The Long List Of Celebs Who Can't Stand Justin Baldoni

The following article includes allegations of sexual harassment. 

Justin Baldoni's rise to being a household name began with his breakout role as a swoon-worthy love interest on "Jane the Virgin." For five seasons, Baldoni captured the hearts of viewers as the ever-charming and suave Rafael Solano. As his fame began to rise, Baldoni went from fan-favorite onscreen to fan-favorite offscreen by leading conversations around feminism and toxic masculinity. Despite his heartthrob status, Baldoni has opened up about his marriage in interviews. The actor took on the role as a feminist ally, even publishing two books about his own experiences, "Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity" and "Boys Will Be Human." With books, podcasts, and director gigs, Baldoni soon shifted public perception of himself as just a heartthrob on a television dramedy to a well-respected voice and a director. 

In 2019, as "Jane The Virgin" went off the air, Baldoni added another notch to his director's belt when he acquired the rights to the 2016 best-selling book "It Ends With Us" by Colleen Hoover, Per Rolling Stone. The box office success with Baldoni in the director's chair should've been a professional high for him. Instead, it became a public firestorm in Hollywood that led to burned bridges with his film's lead star, Blake Lively, his talent agency, and his industry peers. This project spawned a fierce legal battle, serious allegations of sexual harassment and smear campaigns, and a long list of celebrities who are now feuding with Justin Baldoni.  

When "It Ends With Us" was released in August 2024, many fans noticed something was off between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively. According to The Hollywood Reporter, fans noticed Baldoni and Lively rarely appeared together during the press tour. Even more surprising, Lively wasn't following Baldoni on Instagram. The rumored rift was reportedly due to Lively having her own cut of the film. Speculation grew at the premiere, when none of the cast pictures included Baldoni. By December 2024, the rift between Baldoni and Lively was confirmed, but it was more serious than anyone thought. The actor filed a California Civil Rights Department complaint against the director and Wayfarer, per The New York Times. 

In her complaint, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment, and taking part in a coordinated smear campaign against her. Baldoni's lawyer denied all allegations, despite the New York Times report including thousands of damning text messages between Baldoni and his team. In the complaint, Lively revealed that she repeatedly went to the studio with her complaints and even pushed for a safer set, with the help of her husband. In one detailed complaint, she accused Baldoni of repeatedly entering her trailer while she was topless or breastfeeding. The shocking report did confirm that there were two cuts of the film, with Sony choosing Lively's cut. According to the report, when her cut of the film was set for release, Baldoni's PR team crafted a media campaign to discredit her. 

Blake Lively wasn't the only person in her household who couldn't stand Justin Baldoni. Her husband, Ryan Reynolds, also began feuding with the star as the drama on the "It Ends With Us" set unfolded. According to Baldoni, Reynolds and his wife tried to strong-arm him into giving up creative control of the film. However, Reynolds and his wife accuse Baldoni of inappropriate behavior, including body shaming. As the trial unfolded, unsealed text messages and emails show Reynolds badmouthing the director to his circle of famous friends. Per People, Reynolds sent multiple messages to his WME agent calling Baldoni everything from "dumb-dumb juice" to "predatory fraudster" while discussing the controversy. 

In one unsealed email, Reynolds and his wife reach out to actor Matt Damon and his wife, requesting that they watch Lively's cut of the film and support it (via People). The couple didn't hold back on Baldoni, with Lively accusing the director of being in a cult and Reynolds recounting the alleged body-shaming incident. A fired-up Reynolds rips into Baldoni writing, "[he's] malignantly vein [sic], sociopathic FAUXminist with almost no sense of boundaries or shame." When the unsealed messages were published, Reynolds didn't back down. In a statement to Puck News, his publicist defended the actor's involvement. "Yes Ryan got involved—what husband wouldn't support his wife and the mother of his children?" a spokesperson said. You can certainly add Baldoni to the long list of celebs who can't stand Ryan Reynolds.

After Blake Lively's complaint against Justin Baldoni in December 2024, she had vocal support from her "It Ends With Us" co-star Jenny Slate. Slate released a public statement to the Today Show, reaffirming her support of Lively and condemning what she believed was a smear campaign against her. "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," the statement read. Slate praised Lively, calling her a "loyal friend" to many, and made note of the alleged PR campaign Baldoni was accused of orchestrating. "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," Slate wrote.

Despite the 2024 statement announcing her loyalty to Lively, Slate long had issues with the director. As People reported in January 2026, Slate's text messages were unsealed during the trial. In one message from 2023, Slate tells her team she wants nothing to do with the director, calling the filming a "disturbing" shoot. "Justin is truly a false ally and I'm unwilling to do anything that promotes the image that he's crafting as a 'male feminist,'" wrote Slate. The texts reveal that both Lively and Slate formally complained to the studio during filming about Baldoni. "I honestly have never ever encountered anything like this dude...he's the biggest clown and the most intense narcissist," wrote Slate. 

When Isabela Ferrer was first cast in "It Ends With Us," she assumed she had made her big break. The "It Ends With Us" cast had many familiar faces, and she was given the opportunity to act alongside them. Ferrer appeared on screen as a younger version of Blake Lively's character. Despite the huge opportunity to be in a big-budget film, a year later, Ferrer found herself in a public battle with the director, Justin Baldoni. In August 2025, Ferrer filed a motion accusing the director of harassing her amid his legal dispute with Lively. Ferrer had been subpoenaed by both Lively and Baldoni in their legal clash. According to Variety, Ferrer's lawyers accused Baldoni of using "financial leverage" to intimidate her and force her to respond to Lively's subpoena in a favorable way towards him. 

In Lively's sexual harassment suit, she alleged that Baldoni directed Ferrer in a sex scene and made a lewd comment to the actors. "I know I'm not supposed to say this, but that was hot," Baldoni allegedly said after wrapping the scene. The director's lawyers hit back against the claims and presented unsealed text messages between Baldoni and Ferrer. The text messages included Ferrer praising Baldoni as a director and saying he was "wonderful to work with." Baldoni's lawyers argued that there were no issues between him and Ferrer until she formed a bond with Lively during the press tour (via People). During the press run, Ferrer, along with others in the cast, unfollowed Baldoni.

In the days after Blake Lively's shocking lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, many of the people closest to her began speaking up in hopes of cutting through the noise they've called a "smear campaign." Lively's brother-in-law, "High School Musical" actor Bart Johnson, was just one of the few. In a now-deleted post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Johnson didn't hold back his true opinion of Baldoni. "He's a fraud. He puts on the 'costume' of a hero, man bun and all," he wrote (via NY Post). "Used all of the trendy catchphrases & buzz words for his podcasts. None of it was genuine. It's all theater." Johnson went on to accuse Baldoni of faux humility and putting on a "performance" during his public speaking engagements.

The day before this scathing tweet, Johnson took to the comment section on Instagram with a direct call out to Baldoni's PR team. Per Page Six, "His PR team was stellar. Gross and disgusting but highly effective," he wrote, urging people to read the explosive New York Times article. "...His PR campaign strategy to bury her by any means necessary. No one is with out [sic] faults. But the public got played."

The most surprising element of the "It Ends With Us" drama is how involved Taylor Swift was in Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's feud. In January 2025, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios filed a massive lawsuit against Lively, her publicist, and Ryan Reynolds. In the lengthy lawsuit, Baldoni makes mention of a tense meeting that the "Blank Space" singer allegedly witnessed. Per TMZ, Baldoni alleged that Lively rewrote a pivotal scene of the film and ambushed him in a meeting at her penthouse. That's when Reynolds allegedly praised his wife's version of the script, and Swift soon arrived singing the same tune. Baldoni claims their presence was an attempt to bully him into accepting the rewrite. The unsealed text messages from after the showdown allegedly featured Lively making "Game of Thrones" references to Baldoni and referring to Swift as her protective dragon. 

Swift's reps tried to distance her from the legal drama by refusing a deposition, per TMZ. However, as the case unfolded, more text messages were released. Unsealed messages show Swift calling Baldoni unflattering names weeks before Lively's complaint hit the press. "I think this b***h knows something is coming because he's gotten out his tiny violin," she texted Lively in December 2024 (via Forbes). Another message shows Swift expressing anger after finding out Baldoni was winning an award for being an ally to women. "This is so disgusting and I hate that he's clever with this sh*t," Swift replied. 

At the center of Justin Baldoni's legal dispute with Blake Lively is creative differences over Colleen Hoover's "It Ends With Us" novel. Hoover previously expressed support for Baldoni, but her tune soon changed after Lively's complaint was made public. The best-selling author took to her Instagram stories to express support for Lively amid the public feud. "You have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met," Hoover wrote on a picture of her with the actor. "Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt" (via Variety). Despite no mention of Baldoni in her public statement, a year later, unsealed text messages showed how she really felt about the director. 

In January 2026, Page Six obtained court documents of text messages between Hoover and the film studio. A month before the controversial movie premiere, the author expressed concern over Baldoni's attendance. "Am I going to be comfortable if Justin is there? No," Hoover wrote. The divide in the cast and the tension between the two stars began to weigh heavily on the author. "I go back and forth every day between continuing to show up for this movie or going into hiding because it's all causing me anxiety and bringing attention that I'm not prepared for/used to," Hoover told the studio. While acknowledging that feelings were hurt and boundaries were crossed, Hoover still made note that she preferred "being neutral."

As questions swirled online about who was the cause of the "toxic" set on"It Ends With Us," there was one group of women who were undoubtedly team Blake Lively. Lively's co-stars from "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," collectively released a statement on Instagram the same day the New York Times bombshell report dropped. "As Blake's friends and sisters for over twenty years, we stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation," the statement read (via Instagram). The statement made reference to the filming of "It Ends With Us" and Lively's battle for a safe workplace. "We are struck by the reality that even if a woman is as strong, celebrated, and resourced as our friend Blake, she can face forceful retaliation...," the statement continued. The statement implored people to read the New York Times investigation that accused Baldoni and his PR team of orchestrating a smear campaign.

Despite Blake Lively's rumored feuds in Hollywood, these ladies show that they've only gotten closer over the years.

The explosive New York Times investigation of the alleged smear campaign of Blake Lively had a devastating effect on Justin Baldoni's professional career. Just days after its publishing, Baldoni was dropped by talent agency WME and sued by his former publicist, per Page Six. However, those weren't the only people cutting ties with him. Liz Plank, who co-hosted the "Man Enough" podcast with Baldoni, soon put in her resignation notice that same week. Like Baldoni's books, this podcast, launched in 2021, centered around masculinity and the role societal norms play in gender roles. Plank, who is an award-winning journalist, played a major role in the show until her abrupt exit after the allegations were made public. 

In a statement to People, Plank explained her reasoning. "I'm writing to you today to let you know that I have had my representatives inform Wayfarer that I will no longer be co-hosting The Man Enough podcast," the statement read. Plank, who co-hosted the show for four years, went on to thank the community of listeners. The journalist didn't go into details about why she was stepping away, but she ended the heartfelt statement with something that certainly could be taken as a shot at Baldoni. "In the meantime, I will continue to support everyone who calls out injustice and holds the people standing in their way accountable," it read.