Justin Baldoni recalled the awkward hug with Britney Spears

Justin Baldonitryout meeting Britney Spears on set is being verified thanks to a resurfaced clip.

During a January 2017 interview Security guardBaldoni, 40, recalled an awkward moment when he interacted with the pop superstar while she was a guest star on Jane the Virgin.

“I know she was a fan of the show,” he recalled. “We were shooting and then a few of us who weren’t in scenes with her came to watch one of her scenes. Since I had tweeted her and she had tweeted me back, I went up to her (too) so I thought we were friends, but we weren’t. I went up and gave her a big hug and I think I scared her.”

After the moment, Baldoni saw his co-stars laugh, leaving the actor to wonder, “Did I just bully Britney Spears?”

Related: Jane the Virgin Cast: Where Are They Now?

The CW’s Jane the Virgin was a telenovela-inspired romantic comedy that captivated fans with its soapy plot twists and love triangles. Created by Jenny Snyder Urman, the Golden Globe-nominated TV show first hit the stage in 2014. and ran for five seasons before its satisfying end. The cast of the series was led by Gina Rodriguez, Justin (…)

“I was a huge Britney Spears fan in high school. What teenager wasn’t?” he asked. “The guest star I was most excited to work with was Britney Spears. And then it turned out that I was not able to work with her. And there were zero scenes with Raphael and Britney Spears – probably by her choice.

Baldoni was played by Rafael Solano Jane the Virgin for nearly 100 episodes between 2014 and 2019 During Season 2, the show welcomed Spears, 43, as a guest star, where she play yourself.

“I had written to her on Twitter. I was going to bring a poster of her Live (from) Las Vegas photography tour and I didn’t because I don’t have one,” Baldoni recalled. “I was joking. But I think she took me seriously.

Us Weekly reached out to Baldoni’s team for comment on the video.

The recovered clip comes as Baldoni finds himself in a legal battle with his own It ends with us costar Blake Lively.

In December 2024 Lively, 37 Baldoni judged for sexual harassment. The lawsuit alleges there was a meeting held to address Lively’s claims that there was a “hostile work environment” on set. She also accused the actor of launching a campaign of “social manipulation” against her to “destroy” her reputation.

Related: Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s alleged feud and lawsuits explained

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s reported split made headlines months before the It Ends With Us actors filed lawsuits. While Lively and Baldoni were promoting the film in August 2024, rumors began to swirl about an alleged feud between the pair. Fans noticed that Lively was promoting the film with some of her co-stars, while Baldoni, who (…)

Baldoni’s lawyer, Brian Friedmancalled Lively’s allegations “completely false, outrageous and intentionally obscene” in a statement to usclaiming that Lively filed the lawsuit to “repair her negative reputation” and “reframe the narrative” of the film’s production.

Baldoni struck back days later with his own workwhere he is listed as one of the 10 plaintiffs judicial New York Times for $250 million after reporting on Lively’s court filing. Baldoni’s lawsuit alleges that Lively conducted a “strategic and manipulative” smear campaign against him and “selective” communications, omitting key details.

Speaker of New York Times said the publication stood by the story and planned to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”