Getty ImagesA Women’s Solidarity Award recently given to Justin Baldoni was withdrawn after the actor was accused by It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively of sexual harassment and waging a campaign to “destroy” her reputation.
Baldoni was honored with the award earlier this month by Vital Voices, a global nonprofit organization focused on empowering women.
The organization announced Monday evening that it had revoked the award after the legal complaint filed by Lively alleged “abhorrent behavior” by the actor, his studio and a crisis PR team that was “contrary to the values” of the organization non-profit organization.
Baldoni’s legal team told the BBC that the allegations were “categorically false” and said they had hired a crisis manager because Lively had threatened to derail the film if their demands were not met.
In the romantic drama, Lively plays a woman who finds herself in a relationship with a charming but abusive boyfriend, played by Baldoni.
The Voices of Solidarity Award. was presented to Baldoni on Dec. 9 during an awards ceremony in New York, Vital Voices said in a statement. The award was presented by comedian Hasan Minhaj and recognizes “remarkable men who have shown courage and compassion in standing up for women and girls.”
He posted about the award on his blog Instagram pageHe said he was “deeply honored and humbled” and noted the further work that needs to be done to help future generations of people.
“I hope that we can teach our boys from a young age that vulnerability is strength, sensitivity is a superpower, and empathy is what makes them strong,” he says in the post.
In a statement Monday, Vital Voices said it had revoked the award and informed Baldoni of the decision.
Less than two weeks after the awards ceremony, Lively, best known for her role on the TV show Gossip Girl, submitted an application legal complaint She accused Baldoni and his team of attacking her public image. She says in the complaint that the attacks followed a meeting that discussed “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” between Baldoni and a producer of the film.
According to the filing with the California Department of Civil Rights, the meeting presented a list of 30 demands related to the couple’s alleged misconduct to ensure they could continue producing the film. The list included demands such as no further mention of Baldoni’s “pornography addiction,” no descriptions of genitals and no addition of intimate scenes that had not been approved by her when she read the script.
Lively also accused Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios of leading a “multi-stage plan” to destroy her reputation in the media and online, including hiring a crisis manager who led a “sophisticated, coordinated and well-funded retaliation plan” against her and used a “digital army” to post authentic-looking social media content.
Responding to the legal complaint, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said in a statement Saturday that the allegations are “categorically false.”
Freedman accused Lively of making numerous demands and threats, including “threatening not to show up on set and threatening not to promote the film,” which would ultimately “lead to his downfall during release if her demands were not met.” would be fulfilled.”
He claimed Lively’s claims were “intentionally salacious, with the intent to publicly offend and rehash a media narrative.”
