfed in front of him — including during meetings with her husband there.
Lively openly breastfed in front of Baldoni
His lawyers claim that whenever her baby needed to eat, she’d nurse him right there, mid-meeting, without hesitation.
And Baldoni? Apparently, he always looked away, either keeping eye contact with her or turning his head completely.
The debate over an intimacy coordinator
Then there’s the whole thing about the intimacy coordinator. Lively insists she fought hard to have one on set at all times. But Baldoni’s side says he was already on board from the beginning.
He’d even hired one himself — despite the fact that having one isn’t an official requirement, just a suggestion.
And he specifically chose a female coordinator to make sure the intimate scenes were shot from a “female gaze” perspective, since the book’s audience is mostly women.
Lively accuses Baldoni of inappropriate behavior during filming
Lively, though, has other complaints. She claims Baldoni “discreetly bit and sucked” on her lower lip during a scene and “improvised numerous kisses.” At one point, he allegedly whispered, “You smell good.”
She says he insisted on doing way more takes than necessary and didn’t even give her a heads-up about it beforehand.
Baldoni argues Lively refused to cooperate with the intimacy coordinator
Baldoni’s team fires back, saying he was the one trying to keep things professional. According to them, Lively actually refused to work with the intimacy coordinator, leaving Baldoni in the awkward position of meeting alone with the coordinator and then having to relay everything to her.
And apparently, these conversations often happened at Lively’s own home — sometimes while her husband was there. Baldoni’s lawyers say her approach to rehearsing intimate scenes was unusual and made him uncomfortable.
Baldoni’s career before the controversy
Before all this drama, Baldoni was mostly known for playing Rafael Solano on Jane the Virgin. But now, his career is being overshadowed by his messy legal battle with Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
RELATED STORIES
Baldoni’s reputation takes a hit after the allegations
In December, Baldoni actually won the Voices of Solidarity Award from Vital Voices for his work advocating for women.
But weeks later, they took it back after Lively filed complaints, accusing him of walking into her trailer while she was topless, showing her a video of his wife giving birth, and biting her lips during an unscripted kiss.
Lively accuses Baldoni of trying to smear her reputation
Lively also says Baldoni tried to destroy her reputation when she spoke out about what happened. She even pointed to a text from his publicist, Melissa Nathan, that allegedly said, “We can bury anyone.”
Her claims made global headlines, especially after a New York Times exposé came out around the same time, quoting a lot from her complaint.
Baldoni countersues Lively and Reynolds
Baldoni isn’t just sitting back, though. He hit back with a $400 million countersuit, saying Lively and Reynolds were the ones trying to ruin his reputation.
He says she twisted his words and teamed up with publicist Leslie Sloane to spread damaging stories about him. His side argues that any bad press she got was just “organic” — meaning she brought it on herself.
Baldoni takes legal action against The New York Times
And he didn’t stop there. Baldoni also sued The New York Times for $250 million, saying they just took Lively’s version of events at face value and ignored all the evidence that contradicted her claims.
The newspaper, for its part, says they plan to fight back hard in court.
