Why Justin Baldoni Was ‘Fired’ From WME Amid Blake Lively Lawsuit 2025
Why Justin Baldoni Was ‘Fired’ From WME Amid Blake Lively Lawsuit 2025
Justin Baldoni was allegedly dropped by talent agency WME over the firm’s alliances to “good people” Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
Ari Emanuel, the chief executive of WME’s parent company, Endeavor, appeared on the “Freakonomics” podcast on Wednesday, February 12, and discussed the ongoing legal saga.
“I mean it is a f—ed up, bad situation with what Baldoni … is doing,” Emanuel said during the live recording. “[He was my client] until I fired him.”
When asked if Emanuel specifically fired Baldoni, he succinctly quipped, “I am a ride or die. And they are good people.”
Gotham/GC Images Justin Baldoni is already dealing with major fallout days after Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against him. The New York Times reported on December 21 that Lively filed a lawsuit on December 20 in which she accused him of sexual harassment and launching a “social manipulation” campaign against her to “destroy” her reputation […]
Baldoni, 41, and Lively, 37, were both repped by WME until he was dropped late last year following Lively’s lawsuit. After they filmed It Ends With Us, Lively sued Baldoni in December 2024 for sexual harassment and trying to destroy her reputation. Baldoni, who costarred and directed the 2024 film, denied the claims before filing a defamation suit against Lively, also naming Reynolds, 48, in the motion. The married couple, meanwhile, denounced the accusations.
Justin Baldoni. Gotham/WireImage
“It’s not really fair,” Emanuel said on Wednesday. “I’ve known Ryan and Blake for over a decade. They’re really incredible people. In Hollywood, they have been incredibly successful. People work with them, they’ve never had any bad mojo out there or treated people badly.”
He added, “They are charitable — we help them with their foundation [and] they’ve given tons of money away.”
Emmanuel also doesn’t believe Baldoni’s account of what transpired on the film set.
Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
“If what is alleged in her lawsuit [and] what happened on social media is true, just because she complained to the studio that things were unhealthy on the set, and that he was director and this man was the producer, and they did to her what is being alleged, they’re really bad people,” he said. “I know Blake, I know Ryan; they’re good people. Social media is a really good thing at times because it lets stars connect with their fans, but these two guys [Baldoni and his team] used it in an evil way if that’s true.”
Emanuel further stressed that Baldoni’s camp “should just stop since they think they’re innocent.” (Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has been vocal in the media about his client’s version of events, even launching a website that documents the alleged proof.)
“Let the process play itself out,” Emanuel argued. “These are good people that have been in the business for decades, and have never had any bad press about them and all the people they work with like them. So, if it’s true what they’re saying in that allegation, these are two bad guys.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Baldoni’s team for comment.
