Justin Baldoni releases unedited 'It Ends With Us' footage, prompting Blake Lively to demand a gag order.

Blake Lively's legal team requested a gag order be put in place against Justin Baldoni's lawyer amidst the escalating legal battle between the "It Ends With Us" co-stars.

Lively's team accused Bryan Freedman of making statements to the media that could harm the jury's impartiality if the actress' sexual harassment allegations against Baldoni were heard in court.

"The letter, obtained by Planet Chronicle Digital, stated that Ms. Lively's counsel has repeatedly cautioned Mr. Freedman about the need to conduct federal litigation in court and in accordance with the rules of professional conduct. However, Mr. Freedman's conduct threatens to prejudice both the Lively Case and the Wayfarer Case by tainting the jury pool, as his statements are deliberately aimed at undermining the character, credibility, and reputation of numerous relevant parties."

The letter, submitted on January 21, presented evidence of Freedman's prior statements and included the release of unaltered footage from "It Ends With Us." Both Lively and Baldoni have asserted that the footage supports their respective claims.

Sources close to Baldoni believe it's grossly unfair to impose a gag order after the "Jane the Virgin" star was allegedly defamed by the New York Times in an article that they say has cost him three jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars. All Baldoni wants to do, the source said, is release videos and text messages to prove the allegations are false.

It is "unbelievable" that Lively would launch a takedown campaign against Baldoni and then request a gag order to prevent him from defending himself.

"[Justin Baldoni's lawyer's] conduct threatens to, and will, materially prejudice both the Lively Case and the Wayfarer Case by tainting the jury pool, because his statements are deliberately aimed at undermining the ‘character, credibility, [and] reputation’ of numerous relevant parties." — Blake Lively's legal team

Baldoni's attorney shared a video of him addressing Lively's claims about a slow-dance scene in his $400 million lawsuit against her and her husband Reynolds.

According to Lively's Dec. 20 sexual harassment filing obtained by Planet Chronicle Digital, Baldoni allegedly leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck while filming a slow dance montage scene, saying, "it smells so good." When Lively objected to this behavior, Baldoni's response was, "I'm not even attracted to you."

Unedited footage of 'It Ends with Us' featuring Blake Lively has been released by Justin Baldoni.

In the video, Baldoni directed the scene while Lively engaged him in conversation about her spray tan. Throughout the nearly 10 minutes of raw footage, Lively stated that it was "more romantic" than just staring at each other. While Baldoni snuggled into Lively's neck, he jokingly asked, "Am I getting beard on you today?" Lively laughed and replied, "I'm probably getting spray tan on you."

Lively replied, "It's not about the smell, it's my body makeup," after Baldoni said, "It smells good."

The videos "captured on May 23, 2023 clearly refute Ms. Lively's characterization of his behavior," as stated at the beginning of the clip. The scene in question was designed to depict the two characters falling in love and yearning to be close to one another. Both actors were behaving appropriately within the context of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism. These are all three takes filmed of the sequence.

Lively's legal team asserted that the unaltered video serves as "evidence" that supports her claims of sexual harassment.

"Justin Baldoni and his lawyer may hope that the latest stunt will help him get ahead of the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is damning. Every frame of the released footage corroborates what Ms. Lively described in Paragraph 48 of her Complaint. The video shows 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."

"Mr. Baldoni improvised every moment of the scene without any prior discussion or consent, and without the presence of an intimacy coordinator. Not only was Mr. Baldoni Ms. Lively's co-star, but he was also the director, head of studio, and her boss."

Ms. Lively's discomfort in the workplace when inappropriately touched is a common experience among women. She tried to deflect the unwanted touching with attempts at levity, but no woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by their employer without their consent.

Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath made detailed allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and more in a complaint filed with the California Civil Rights department and later in federal court.

The "all-hands" meeting before filming began addressed issues such as no more showing nude videos or images of women to Lively, no more mention of Baldoni's previous "pornography addiction," no more discussions about personal experiences with sex, no more descriptions of their own genitalia, no more adding sex scenes outside what was in the original script, no more discussions about Lively's weight or deceased father, and more.

Lively falsely accused Baldoni in an attempt to repair her reputation after the fallout around the movie's press tour.