Justin Baldoni's Mom Breaks Silence in Blake Lively Legal Drama

Justin Baldoni‘s mother has her son’s back.

In the midst of a legal dispute with co-star Blake Lively, who has filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliation, the director of “It Ends With Us” receives a show of solidarity from his mother, Sharon Baldoni.

On Justin’s 41st birthday, she posted on Instagram, “Happy Birthday!” She included an old picture of them, reminiscing about a beautiful moment following the end of Jane The Virgin. This special moment was filled with joy, love, new friendships, family bonds, and a warm sense of kindness and integrity that touched everyone on set, cast, and crew alike.

Sharon added that the post-finale instant brought about a feeling of sadness, as it marked the conclusion of an extraordinary adventure – and the start of the next chapter in our lives. It was a joyful, loving, and generous moment filled with anticipation, like bursting hearts full of potential possibilities.

She went on to say, “Life comes with its ups and downs, along with unexpected events. Maintaining your honesty throughout these times ensures that justice and truth will be revealed, both today and forevermore. I adore you beyond measure! Wishing you a very happy birthday, my dear son! May God’s blessings of truth always be with you!

Justin Baldoni‘s mother has her son’s back.

In response to the ongoing legal dispute between the director of “It Ends With Us” and costar Blake Lively, over accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation, the director’s mother, Sharon Baldoni, has expressed words of encouragement towards him.

On January 24th, the day her son turned 41, she posted on Instagram: “Happy Birthday Justin!” She shared an old photo of them together, reminiscing about a special moment after the end of Jane The Virgin. It was a time filled with joy, love, friendships born, and a sense of camaraderie and integrity that touched everyone on set, from actors to crew members.

Sharon added that the ending scene, being the last of an amazing adventure, brought on feelings of sadness since it marked the conclusion, yet also signaled the start of new chapters filled with joy, love, kindness, and endless opportunities.

She went on saying, “Life comes with its twists and turns, along with unexpected events – but always stay true to yourself. Today, honesty and righteousness will be evident, shining brightly both now and forevermore. I adore you beyond measure! Wishing you a very happy birthday, my precious son! May God’s blessings of truth continue to be bestowed upon you.

On the very same day that Emily Baldoni, Justin’s wife, published a birthday tribute for the director, Sharon made her comments. This was noteworthy because it represented Emily’s initial public statements about her husband since Lively initiated legal action against him back in December.

Emily posted on Instagram a picture of the two of them by the ocean with their children Maiya (9) and Maxwell (7), kissing and hugging. She wrote: “Happy birthday to my love! Celebrating the incredible man, husband, and father that you are. I’d choose you again and again.

The Baldonis have just returned from a trip outside Los Angeles. Justin was spotted sharing his gratitude to a paparazzo (celebrity photographer), as reported by TMZ, for being with his family. Subsequently, he was captured on camera carrying a surfboard in Hawaii.

In her court case, Blake claimed that she, alongside other cast and crew members of “It Ends With Us,” were subjected to intrusive, unwanted, unsuitable, and sexually inappropriate conduct from the director on the film’s 2024 set. Additionally, she implicated Justin for attempting to harm her reputation by collaborating with a crisis PR team.

Via his attorney, Justin has refuted Blake’s accusations. He has also initiated a lawsuit worth $400 million against the actress, along with her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for extortion, defamation, and other misconduct claims. He asserts that Blake and her team orchestrated and carried out a malicious smear campaign against him deliberately.

In response to TopMob News, Blake’s legal team described the director’s lawsuit as “yet another tactic in the playbook of an abuser,” and further explained it as an effort to “deluge public perception with information so heavily that they lose sight of the fact that these actions are a form of retaliation against sexual harassment accusations.

Read on for more about Blake and Justin’s legal battle…

Four months following the theater release of the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book “It Ends With Us,” Blake Lively filed a complaint with California Civil Rights Department (CRD) on December 20, as reported by The New York Times. In the complaint obtained by TopMob News, Justin Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios, its CEO Jamey Heath, cofounder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni’s publicist Jennifer Abel, RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace and Street Relations Inc. were named as defendants.

Lively claimed in her complaint that Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates retaliated against her through a complex press and digital plan after she expressed concerns about alleged misconduct on set. She stated that she, along with other cast and crew members, experienced unwelcome, invasive, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior from Baldoni and Heath.

The actress further asserted that this alleged campaign against her caused significant harm to her personally and professionally. The charges detailed in the complaint include sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to address harassment, aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, false light invasion of privacy, and interference with prospective economic advantage.

The following day, an article emerged in The New York Times, detailing a reported smear campaign orchestrated by Baldoni and his allies, allegedly aimed at Lively – referencing her CRD complaint. In their piece, the publication shared messages from Baldoni’s team, such as publicist Abel and crisis communications specialist Nathan, which were part of the complaint. The website of The New York Times also provided access to the relevant court documents for readers to review. Lively expressed her hopes to the outlet that her legal action would shed light on these underhanded retaliatory tactics used to harm those who speak out against misconduct, ultimately safeguarding others potentially targeted in a similar manner.

Following the release of Lively’s complaint, Bryan Freedman – attorney for Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives – forcefully denied Lively’s allegations. He stated in a New York Times article that it was disgraceful for Lively and her representatives to make such serious and unfounded accusations against Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their associates. This, he claimed, was another desperate attempt by Lively to improve her damaged reputation resulting from her own remarks and actions during the film campaign; public interviews and activities that were open for real-time scrutiny and unedited commentary on social media platforms. Freedman argued these claims were entirely false, excessively sensational, and purposefully malicious with the intention of causing harm and perpetuating a negative narrative in the media.

Furthermore, Freedman defended Wayfarer’s decision to engage a crisis manager, stating that this was done before the marketing campaign for the movie began. He later clarified that despite receiving media inquiries, Wayfarer’s representatives did not take any proactive measures nor retaliate; instead, they merely responded to incoming queries to ensure accurate and balanced reporting, and monitored social activity. Notably absent from the selectively presented correspondence, he pointed out, was evidence of a lack of proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; only internal discussions and private planning to develop strategy were present – which is standard practice among public relations professionals.

After an article by The New York Times, published on December 21st, was confirmed by Ari Emanuel (CEO of Endeavor, the parent company of William Morris Endeavor – WME), it was reported that WME had severed ties with actor Baldoni. However, contrary to what Baldoni later alleged in his lawsuit against The New York Times, WME denied that Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s husband and also a client of WME, played any role in the decision to end their professional relationship with Baldoni. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on January 1st, WME asserted that Baldoni’s former representative was not present at the premiere for Deadpool & Wolverine, and there was no pressure from Reynolds or Lively to drop Baldoni as a client at any time.

After the recent CRD filing by Blake Lively and the subsequent New York Times article, numerous influential figures have expressed their support for her accusations against Baldoni. Among them is the author of “It Ends With Us”, Colleen Hoover.

On Instagram Stories, Hoover wrote on December 21st, “Blake Lively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.” She also linked out to The New York Times article.

Jenny Slate, who played the sister of Baldoni’s character Ryle, also voiced her support for Lively. In a statement to Today on December 23rd, she said, “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 added, “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.”

Brandon Sklenar, a love interest for Lively’s character Lily Bloom, shared a screenshot of the complaint published to The New York Times’ website and linked out to the outlet writing, “For the love of God read this.”

Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn also wrote they stand with her in solidarity.

Liz Plank recently shared on her Instagram that she is no longer co-hosting “The Man Enough Podcast”. She expressed gratitude for her listeners and the community they built together, but did not specify a reason for her departure. This announcement followed closely after Blake Lively’s complaint against Baldoni and his associates at Wayfarer. Plank concluded by stating that she remains committed to the values they built together and will continue to support those who stand up against injustice. She mentioned that she would share more updates soon as she processes recent events.

In a lawsuit filed on December 24th in New York, Stephanie Jones, Baldoni’s former publicist, and her agency Jonesworks LLC accused Baldoni, his company Wayfarer, his current publicist Abel, and crisis communications specialist Nathan of colluding to harm Jones and her business. The lawsuit claims that Abel and Nathan conspired for months to tarnish Jones’s reputation publicly and privately, breach contracts, and steal clients. They allegedly coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to launch a smear campaign against one of Baldoni’s co-stars, then used the ensuing crisis to drive a wedge between Jones and Baldoni, falsely blaming Jones for the smear campaign when she had no involvement.

Abel, who worked at Jonesworks until last summer according to her LinkedIn profile, is accused of continuing to falsely implicate Jones as the culprit now that their own misconduct is being exposed. The suit also alleges that Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer clients of Jonesworks, breached their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and refused to settle the dispute privately in arbitration.

When contacted for comment, the defendants did not respond.

In a statement to Variety on December 23rd, Lively’s legal team revealed they obtained the texts mentioned in The New York Times article through a subpoena issued to Jonesworks. Freedman, who represents both Nathan, Abel, Baldoni, and their respective associates at Wayfarer, further explained that none of his clients were summoned over this matter. He also indicated his intention to file a lawsuit against Jones for disclosing messages from Abel’s phone to Lively’s legal team.

On December 31st, Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace, and Street Relations filed a lawsuit against The New York Times. In this lawsuit, obtained by TopMob News, The New York Times is accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract due to an article about a supposed retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs allegedly conducted against Lively after she expressed concerns about misconduct on set.

The report was labeled as “false” by the plaintiffs, who claim it was based on Lively’s CRD complaint. They further denied the accusations and alleged that messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context.

The lawsuit states, “Despite its claim to have ‘reviewed these along with other documents,’ the Times relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives.”

The plaintiffs also allege “it was Lively, not Plaintiffs, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign.” However, she has denied this.

In response, The New York Times stated it plans to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.” They added, “The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead. Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.

On that very day, I chose to instigate a legal action against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, his company TAG, and Abel in New York. As stated in the court papers obtained by TopMob News, I’m accusing these parties of sexual harassment, retaliation, failing to address harassment, aiding and abetting such actions, breach of contract, intentionally causing emotional distress, negligently inflicting emotional distress, false light invasion of privacy.

The details of the allegations were initially disclosed in the CRD complaint I submitted earlier that month. In response to this lawsuit, Baldoni and his associates have filed a counterclaim against The New York Times—which does not name me as a defendant. My legal team, in a statement to TopMob, clarified that “the contents of this lawsuit do not alter the claims made in my CRD and federal complaints.”

They further stated, “The basis for this lawsuit is predicated on the erroneous assumption that my administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a deceitful strategy designed to avoid suing Baldoni, Wayfarer, and instead opt for an administrative process. However, as evidenced by the federal complaint I filed today, this perspective regarding the Wayfarer lawsuit is flawed.

In their legal action against The New York Times, the plaintiffs have indicated that there are more parties involved in the wrongdoing and made it clear that this is not the only lawsuit they intend to file. During a January 2 interview with NBC News, Baldoni’s attorney Freedman confirmed their plans to take legal action against Lively as well.

The buzz surrounding Baldoni and Lively hasn’t slowed down. One intriguing theory on social media suggests that Reynolds, Lively’s husband, poked fun at Baldoni in his film “Deadpool & Wolverine” through the character Nicepool.

Reynolds has remained silent on these rumors, but Baldoni’s lawyer, Freedman, has spoken out about it. During an interview on “The Megyn Kelly Show,” which was posted to YouTube on January 7, Freedman expressed his opinion.

“To me, if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make a joke out of Justin Baldoni,” Freedman stated. “You don’t find humor in the situation. You treat it seriously. You file complaints, you raise the issue, and follow due process. What you don’t do is trivialize the person and turn it into a laughing matter.

In their statement, Lively’s legal team explained that the ongoing lawsuit against a production company is about severe accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation, supported by substantial evidence. This isn’t just a disagreement or he-said-she-said situation, as some may claim. Rather, Wayfarer and their associates are alleged to have carried out unlawful, retaliatory actions against Lively for standing up for herself and others on set. Since the lawsuit was filed, there have been more attacks against Lively.

They stressed that everyone should remember that sexual harassment and retaliation are unacceptable in any workplace or industry. A common tactic to deflect such misconduct allegations is to blame the victim by implying they invited it, brought it upon themselves, or lied. Another strategy is to switch the roles of victim and offender, suggesting the offender was actually the victim.

Lively’s lawyers stated that normalizing and trivializing serious misconduct allegations in this manner is harmful. Furthermore, they pointed out that media statements cannot be used as a defense against her claims, and they will present their case in court.

Baldoni, Heath, Wayfarer, publicist Abel, crisis communication specialist Nathan, and production company It Ends With Us Movie LLC filed a lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, Leslie Sloane (publicist), and her firm Vision PR in New York on January 16. The lawsuit alleges that all defendants are guilty of civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy through false light. Specifically, Lively and Reynolds are accused of breaching the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relations, and economic advantage, as well as negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.

The plaintiffs refute Lively’s claims of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign against her. Instead, they accuse her of taking control over It Ends With Us and collaborating with Reynolds, Sloane, Jones, and others to damage the reputation of the plaintiffs in the press following negative feedback on Lively’s promotion of the movie (which she claimed was done according to Sony’s marketing plan).

In the lawsuit, plaintiffs claim defendants collaborated with The New York Times to publish a sensational yet untrue news article. The outlet maintains its report’s accuracy. Regarding this matter, Freedman stated to TopMob that Blake Lively was either significantly deceived by her team or deliberately misled the truth.

As a dedicated follower, I’d put it this way: In response to my lawsuit, Lively’s legal team labeled it as just another tactic in the abuser’s handbook, referring to it as ‘another chapter in the abuser playbook.’ They further explained their stance to TopMob News, stating that this is a familiar pattern: a victim comes forward with clear evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation, only for the perpetrator to counterattack. This strategy, according to experts, is known as DARVO – Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim Offender.

Additionally, she asserted that he responded by counter-attacking after she brought forth accusations towards him. She claimed that Baldoni is attempting to change the conversation, suggesting that Lively took creative control and distanced herself from Mr. Baldoni, leaving the rest of the cast out.

It was further explained that there is proof indicating that both the cast and others had unfavorable interactions with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer. Additionally, it will be demonstrated that Sony requested Ms. Lively to supervise their portion of the film, which they later chose for distribution and turned out to be a significant success.

Her team went on to slam Baldoni’s reaction to her allegations of harassment.

In simpler terms, their defense against sexual harassment accusations was to blame the victim, implying she wanted it and it was her fault. They also suggested that her clothing was responsible for the incident, as stated by her legal team. Essentially, while the victim is concentrating on the abuse, the abuser is focusing on blaming the victim. This strategy of attacking the woman is weak, does not dispute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and will ultimately fall apart.

As a lifestyle expert, I recently got an exclusive sneak peek at the making-of footage from the set of “It Ends With Us.” My legal team assures me that the scenes clearly contradict the portrayal of me as depicted by Ms. Lively’s character. I’m excited for you all to see the truth unfold on screen!

According to Baldoni’s lawyers, the particular scene was intended to depict the two characters developing feelings for each other and yearning for closeness. It’s evident that both actors were acting appropriately and professionally within this romantic scene, demonstrating respect for their roles.

Nevertheless, Lively’s legal representatives argue that the video aligns exactly with Lively’s account in her lawsuit, suggesting it supports her claims. They also contend that each instance depicted in the video was spontaneously directed by Mr. Baldoni without any prior discussion or agreement.

The video depicts Ms. Lively leaning back and persistently requesting that the characters converse instead, as reported to TopMob News in a statement. This situation is likely to resonate with any woman who has experienced unwanted physical contact at work, due to Ms. Lively’s obvious discomfort.

In simpler terms, they wrote a note to the judge supervising their trial, asking him to restrict Freedman, who leads Baldoni’s legal team, from making any public statements during their court case to prevent inappropriate behavior.

2025-01-26 02:51

Justin Baldoni’s Mom Breaks Silence in Blake Lively Legal Drama

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