honored as an ally for women’s rights just one week before news broke of ’s lawsuit against the It Ends With Us director.
It seems a moment between two men congratulating each other on being allies to women hasn’t aged well. Earlier this month, Baldoni, 40, was honored by Minhaj, 39, at the 2024 Vital Voices Solidarity Awards which, according to the official website, is an “awards program that honors remarkable men who have shown courage and compassion in advocating on behalf of women and girls worldwide.”
Following the event, which was hosted on December 11 by non-profit Vital Voices, Baldoni wrote via Instagram that he was “deeply honored and humbled” to receive the 2024 Vital Voices Solidarity Award “presented by my soul brother [Minhaj].”
Minhaj starred in It Ends With Us as Marshall alongside Baldoni and Lively, 37.
“Thank you, brother, for using your brilliant mind to be of service by challenging us all and making us laugh at the same time. No one does it better,” Baldoni’s post continued. “Thank you for being a true friend and always showing up — but most importantly, when the cameras aren’t rolling.”
Baldoni, who also hosts a podcast called “Man Enough” about modern masculinity and gender roles, went on to write that it was “hard to accept an award when it’s so evident that there is still so much more work to do.”
“My hope is that we can teach our boys, while they are still young, that vulnerability is strength, sensitivity is a super power, and empathy makes them powerful,” he continued. “That they should love and embrace their masculinity — that being a boy and a man is amazing and nothing to apologize for. And to value all the beautiful and complicated parts of them that make them human. I believe with all my heart that once our boys learn to be safe spaces for themselves, our world will finally be a safe space for everyone.”
On Friday, December 20, one week after Baldoni accepted this award, Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him with allegations that he had created a “hostile work environment” on the It Ends With Us set and caused the actress “severe emotional distress.”
Per the lawsuit, which was obtained by Us Weekly after it was reported by TMZ and The New York Times, a meeting was held during the film’s production in January to address Lively’s claims against her costar.
Lively’s demands for the meeting included “no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s dead father.”
In a statement to Us, Baldoni’s lawyer addressed Lively’s “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious” allegations, claiming she filed the lawsuit to “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” about the film’s production. He alleged Lively made “multiple demands and threats,” which included “threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.”
Additionally, the lawsuit claimed that Baldoni and his team had orchestrated a smear campaign against Lively to damage her reputation. Earlier this year, the actress was the subject of a social media firestorm surrounding the promotion for It Ends With Us, when it was reported that she and Baldoni had clashed on set.
“There were two camps on the film — team Blake and team Justin,” a source exclusively told Us in August. “This creative struggle set the tone for the negative experience behind the scenes and grew into them not speaking anymore.”
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Minhaj, for his part, was asked about this alleged feud in a September with Esquire, saying he “can’t speak to other people’s experience” on set, noting that “everybody was very professional and cool to me.”
He added, “It was lovely and everybody was lovely, and it is just as disillusioning for me, because I’m like, ‘What happened? Wait, what’s going on?’”
In a statement to The New York Times on Saturday, Lively — who has received support from several stars, including It Ends With Us author and producer — said, “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.” She denied spreading negative information about Baldoni.
