Justin Baldoni has received praise from his mom. The actor-and-director is suing his ‘It Ends With Us’ co-star Blake Lively for extortion and defamation in response to her lawsuit accusing him and his production company of sexual harassment and trying to destroy her reputation, and on his 41st birthday on Friday (24.01.25), Sharon Baldoni reassured her son that “justice and truth will shine” as she pointedly highlighted the positive atmosphere that surrounded his work on TV show ‘Jane The Virgin’.
She wrote on Instagram: “Happy Birthday Justin ~ remembering a wonderful moment after the final ending of “Jane The Virgin”- a moment where joy and love permeated the set, where friendships and family were born and kindness and integrity permeated the hearts of all the actors and crew, where sadness only entered because it was the final scene of a wonderful journey~ and the beginning of the rest of our lives.
“A happy loving and generous memory with hearts exploding with possibilities. Life has its moments and also its surprises- as you keep your integrity through it all Justice and truth will shine today and into eternity.
“I love you more than you will ever know! Happy Birthday my beautiful boy! May God continue to bless you in truth.(sic)”
Justin’s birthday also prompted a public show of support from his wife Emily Baldoni, who shared a photo of them kissing by the ocean while holding their children Maiya, nine, and seven-year-old Maxwell.
She wrote on Instagram: “Happy birthday my love. Celebrating the man, husband, and father that you are. I’d choose you again and again.”
Earlier this week, video footage was released which Justin’s team claimed would prove the “mutual respect and professionalism” between the movie’s two leads.
But in response, Blake’s team insisted the video – in which the pair joked about Justin’s nose and her spray tan – simply proved her allegations.
They said in a statement: “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,” reads the statement from Lively’s legal team.
“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.
“Every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy coordinator present.
“Mr. Baldoni was not only Ms. Lively’s co-star, but the director, the head of studio and Ms. Lively’s boss. The video shows Ms. Lively leaning away and repeatedly asking for the characters to just talk.
“Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognise Ms. Lively’s discomfort.
“They will recognise her attempts at levity to try to deflect the unwanted touching. No woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by their employer without their consent.
