Justin Baldoni makes rare public outing with family at Dancing With the Stars
Justin Baldoni stepped back into public view on Tuesday, Oct. 13, taking seats in the audience for Dancing With the Stars' Super Bowl Night.
He was joined by his wife Emily Baldoni and their two daughters. The family attended as special guests of co-host Julianne Hough, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Cameras picked out the group early in the broadcast. The cutaway came just after Maura Higgins and pro partner Mark Ballas performed the night's first dance.
It was a football-themed edition of the ABC competition series, as noted by Just Jared. By the end of the night, Guillermo Rodriguez and pro dancer Witney Carson were eliminated.
The invitation was a personal one. Hough is a longtime family friend of the Baldonis, Page Six reported. The connection goes back to Baldoni's 2012 docuseries My Last Days, a short documentary series in which Hough appeared.
News of the visit broke hours before the broadcast. Page Six, in a report by Lanae Brody published at 7:00 p.m. ET on Oct. 13, said Baldoni would attend the taping as Hough's guest. The appearance was then confirmed on air when the family was shown in the crowd.
The outing was a rare one. Baldoni has kept a low public profile during a nearly two-year legal dispute with his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively.
Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the film and alleged a smear campaign against her. Baldoni denied the claims. The Hollywood Reporter noted that a judge dismissed Lively's sexual harassment claims in April, with the parties settling their remaining claims in May ahead of trial.
In a July video posted to Instagram with his wife, Baldoni said the couple had not spoken publicly for the better part of two years to let the justice system run its course.
For viewers, the moment was brief. No speech. No performance. Just a family night out in the seats, with the show moving on to its dances and its weekly elimination.
