“Dancing With the Stars” judge Carrie Ann Inaba has spoken out following Justin Baldoni‘s July 8 Instagram video in which he publicly spoke for the first time about his legal saga with his “It Ends With Us” costar Blake Lively, and her words seem to indicate that she’s firmly in Baldoni’s corner.
Carrie Ann is not the only “Dancing With the Stars” personality to rally around Baldoni. Derek Hough and his wife Hayley follow him on Instagram, and Hayley has “liked’ his last 3 Instagram posts.
GettyIn the video, Baldoni and his wife Emily said they are feeling “gratitude” for the love and support they’ve received over the past 19 months despite the “injustice and the pain” they experienced.
Carrie Ann Inaba Supports Justin Baldoni in a Heartwarming Comment
Carrie Ann responded in the comments by writing, “It’s great to see you both back here sharing your truths again. I personally have missed what you put into the world…my heart is full seeing you guys again.”
She went on, “Healing takes time…and it takes community. Sending you both soooo much love.” She added a red heart at the end of her message.
Carrie Ann is not the only “Dancing With the Stars” personality who has shown Justin love.
GettyJustin’s two female co-leads from his breakthrough CW comedy “Jane the Virgin” also both hit up the comments to show their support. Gina Rodriguez, who played the titular character Jane Villanueva and Baldoni’s love interest, wrote, “love you friends. Por vida.” Por vida means “for life” in Spanish.
Yael Grobglas, who played the estranged wife of Baldoni’s character in the sitcom, simply wrote, “I love you lots,” adding three hearts to show her affection.
A Lack of Context May Have Contributed to Justin Baldoni’s Actions on the Set Being Misrepresented
The dispute between Lively and Baldoni seemed to arise from a struggle for creative control of the film, to which Baldoni owned the rights, and later spiraled into accusations of harassment on the set. However, Baldoni’s countersuit against Lively maintains that his actions were taken out of context and twisted to paint him in a bad light.
In one example, Blake’s lawsuit suggested that Justin had nefarious motives for suggesting the addition of new sex scenes to the script, but it was later revealed that female Sony executive Ange Giannetti had written Baldoni, who was also the director, a frantic letter demanding he add “more heat” to the film and ensure that it was “adult” enough to earn an R-rating for sensuality. Because the 2016 Colleen Hoover novel on which the books is based is famous for its explicit romance scenes, Giannetti explained the audience was expecting something “grown-up and sexy.”
In another example, Blake complained that Baldoni had hired a “friend” to play the doctor during her character’s birth scene, suggesting a lack of professionality. However, it was later revealed the actor in question, Adam Mondschein,
These and many more clarifications were laid out by Baldoni in his countersuit for defamation against Lively. That cause was dismissed because Judge Lewis Liman ruled that the content of Lively’s lawsuit constituted legally protected speech under California’s Protecting Survivors From Weaponized Defamation Lawsuits Act (AB 933), and that Baldoni had failed to sufficiently establish that her actions amounted to illegal extortion.
Baldoni had an opportunity to amend his claims and refile, but he elected not to do, instead letting the deadline pass to refile.
Lively is currently seeking to recover around $8 million in legal fees related to her defense against Baldoni’s countersuit under a new and controversial California law known as Civil Code Section 47.1. It is controversial because it aggressively penalizes anyone who sues an accuser for defamation after being accused of sexual harassment. While designed to protect survivors from retaliatory lawsuits, critics argue the law is easily weaponized to silence the accused by making them financially liable for their accuser’s legal defense fees if they are not victorious in a defamation suit.
