Blake Lively has secured a significant legal victory in her ongoing sexual harassment lawsuit against It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni, as a federal judge ordered a producer to hand over crucial evidence in the case.
Unexpected Reunion Amid Legal Battle
The legal developments come as Lively experienced a heartwarming reunion with former Gossip Girl co-star Margaret Colin. The 67-year-old actress, who played mother to Leighton Meester's character Blair Waldorf in the hit CW series, revealed she recently had a "really wild" chance encounter with Lively on the streets of New York.
Colin told Us Weekly that the meeting was completely random, which she found "hysterical because she's such a big star now." She described the moment as "such a big bear hug on the streets of New York" and noted that Lively was simply having lunch in a café at the time.
The veteran actress also provided a rare update on Lively's wellbeing amid the intense legal proceedings, revealing that the 38-year-old mother of four is "a happy mom, and she's doing really good." Lively resides in New York City with her husband Ryan Reynolds, 49, and their four children.
Major Legal Breakthrough in Harassment Case
In a substantial development for Lively's lawsuit, US District Judge Lewis J. Liman has ordered It Ends With Us producer Jamey Heath to turn over all footage of his wife Natasha's home birth within three days. The ruling represents a major step forward for Lively's case against Baldoni and his production company.
According to legal documents obtained by The Daily Mail, Lively alleges that Heath approached her and her assistant on set and began playing a video showing "a fully nude woman with her legs spread apart." The actress stated she initially believed she was being shown pornography and immediately stopped him.
Heath then allegedly explained that the video depicted his wife giving birth. When Lively asked if his wife knew he was sharing the video, he reportedly responded, "She isn't weird about this stuff," as if suggesting Lively was unusual for objecting to the content.
Conflicting Accounts and Court Ruling
The legal battle centres around dramatically different accounts of what occurred on set. Heath denies showing Lively any birth footage and insists he only showed a post-birth video of himself, his wife and their newborn baby.
However, Judge Liman ruled that because Lively maintains she was shown explicit birth footage while Heath claims she was not, the complete footage may contain evidence supporting Lively's account and directly contradicting Heath's version of events.
In his six-page memorandum and order filed in the Southern District of New York, Judge Liman wrote that "the additional footage should have been produced" and emphasised that Lively's request covers any documents or communications relating to the allegations.
The judge acknowledged the videos are "extremely sensitive and deeply personal" and will remain protected by strict confidentiality measures, ensuring they do not become public. However, he determined that sensitivity alone wasn't sufficient to shield the material from the discovery process.
Background of the Legal Dispute
Lively launched her lawsuit against Baldoni, 41, his production company Wayfarer Studios, and other collaborators in December last year. The complaint alleges sexual harassment, retaliatory conduct, and intentional infliction of emotional stress during filming of the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel.
In response to Lively's allegations, Baldoni and Heath previously accused the actress of making an "outrageous and knowingly false suggestion" that she was shown pornography or naked images. They maintained that Heath attempted to show Lively a video demonstrating the director's vision for a birthing scene in the film.
Baldoni had filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, her publicist, and The New York Times, but this counterclaim was dismissed in June, leaving Lively's sexual harassment lawsuit as the sole remaining case.
It Ends With Us earned $148 million at the domestic box office and $350 million globally, though the film's commercial success has been overshadowed by the serious allegations between its stars. The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for both Lively and Baldoni for comment.
