As someone who has been a long-time fan of both Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively, this recent turn of events leaves me utterly disheartened. I’ve always admired Baldoni for his inspiring work on “Jane The Virgin” and his humanitarian efforts through Wayfarer Studios. On the other hand, Lively has been a beacon of strength and talent in the industry.
Justin Baldoni has been dropped by WME.
Over the weekend, I found myself in the unfortunate position of making the difficult choice to sever ties with the director and lead actor of “It Ends with Us,” following a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint filed by Blake Lively against him on Friday evening, as verified by multiple sources.
On Saturday, it was reported to Baldoni about the decision, according to sources. Additionally, WME represents Lively, and given the gravity of the accusations in Lively’s claim, the agency believed immediate action was necessary.
WME had no comment.
In a copy of the lawsuit obtained by EbMaster, Lively claimed that Baldoni had caused her and her family “significant emotional distress” by allegedly engaging in sexual harassment and subsequently launching a damaging public campaign against her following the release of “It Ends With Us.” Not long after this news emerged, Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, denounced the allegations as both “disgraceful” and “completely untrue.
A grievance was filed with California’s Civil Rights Department stating that a meeting took place in January 2024 between Lively and Baldoni to discuss her resuming work on the “It Ends with Us” production following the conclusion of both WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. It is said that Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s spouse, was also in attendance at this meeting.
In the meeting, Lively alleged that Baldoni had talked about her weight inappropriately to her trainer, discussed personal matters related to his sex life, and pressured her to reveal her religious beliefs. Additionally, she asserted that Jamey Heath, a producer of “It Ends with Us” and CEO of Wayfarer Studios, exhibited a video of his wife giving birth to her.
According to the claim, Lively asserted that Baldoni persisted in adding extra sex scenes despite her request, which was agreed upon by Sony Pictures. Subsequently, Baldoni is said to have orchestrated a “social manipulation” scheme intended to harm Lively’s reputation. We’ve contacted Sony Pictures for their response on the matter.
In the filing, there are additional statements such as Heath and Baldoni admitting to their past struggles with pornography addiction and intruding upon her makeup trailer unexpectedly while she was breastfeeding her newborn child. The complaint also contained emails and messages exchanged between Lively, Baldoni, and his public relations team discussing strategies to counteract Lively’s complaints should they ever surface publicly.
Freedman’s statement to EbMaster says it’s regrettable that Ms. Lively and her associates have made such serious and undeniably false claims against Mr. Baldoni. According to him, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives are making these accusations as a last-ditch effort to improve Ms. Lively’s tarnished reputation, which resulted from her own statements and actions during the film campaign, as well as her interviews and press activities that were open for public viewing in real time and without editing, allowing the internet community to express their own views and opinions.
These allegations are entirely unfounded, excessive, and deliberately sensationalized, aimed at causing harm and perpetuating a story in the media. In anticipation of the film’s marketing campaign, Wayfarer Studios chose to engage a crisis manager beforehand, collaborating with their existing representative from Jonesworks, who represents Stephanie Jones. This move was prompted by the various threats and demands made by Ms. Lively during production, such as threatening not to appear on set or refusing to promote the film. Her actions potentially contributed to its poor performance at release. Additionally, it was found that Ms. Lively enlisted Leslie Sloan from Vision PR, who also represents Mr. Reynolds, to plant untrue and fabricated stories in the media even before the film’s marketing had started. This was another reason why Wayfarer Studios decided to bring on a crisis expert to initiate internal contingency planning, just in case such false narratives needed to be addressed.
The statement suggests that “Wayfarer Studios’ representatives remained passive, only addressing incoming media inquiries for accurate and fair reporting, while keeping an eye on social activity. However, what’s notably absent from the selectively shown communications is proof of any active steps taken with the media or otherwise. Instead, they were engaged in internal strategic planning and private discussions, which is a common practice among PR professionals.
A representative from Lively pointed EbMaster towards a statement she made to The New York Times, where she expressed her hope that her legal action would uncover the dark, vengeful strategies used against individuals who expose wrongdoing, and provide protection for those potentially facing similar targeting.
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2024-12-22 02:46