Justin Baldoni Stripped of Women's Advocacy Honor Days After Blake Lively's 'Disturbing' Allegations
Days after Blake Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, Vital Voices is revoking their Voices of Solidarity Award bestowed upon him.
On December 9, the It Ends With Us director and co-star was recognized as a "remarkable" man who advocated for women. According to their website, recipients of the award are men "who have shown courage and compassion in advocating on behalf of women and girls in the United States and around the world," including "the most conscientious and committed individuals, corporations and issue advocates" who "united their voices against this global epidemic."
On Monday, December 23, the corporation shared the announcement on their website and official Instagram account.
Read more: Justin Baldoni's Troubling Past Comments on Porn Resurface Amid Blake Lively's Legal Complaint
"We recognized Justin Baldoni with this award. On Saturday, December 21, 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. The communications among 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. We have notified Mr. Baldoni that we have rescinded this award," they said.
Legal documents obtained by 'TMZ' lays out Lively's allegations of sexual harassment. According to Lively's legal filing, conflicts arose over alleged inappropriate behavior by Baldoni, including showing explicit material, making personal remarks, and discussing topics unrelated to the script.
Additionally, the 'Gossip Girl' alum detailed an alleged scheme by Baldoni in an effort to "destroy" her reputation with the help of a crisis PR manager and his publicist. Notably, Baldoni, 40, hired the same PR crisis manager who worked with Johnny Depp during his infamous defamation trial against Amber Heard in 2022, per the news outlet.
Lively, 37, stated in her lawsuit that due to Baldoni's alleged actions "behind closed doors" she has "suffered from grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety." Further friction emerged during disagreements on how to market the film, with Lively favoring an empowering narrative and Baldoni emphasizing its serious themes of domestic violence.
Baldoni's legal team has denied all accusations, describing them as "false and salacious" and part of an attempt by Lively to shift blame for the film's underwhelming performance. The controversy then took a new turn as sources close to Baldoni allege that Lively's lawsuit is part of a "calculated effort" to shift public perception following her widely criticized press interactions — including a 2016 interview by Kjersti Flaa.
In a four-minute video, titled "The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job," was uploaded to Flaa's YouTube channel. Flaa congratulated Lively on her pregnancy – which she had announced at the time – saying "congrats on your little bump." Lively appeared to take offense and said "Congrats on your little bump," to a seemingly not-pregnant Flaa.
Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman called Lively's lawsuit "false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt," the Daily Mail reported.
"It Ends With Us" author Colleen Hoover recently came to Lively's defense following her accusations of harassment against Baldoni, stating that the "Gossip Girl" star has been "nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met."
She added: "Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt."
