There may be another hole emerging in Blake Lively’s claims against her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni.
An actor who appeared alongside the actress in the film’s birthing scene referenced in her bombshell sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni is now dumping cold water on her allegations about him and the experience on set.
On Friday’s show, Megyn was joined by attorneys Arthur Aidala and Mark Eiglarsh to discuss the latest development and why it could further undermine Lively’s case.
The Legal Saga
In case you haven’t been keeping up with the drama, here’s the spark notes version: Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department last December claiming Baldoni sexually harassed her during filming It Ends With Us and retaliated against her after she raised issues about his on-set behavior. The following day, The New York Times published a detailed report sympathetic to Lively’s accusations.
On New Year’s Eve, the actress formally filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Baldoni, his publicist, his production company (Wayfarer Studios), and other defendants. That same day, Baldoni responded with a $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times for its reporting on Lively’s allegations. He followed it up in January with a $400 million suit against Lively, Reynolds, and their publicist, accusing them of extortion and defamation, among other claims.
In February, both sides agreed they were not interested in mediation to settle the dueling lawsuits, and a judge scheduled a trial for March 2026. In the meantime, Lively filed an amended complaint in New York federal court claiming multiple women felt uncomfortable on the set of It Ends With Us as a result of Baldoni’s behavior.
Actor Speaks Out
One of Lively’s complaints stems from a scene in the movie in which her character gives birth in a hospital room with Baldoni’s character and a doctor present. Here are the accusations as written in the lawsuit:
“…On the day of shooting the scene in which Ms. Lively’s character gives birth, Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath [his business partner] suddenly pressured Ms. Lively to simulate full nudity, despite no mention of nudity for this scene in the script, her contract, or in previous creative discussions. Mr. Baldoni insisted to Ms. Lively that women give birth naked… Ms. Lively disagreed, but felt forced into a compromise that she would be naked from below the chest down.
When the birth scene was filmed, the set was chaotic, crowded, and utterly lacking in standard industry protections for filming nude scenes… Mr. Baldoni also failed to close the set, allowing non-essential crew to pass through while Ms. Lively was mostly nude with her legs spread wide in stirrups and only a small piece of fabric covering her genitalia… Ms. Lively was not provided with anything to cover herself with between takes until after she had made multiple requests. Ms. Lively became even more alarmed when Mr. Baldoni introduced his ‘best friend’ to play the role of the OBGYN, when ordinarily, a small role of this nature would be filled by a local actor. Ms. Lively felt that the selection of Mr. Baldoni’s friend for this intimate role, in which the actor’s face and hands were in close proximity to her nearly nude genitalia for a birth scene, was invasive and humiliating…”
Well, the actor in question, Adam Mondschein, is now speaking out and suggesting Lively mischaracterized what happened. He told Page Six he wouldn’t speculate about the actress’ motives but “was surprised to read her description of the scene” because his experience was “very different” from what was described.
In response to Lively’s claim that she was “nearly nude,” Mondschein told the outlet her costume “included a full hospital gown, black shorts and torso-covering prosthetic to make her appear pregnant in addition to whatever personal garments she chose.” He also claimed she “never complained or expressed discomfort at any point because nothing unusual or improper occurred” and called the shoot “entirely professional.”
Additionally, Mondschein took issue with the way the lawsuit framed his background. The 49 year old has a bachelors of fine arts in acting from the University of Maryland and a master’s of fine arts in acting from UCLA. He had more than 10 acting credits before It Ends With Us, had toured with the Tony Award-winning Acting Company, and attended the British American Dramatic Academy’s Midsummer in Oxford program on a full scholarship.
“Ms. Lively’s insinuations regarding my qualifications are offensive, as my bonafides are easily searchable online,” he told Page Six. “I was, in fact, a local hire (my wife and I are from New York and spend significant time there). As such, I, like any actor accepting that contract, was required to cover my own travel and living expenses in connection with the job.”
Mondschein said he would “answer truthfully” if called to testify at trial, “in particular, by noting that Ms. Lively was not ‘nearly nude’ in the scene we shot together.”
What It Means
The actor’s take on what happened is yet another wrinkle in Lively’s case. “The problem is her allegations in her complaint do not seem to match up with not just what Justin is saying but with what independent people who have no ax to grind with Blake Lively are saying,” Megyn noted. “In her defense, maybe the [raw footage] will show [what she said] and this guy will be proven wrong… but he sounds like somebody the jury is going to like.”
Eiglarsh believes this could prove to be hugely effective evidence for the defense. “Arthur and I, who are artists in creating reasonable doubt, will tell the jury that if there is reasonable doubt created as to one allegation, while we might not be able to disprove the others, it shows… that the person was caught in a lie and they are willing to manufacture allegations – at least as it relates to some things – and so you can disregard your entire testimony,” he explained. “So, yes, I think this is colossal.”
Aidala agreed, especially since this is civil litigation. “It’s not even reasonable doubt under these circumstances. It is a lesser standard,” he noted. “And the bottom line is, when you’re on the plaintiff side, before you make these claims, you better do… your own investigation work… It sounds like from this witness – who sounds like a very credible guy – that [Lively] either lied to her lawyer or the lawyer didn’t do her homework.”
You can check out Megyn’s full Kelly’s Court with Aidala and Eiglarsh by tuning in to episode 1,047 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.