Justin Baldoni says Blake Lively improvised kiss as unseen footage from It Ends With Us emerges in legal twist

Never-before-seen footage from It Ends With Us has turned the legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni on its head.

In an explosive development, 41-year-old Baldoni, who directed and starred in the film, accuses 38-year-old Lively of behavior that he claims justifies the lawsuit he filed against her.

Baldoni’s legal team, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail I sent a deleted scene It was something he touted as evidence of sexual harassment on the series’ set, claiming Thursday that evidence showed the actress improvised a kiss during filming.

The one-minute clip, filed as an exhibit in the summary judgment motion on Nov. 13, shows Lively and Baldoni filming a hospital corridor scene in May 2023.

In the footage, Lively’s Lily walks up to Baldoni’s Ryle, grabs his arms, gives him a quick kiss, smiles and walks away.

Baldoni’s legal team said that moment was not written in the script and was not part of the written script.

The filing alleges that the former Gossip Girl star, who is married to Ryan Reynolds, not only approved of the moment, but “surveilled” the scene and “inserted herself into the script where her character kissed Baldoni’s character in every shot, even though there was no kiss in the script.”

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for both Baldoni and Lively.

The one-minute, never-before-seen footage of a hospital corridor scene was filmed in May 2023 and, in a bombshell, Baldoni accuses Lively of behavior that he claims justifies his lawsuit against her.

Lively filed a lawsuit in December 2024 accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment, retaliatory conduct and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He vehemently denied all allegations.

Lively, 38, accused Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment and retaliation, but he vehemently denied the allegations.

As previously reported, with It Ends With Us set to resume filming following the Hollywood strikes, Lively returned to set in January 2024 with a strict checklist for Baldoni and the producers.

One of them, according to her lawsuit: ‘No more impromptu kissing.’

But Baldoni’s team is now pointing to the newly surfaced clip as evidence that Lively participated in the unscripted kiss months earlier.

In January, Baldoni filed a defamation lawsuit against Livley, Reynolds, and The New York Times over an article published about a fight between him and Lively.

It was later rejected by a judge in June.

According to the actor and director’s legal team, the footage shows the actor walking up to Baldoni, grabbing his arms, giving him a quick kiss, smiling and walking away; this moment is nowhere in the shooting script.

Baldoni’s team argues that Lively not only approved of the moment, but also ‘oversaw’ the scene and ‘inserted herself into the script where her character kissed Baldoni’s character in every take, even though there was no kiss in the script.’

Last week, a New York judge inflicted a defeat on Lively when he dismissed her in the courtroom. Allegations against social media strategist Jed Wallace, whom Baldoni’s camp accuses of helping coordinate an online smear effort during the film’s release.

The judge ruled that the legal team failed to show that Wallace, who lives in Austin, Texas, had sufficient ties to be sued in New York.

He vividly accused Baldoni’s team of assigning Wallace to lead an online ‘digital army’ that damaged his reputation on social platforms.

Judge Liman had previously thrown out the allegations but gave his legal team a chance to strengthen the case by proving Wallace’s ties to New York.

In the end, Liman ruled that Lively’s argument was inadequate, but stated that she could still pursue Wallace in Texas.

“The court has determined that Ms. Lively’s claims can and should be brought before a different court,” a spokesperson for Lively told the Daily Mail.

‘Woman. ‘Lively is considering her many options for doing so and looks forward to the trial of all her claims against Baldoni, Heath, Nathan and the other Wayfarer defendants in New York in March.’

In response to the former Gossip Girls lawsuit, Baldoni filed a multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and The New York Times in January of this year. He was later thrown out by a judge.

The unseen footage also follows allegations that Baldoni secretly used technology to orchestrate a smear campaign against his leading lady.

Lawyers for Lively, 38, alleged in a court filing obtained by the Daily Mail on Wednesday that Baldoni and his team of lawyers, agents and public relations experts used digital tricks to conceal critical evidence in legal proceedings.

His team claimed: ‘Defendants hid the ball at every stage of the discovery process, either by failing to produce documents or by improperly concealing them under attorney-client privilege.’

Lively’s lawyers said Baldoni’s team has forced ‘at least twelve discovery-related motions to date’ against them.

A former employee of Baldoni’s at Jonesworks LLC (a PR firm and a third-party defendant in the case) made similar claims in a filing Wednesday. Deadline filed a report after reviewing court documents.

Lively’s attorneys said in court that Baldoni coordinated an effort with partners from Wayfarer Studios and public relations professionals such as Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, employing apps, auto-deleting messages and other digital elements.

Baldoni and his team worked together to attempt to destroy Lively’s reputation through the use of multiple digital sources, including the Signal app; voice notes; Lawyers for the Los Angeles-born actress said in the court paper that she and other software were also found.

Lively’s lawyers said in the lawsuit that Baldoni and his associates took many actions that indicated they were aware that future lawsuits might be filed and tried to conceal information about the case that would not be advantageous if made public.

Details about Signal and other efforts were gleaned from depositions with former Nathan employees, including Katherine Case and Breanna Butler, Deadline reported, citing legal documents it reviewed.

Directed by Baldoni, It Ends With Us became a surprise hit when it was released in 2024.

It Ends With Us grossed $148 million at the domestic box office and $350 million worldwide; but the goodwill the film earned was overshadowed by the public feud between the stars.

The film, which also stars Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar and Kevin McKidd, is adapted from Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel.

The film’s story focused on the toxic relationship between Lily Bloom (played by Lively) and Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni).

According to the film’s logline, Lily ‘overcomes a traumatic childhood to start a new life’ as ‘a chance meeting with a neurosurgeon leads to a connection, but Lily begins to see sides of him that remind her of her parents’ relationship.’