Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds defended by talent agency CEO Ari Emanuel who says he 'fired' Justin Baldoni
2025-02-16
Category: entertainment

Blake Lively has a fierce defender in her ongoing legal battle with her "It Ends With Us" co-star and director Justin Baldoni. Ari Emanuel, the CEO of the talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME), voiced his opinion on the highly-publicized clash between the 37-year-old actress and Baldoni, 41, which has played out both in the media and in court. "It is a f----- up, bad situation with what Bologna … Baldoni … whatever his name is … is doing," Emanuel told host Stephen Dubner during the "Freakonomics Radio Live" show taping Thursday, per the Hollywood Reporter.  Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds 48, are both clients of WME, one of Hollywood's top agencies. BLAKE LIVELY VS. JUSTIN BALDONI: EVERYTHING TO KNOW After Dubner noted that Baldoni was also previously represented by WME, Emanuel said, "Until I fired him." Variety reported on Dec. 21 that WME had dropped Baldoni as a client due to the allegations that Lively made against him in a lawsuit she filed on Dec. 20. &nbsp;  Lively detailed allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and more against Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios and film producer Jamey Heath in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights department and in federal court. "They are really incredible people." A day after Lively's filing, the New York Times published an article about the actress's lawsuit and the alleged smear campaign Baldoni attempted to run against his co-star.&nbsp; On Dec. 31, Baldoni filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times over its story about Lively's lawsuit and allegations. Weeks later, Baldoni then named Lively and Reynolds in a separate $400 million defamation lawsuit in which he accused the Hollywood power couple of attempting to hijack "It Ends With Us" and create their own narrative.&nbsp; Both sides have denied the allegations against them.  During the event on Thursday, Emanuel praised Lively and Reynolds, noting the longtime relationship that he shared with them. "It’s not really fair," he said, per THR. "I’ve known Ryan and Blake for over a decade. They’re really incredible people. In Hollywood, they have been incredibly successful."&nbsp; LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS "People work with them, they’ve never had any bad mojo out there or treated people badly," Emanuel continued. "They are charitable — we help them with their foundation — they’ve given tons of money away." He added, "If what is alleged in her lawsuit that 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 (Heath) was the producer, and they did to her what is being alleged—they’re really bad people."  Later in the show, Emanuel once again asserted his full-fledged support for Lively and Reynolds.&nbsp; "I am a ride or die," he said. "And they are good people." Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman addressed Emanuel's comments in a statement to THR on Friday. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER "Mr. Ari Emanuel is notably one of the best agents, and clearly the most loyal, in Hollywood," Freeman said. "As I understand it, Justin hasn’t been called ‘Bologna’ since the fifth grade. Perhaps Ari’s perspective would be different if they had ever met in the half decade they were clients of his agency." Fox News Digital has reached out to Freedman and Heath for comment.  Earlier on Thursday, Lively and Baldoni refused mediation, paving the way for the case to potentially head to trial. Legal teams for both Lively and Baldoni told Judge Lewis Liman that "settlement discussions would be premature," according to a joint letter filed in court and obtained by Fox News Digital. The letter also noted that "the parties agree that mediation and the Discovery Protocols… are inappropriate for this case." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The federal judge agreed with the "It Ends With Us" stars and granted the order. Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds have until Feb. 18 to file an amended version of their complaint against Baldoni. The couple is also planning to file a motion to dismiss Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit. The deadline for Lively's legal team to file the dismissal motion is March 20.