Justin Baldoni’s wife, Emily, has broken her silence amid her husband’s messy ongoing legal battle with Blake Lively.
On Friday, Emily, 40, shared a sweet family photo featuring Justin and their two kids, Maiya, nine, and Maxwell, seven, alongside a telling message to mark his 41st birthday.
The photo appears to have been taken during their vacation in Hawaii – and Emily made it clear she will always “choose” her husband.
“Happy birthday my love. Celebrating the man, husband, and father that you are. I’d choose you again and again,” she penned.
Emily’s message comes after Justin’s lawyers released unedited footage from It Ends With Us with the intention of disproving Blake’s claim that he made her uncomfortable during filming.
On December 20, Blake filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing Justin – who directed and co-starred in the film – of creating a hostile work environment through sexual harassment, among other things, and using “sinister retaliatory tactics” in an effort to smear her name.
© InstagramOn New Year’s Eve, she filed a lawsuit against Justin in a New York federal court, mirroring her earlier claims. In addition to Justin, she is suing his production company Wayfarer Studios, and publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel.
The video released by Justin’s lawyers on January 21 features a dance scene between Blake and Justin in the movie, which she claims was unprofessional because Justin nuzzled her neck.
© GC ImagesHowever, his lawyers claim the footage proves both actors were behaving professionally. They said in a statement: “Ms Lively’s complaint alleges that during a scene Mr Baldoni and Ms Lively were filming for a slow dance montage, Mr Baldoni was behaving inappropriately.
“The following videos captured on May 23, 2023, clearly refute Ms Lively’s characterization of his behavior. The scene in question was designed to show the two characters falling in love and longing to be close to one another.
© GC Images“Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism. These are all three takes filmed of the sequence.”
After the clip surfaced, Blake’s team quickly hit back with a statement on why it proves her harassment claims in their eyes.
“Justin Baldoni and his lawyer may hope that this latest stunt will get ahead of the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is damning,” the statement read.
© GC Images“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.”
The New York Times broke the news of the lawsuit on December 21, claiming Justin hired a crisis PR team to “bury” Blake and intentionally slander her credibility and reputation.
© Getty ImagesDays later, Justin filed a libel lawsuit against the publication’s coverage of Blake’s accusations, claiming it pushed an “unverified and self-serving narrative”.
He also filed a $400 million lawsuit against Blake, her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, and their publicist, claiming defamation and extortion.
Justin has denied all allegations and last month, his lawyer Brian Freedman called them “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt”.
