Blake Lively Grabbed Co-Star's Crotch Prior to Suing Justin Baldoni for Harassment: Report

Blake Lively is facing renewed public backlash after a resurfaced clip from 'A Simple Favor' revealed an unscripted scene in which she grabbed co-star Henry Golding's crotch — a moment she admitted to initiating herself.

The revelation has resurfaced amid her ongoing legal war with 'It Ends With Us' co-star Justin Baldoni.

While Lively has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and spearheading a campaign to destroy her public image, his legal response includes a $400 million defamation lawsuit against her, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist Leslie Sloane. As part of the fallout, critics are re-examining Lively's past behavior on set.

The controversial moment from the 2018 film was highlighted in the Blu-Ray commentary, where Lively admitted to improvising the act. "That's always awkward, when you're like, 'Hey nice to meet you! Can I grab your nuts really hard?' Not because I want to, because I feel like she would," Lively said. Director Paul Feig responded during the commentary, "One of my favourite additions you came up with was you grabbed his nuts, and you really went for it too."

The moment was recirculated by lawyer and YouTuber @elsrich, and later by journalist Kjersti Flaa, prompting an outpouring of angry reactions from viewers. One person wrote, "This is absolutely unbelievable! OMG poor Henry looks so uncomfortable. This woman is shameless."

Amid the backlash, Lively is not expected to participate in press events for the upcoming sequel 'Another Simple Favor,' and has only appeared once — at the SXSW Film Festival. Meanwhile, rumors of tension between Lively and co-star Anna Kendrick persist, though director Paul Feig recently dismissed them.

The Lively-Baldoni trial is set to begin on March 9, 2026. All parties deny the allegations made against them.

Tags

Blake Lively, Henry Golding