Justin Baldoni’s lawyers have claimed that Blake Lively improvised an unscripted kiss in a deleted scene from It Ends With Us.
Baldoni’s legal team alleged that on May 19, 2023, Lively, 38, “oversaw a scene she herself added to the script, in which her character kissed Baldoni’s character in every take,” according to the Wayfarer parties’ motion for summary judgment obtained by Us Weekly on Thursday, November 13. His lawyers, however, claimed there was “no kiss” in the movie’s script.
Footage of the unscripted moment was disclosed as an exhibit with the court filing. The one-minute clip, shared by People on Thursday, showed Baldoni, 41, and Lively in character as Ryle and Lily, respectively, as they filmed a hospital scene. Lively walked up to Baldoni, handed him a small notebook and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before walking away.
Us Weekly reached out to reps for Lively for comment.
Baldoni’s filing comes after Lively previously sued her costar and director, as well as others, for sexual harassment and retaliation, which Baldoni has denied.
Lively met with Baldoni and producers in January 2024 after the Hollywood strikes ended to discuss the continuation of It Ends With Us filming, where she presented a list of conditions for returning to work. One of those conditions was “no more improvising of kissing,” Lively’s December 2024 filing against Baldoni revealed.
Baldoni’s team suggests that the deleted scene proves Lively had engaged in improvised kisses before that meeting.
In January, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman released behind-the-scenes footage that purportedly showed the actor and his costar having friendly banter in between takes while filming a romantic It Ends With Us scene. Lively’s team argued that the footage showcased several “improvised” moments, including “Mr. Baldoni 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.”
Baldoni’s lawyers addressed the accusations of unscripted kisses in his $400 million lawsuit filed against Lively in January, which has since been dismissed. His team claimed that the only kiss scenes filmed before the strike were scripted.
“Lively also complains that there was inappropriate and improvised kissing during the first period of filming, before the strike break. But in fact, the only two kissing scenes filmed during the initial filming period were both scenes that included kisses as written in the script. These kissing scenes were not improvised,” the court docs read.
Justin Baldoni believes Blake Lively had an influence on how his It Ends With Us costars treated him. According to Baldoni’s new $400 million lawsuit obtained by Us Weekly on Thursday, January 16, Lively allegedly “induced the other cast members to shun Baldoni, in an early attempt to give fans the impression that Baldoni had […]
Baldoni and Lively are both expected to testify in trial in March 2026. In his filing on Thursday, Baldoni asked the judge to rule in their favor without proceeding to a trial, but a ruling has not yet been made.
Baldoni’s most recent filing came one day after Lively’s team filed documents on Wednesday, November 12, claiming that multiple individuals “were involved in directly or indirectly” of “amplifying, boosting or suppressing” information “to influence the online social and media narrative regarding them, including by way of criticizing and propounding false narratives about Ms. Lively’s allegedly problematic on-set behavior, and/or being a ‘bully’ or ‘mean girl.’”
