Court Orders Full Disclosure in Lively's Harassment Claim
In a significant legal development, actress Blake Lively has secured a pivotal victory in her ongoing sexual harassment lawsuit against film producer Jamey Heath. A federal judge has mandated that Heath must turn over all footage of his wife's home birth, a piece of evidence Lively claims is central to her case.
The ruling was delivered on Monday by Judge Lewis J. Liman in the Southern District of New York. In a decisive six-page memorandum and order, Judge Liman directed Heath to produce the complete birth video within three days. This decision came after Lively moved to sanction the producer for his failure to hand over the footage she insists will substantiate her claims.
The Conflicting Accounts of a Disturbing On-Set Incident
At the heart of the dispute are starkly contrasting versions of an incident that allegedly occurred on the set of the film It Ends With Us. Lively's complaint states that Heath approached her and her assistant and began playing a video clip of, in her words, 'a fully nude woman with her legs spread apart'. The actress says she immediately intervened, believing she was being shown pornography.
According to the legal filings, Heath then informed her that the video was not pornography but rather footage of his wife giving birth. Lively alleges she was alarmed and asked if his wife was aware he was sharing the video, to which Heath reportedly replied, 'She isn't weird about this stuff'.
Heath and his legal team offer a different narrative. They firmly deny showing Lively any explicit birth footage. Instead, they insist that what was presented was a short, post-birth video showing himself, his wife, and their newborn baby—a moment they describe as 'beautiful'. They have characterised Lively's allegations as an 'outrageous and knowingly false suggestion'.
Why the Judge Sided with Lively's Request
Judge Liman's ruling hinged on the fundamental principle of discovery in legal proceedings. Because Lively alleges she was shown the birth footage and Heath claims she was not, the judge found that the full, unedited footage may contain critical evidence that either supports Lively's account or directly contradicts Heath's.
The court explicitly rejected Heath's argument that he should only be compelled to produce the specific, brief clip he admits to showing. Judge Liman wrote, 'Because the Court's order encompassed more than the video Heath claims he showed Lively, the additional footage should have been produced.'
The judge did acknowledge the deeply personal and sensitive nature of the videos, placing them under strict confidentiality protections. The footage will not become part of the public record and is shielded by an existing protective order. However, the court concluded that this sensitivity alone was not sufficient grounds to withhold it from the discovery process essential to the lawsuit.
With the three-day deadline now in effect, Lively's legal team is poised to review the complete set of footage. Their analysis will aim to determine whether the material aligns with Lively's account of being shown graphic birth imagery or Heath's description of an innocuous family moment. This evidence is expected to be a cornerstone in the heated legal battle between the former collaborators.
