Despite Justin Baldoni‘s efforts to maintain his favourable reputation in the public eye, the It Ends With Us star has experienced quite the downfall since the legal allegations filed against him by his co-star Blake Lively earlier this week.
Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and alleged that he orchestrated a public relations effort to “destroy” her reputation. Now, as a result of the allegations, Baldoni has found himself being stripped of awards, dropped by his agent and even sued by former publicists for his alleged behaviour, despite categorically denying the allegations.
So, let’s see what exactly has happened since Lively’s legal complaint went public.
Justin Baldoni stripped of an award
In early December, Baldoni was honoured with the Voices of Solidarity award by a women’s leadership organisation called Vital Voices. The award is to recognise “remarkable men who have shown courage and compassion in advocating on behalf of women and girls”.
On December 23, Vital Voices rescinded Baldoni’s award after learning about Lively’s allegations.
“We learned through news reports about a lawsuit brought by Blake Lively against Mr. Baldoni, his publicists and others that is disturbing and alleges abhorrent conduct,” Vital Voices’ said in a statement.
“The communications amongst Mr. Baldoni and his publicists included in the lawsuit — and the PR effort they indicate — are alone, contrary to the values of Vital Voices and the spirit of the Award,” the statement continued.
“We have notified Mr. Baldoni that we have rescinded this award.”
Oooft!
His podcast co-host ditched him
Since 2021, Baldoni has co-hosted a podcast called The Man Enough Podcast with journalist Liz Plank and Jamey Heath — the CEO of his production company Wayfarer Studios who is also named in Lively’s legal complaint.
The podcast was created to explore “what it means to be a man today and how rigid gender roles have affected all people”.
Following Lively’s filings, Plank took to Instagram to announce that she would no longer take part of The Man Enough Podcast.
“I’m writing to you today to let you know that I have had my representatives inform Wayfarer that I will no longer be co-hosting The Man Enough podcast. Thank you for trusting me with your hearts and stories, for holding space for mine, and for making this show what it was,” Plank said in a statement.
“As this chapter closes for me, I remain committed to the values we’ve built together. Thank you for being here, for trusting me, and for being by my side for the last four years.
“We all deserve better, and I know that together, we can create it. I will have more to share soon as I continue to process everything that has happened. In the meantime, I will continue to support everyone who calls out injustice and holds the people standing in their way accountable.”
Justin Baldoni’s agent dropped him
Justin Baldoni has reportedly been dropped by his agent after the news hit about Lively’s legal filing.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Baldoni was dropped by the talent management agency William Morris Endeavor (WME), which also represents Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds.
To make matters more juicy, the report came mere hours after Lively’s lawsuit was filed. However, WME has not commented.
Sued by his former publicist
If you thought Baldoni’s legal battles couldn’t get any worse, you thought wrong. Baldoni’s former publicist Steph Jones has filed her own lawsuit against her former client.
Baldoni was working with Jones’ public relations group Jonesworks until he dropped her firm in August, a few months into a year-long deal. Now, Jones is accusing the Jane The Virgin actor, his company and his current publicity team of a contract breach.
Plus, Jones is suing former Jonesworks employee Jennifer Abel and publicist Melissa Nathan over claims that they implemented Jones in the alleged smear campaign against Lively.
According to Jones, Abel used to work for her but was fired when she discovered her allegedly stealing company documents in order to start her own business. Jones claims that when Abel returned her company phone, she found text evidence that they were complicit in the smear campaign.
“To this day, Abel and Nathan continue to point the finger falsely at Jones now that their own misconduct is coming to light, and to defame and attack Jones in the industry,” the lawsuit states, per Variety.
Co-stars are speaking out against him
In what might be the biggest cincher, Baldoni’s It Ends With Us co-stars are taking sides with Lively.
During the press run for the film, Baldoni didn’t take any pictures with the rest of the cast. Although it was a little detail, it was one of the biggest indicators that shit was going down between the cast on set. Shortly after, many of Baldoni’s colleagues unfollowed him on Instagram.
Now that the allegations are out in the open, It Ends With Us key players, and other big industry figures, are siding with Lively.
In a statement to TODAY, Jenny Slate made her allegiance known.
“As Blake Lively’s castmate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation,” she said.
“Blake is a leader, loyal friend and a trusted source of emotional support for me and so many who know and love her.
“What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing and wholly threatening. I commend my friend, I admire her bravery and I stand by her side.”
It Ends With Us star Brandon Sklenar also spoke out in support of Lively by sharing the original report by The New York Times on his Instagram story, writing “For the love of god read this”.
Previously, It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover also spoke out in support of Lively. At first, she shared a picture of them hugging on her Instagram Stories with the caption: “You have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met,” wrote the best-selling author. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
She followed that up by sharing a post by Lively’s former Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants co-stars America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel on her Instagram Grid.
“I wanted to show support, but I had anxiety thinking of putting my post about Blake in my feed and sending myself into a mental spiral from the inevitable comments,” Hoover wrote in the caption.
“They can be vile, and over the last year or two, there’s been a huge shift in my attitude toward social media. I used to share so much of my life, every single day, but that all changed when I noticed people weren’t necessarily following me out of interest, but rather to tear me down.”
Lively has also seen support from Amber Heard, Amy Schumer and Bart Johnson. You can read about all the celebrities backing up Lively HERE.
On December 22, Blake Lively accused Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment on set and strategising a campaign to “destroy” her reputation. The lawsuit was filed in conjunction with the release of a bombshell article by The New York Times which investigated Lively’s claims that Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios engaged with a “multi-tiered plan” to damage the actor’s reputation.
The post Justin Baldoni’s Career Has Taken Several Huge Hits Since Blake Lively Allegations & Rightfully So appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
