Justin Baldoni is hemorrhaging support among women in the aftermath of Blake Lively’s explosive lawsuit against him — and now he’s even had an award he won in honor of all females rescinded.
Here’s what happened … Baldoni — who directed “It Ends With Us” and also costarred with Lively in the film — received the Voices of Solidarity Award from Vital Voices on December 9. The award recognizes remarkable men who show courage and compassion in advocating for women and girls.
But, after Lively filed her lawsuit against Baldoni on Saturday, the organization decided to yank the honor back from the director.
In a statement posted Monday to its website, the Voices of Solidarity Award from Viral Voices said they firmly support Blake’s work on “It Ends With Us” as they have in the past and condemn any attacks on her reputation, which have no place in the industry or civil society. The org noted they contacted Baldoni to inform him they revoked his award.
As we first reported, Lively filed the suit against Baldoni, claiming he sexually harassed her during the movie shoot and tried to smear her reputation using a crisis PR firm when they couldn’t see eye to eye on the film’s marketing plan.
However, Baldoni and his lawyer, Bryan Freedman, denied the allegations in the suit, calling “Lively’s own actions, interviews and marketing during the promotional tour distasteful.”
Still, Lively is getting support from some of her oldest female costars and friends … most notably America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel, all of whom have issued messages on her behalf. Actress Amber Heard, who now lives in Spain after the whole Johnny Depp fiasco, is also publicly backing Lively.