Justin Baldoni’s career is on a downward spiral following the lawsuit

On Friday, December 20, news broke that actor Blake Lively had filed a legal complaint against her. It ends with us director and co-star Justin Baldoni. complaint it contained accusations of sexual harassment and a “multi-part” social media revenge campaign to “destroy” her, coordinated by a crisis PR team.

An explosive New York Times The exposé containing leaked text messages between Baldoni and his PR team apparently backed up the actor’s claim that an elaborate PR takedown led to a avalanche of bad press during her promotional tour for It ends with us. The article contained quoted text messages between Baldoni and his publicists. At the time of this writing, it’s been a week since Lively’s lawsuit became public, and already Baldoni is facing increasing fallout from Hollywood and his legal troubles are mounting.

Who is named in Blake Lively’s legal complaint?

Justin Baldoni is one of several in Blake Lively’s legal complaint, which names James Heath, CEO of production company Wayfarer Studios and lead producer of the film, and publicists Melissa Nathan and her agency The Agency Group, Jennifer Abel, as his publicist. Baldoni and her agency RWA Communications and Jed Wallace and his agency Street Relations Inc.

Melissa Nathan is a crisis PR expert who worked for Johnny Depp in his time defamation case successful against ex-wife Amber Heard. There are also between 1-100 accused “does” in the file. “Does” is a legal term used to describe a number of anonymous parties.

All the accusers vehemently deny Lively’s claims. Baldoni’s PR team said the text messages only outlined script planning and that the activity described would only have been put into place if Lively had made complaints about Baldoni that she raised in a private meeting with Wayfarer Studios , Baldoni and her husband Ryan Reynolds, public.

In a statement distributed to several outlets, incl Rolling Stone, Hollywood Reporterand US WeeklyBaldoni’s legal representative, Bryan Freedman, called the allegations “disgraceful”, “serious and categorically false”.

Despite this and the number of other people named in the case, Baldoni appears to be bearing the brunt of the allegations and has faced Hollywood backlash and mounting legal problems.

Here’s a timeline of the fallout for Justin Baldoni so far.

He was dropped by his agency

Conformable The Hollywood Reporter Justin Baldoni’s agency William Morris Endeavor (WME), which represents Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, dropped Baldoni just hours after Lively’s complaint became public.

His former publicist, Steph Jones, is suing him

Justin Baldoni will no doubt need new PR representation this time around, but if he’s hoping to draw from a roller-dex of past contacts, he’ll be out of luck.

Baldoni’s former publicist, Steph Jones, filed a breach of contract lawsuit against him, his company and his current publicity team. As reported Variety Jones and her PR group, Joneswork, had been working on a several-year contract with Baldoni that called for her to pay him $25,000 a month. Instead, he quit her firm in August 2024. Appropriate The New York Times Jones is also suing her former Joneswork employee Jennifer Abel and Baldoni’s wider PR team.

Jones claims Able was fired after she stole documents to start her own PR company. Publicist Melissa Nathan and Baldoni’s extensive PR team are also named in her case. She alleges that the PR campaign against Lively was implemented behind her back and now they are trying to blame it on her. “To this day, Abel and Nathan continue to falsely point the finger at Jones now that their misconduct is coming to light and to defame and attack Jones in the industry,” the complaint states.

Podcast co-host Liz Plank dumped him

Baldoni co-hosted a podcast Man Enough with journalist Liz Plank and Jamey Heath, the CEO of her production company Wayfarer, who is also named in Lively’s complaint, from 2021. The podcast explores “what it means to be a man today and how rigid gender roles have affected all people. Following the complaint plan posted on Instagram to her 631,000 followers explaining that she will no longer appear on Man Enough podcast.

“I am writing today to let you know that I have had my representative inform Wayfarer that I will no longer be co-hosting Man Enough podcast. Thank you for entrusting me with your hearts and stories, for holding space for me, and for making this show what it was.” “As this chapter closes for me, I remain committed to the values ​​we have built together. Thank you for being here, for believing in me and for standing by my side for the last four years.”

Plank did not explicitly address the allegations against Baldoni and Heath directly, but added:

“We all deserve better and I know that together we can create it. I’ll have more to share as I continue to process everything that happened. In the meantime, I will continue to support all those who call out injustice and hold the people who stand in their way accountable.”

He was stripped of the Voices of Solidarity Award

On December 9, Baldoni received “Voices of Solidarity” from the non-profit organization Vital Voices. This global non-profit organization focuses on empowering women. The award celebrates “remarkable men who have shown courage and compassion in advocating for women and girls”.

As reported BBC, the organization announced on December 23 that the award would be rescinded following Lively’s allegations of “abhorrent behavior” that was contrary to Vital Voices’ values.

At the time, Baldoni posted on Instagram that he was “deeply honored and humbled” by the award. “My hope is that we can teach boys, while they’re still young, that vulnerability is strength, sensitivity is a superpower, and empathy makes them strong,” he wrote.

Elizabeth Day deleted an episode of the podcast with Justin Baldoni

In December, Elizabeth Day, host of the popular podcast how to fail interviewed Justin Baldoni. The podcast notes described Justin Baldoni as “intelligent, empathetic and incredibly eloquent”. Day shared a statement on Instagram on Tuesday explaining that she chose to delete the Dec. 4 interview.

“We have made the decision to remove the recent How To Fail interview with Justin Balondi from all platforms while the disturbing allegations made against him in Blake Lively’s recent lawsuit are fully investigated. Everyone has the right to a safe workplace. Every woman has the right to dignity in the workplace. Every form of abuse should be denounced and I salute the people who have the courage to do so. Elizabeth.”

As reported TMZ, Baldoni discussed his adult ADHD diagnosis in the episode and shared his “near breakdown” during production It ends with us.

It ends with us. The distributors condemned his alleged behavior

Onlookers were stunned during the press tour for It ends with us that the film’s director and lead actor did not take any photos with his co-star or the book’s author, Colleen Hoover. They also noted that Baldoni’s colleagues have been dissing him on Instagram. Now, the cast members are rallying around Blake Lively.

In a statement to Today, Jenny Slate, who played Ryle’s sister Justin Baldoni in the film, expressed her support for Lively.

“As a co-star and friend of Blake Lively, I offer my support as she takes action against those who are said to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation. Blake is a leader, a loyal friend, and a trusted source of emotional support to me and the many who know and love her. What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing and downright menacing. I praise my friend, I admire her courage and I stand by her.”

Star Brandon Skenlar, who played Lively’s character Lily Bloom’s love interest for the film, also voiced his support for the investigation published in The New York Times, writing, “For the love of God, read this.”

It ends with us author Colleen Hoover, along with a host of other celebrities, including Amber Heard, Amy Schumer and herself The Sisterhood of the Travel Pants cast mates, also rally around Blake Lively.

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Ruby Feneley

Senior Writer

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney (English Literature/Gender and Cultural Studies), Ruby began her career in Australian media as a media and marketing reporter for Umbrella after a short stint working in fashion marketing in New York. A former makeup artist, she quickly transitioned into beauty journalism and held several in-house positions as a beauty editor. Ruby’s writing can be found in print and digital titles, incl dumbfounded, GRAZIA, Sydney Morning Herald, Age, Australian Financial Review, Body+Soul, Refinery29, POPSUGAR, marie claire and elle. Now as a senior writer for marie claire and ELLE Australiashe loves covering internet subcultures, TikTok trends, sex and relationships, and fashion as much as she loves scouring the shopping aisles for the best non-sticky lip gloss and finding the perfect pencil for a fake freckle.

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