Justin Baldoni‘s attorney is reacting to Ari Emanuel‘s explanation about why he dropped the actor as a client!
For those who don’t recall, Justin was fired by the talent agency WME in December — after Blake Lively accused the It Ends With Us co-star/director of sexual harassment and orchestrating a retaliatory smear campaign against her to ruin her reputation. Notably, she and her hubby, Ryan Reynolds, are also repped by the company! And they may have used their power to get him removed from the client roster! At least that is what The Jane The Virgin alum claimed!
Related: Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni REJECT Mediation Attempts — They Really Want To Go To Trial!
In his lawsuit against The New York Times, he alleged Ryan pressured the company to “drop” him during the premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine in July 2024. WME denied the claims. While Blake and Ryan may not have pushed anyone to let him go, the couple is the reason he is not a client now! Ari, the chief executive officer of WME’s parent company, Endeavor, explained on a live taping for the Freakonomics podcast at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles that he is a “ride-or-die” for Blake and Ryan and “fired” Justin out of loyalty to them, explaining:
“They’ve never had any bad mojo out there or treated people badly. These are good people who have been in the business for decades and have never had any bad press about them. And all the people they’ve worked with like them.”
Not only did Ari say Justin and the others involved are “really bad people” if the accusations in Blake’s lawsuit were true, but took a shot at the star’s name. He said:
“I mean it is a f***ed up, bad situation what Bologna … Baldoni … whatever his name is … is doing.”
The exec made fun of his last name. Really? Are we in grade school? Well, Justin’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, did not appreciate the remarks from Ari! He reacted to the podcast interview in a statement to Dailymail.com on Friday, saying:
“Mr. Ari Emanuel is notably one of the best agents, and clearly the most loyal, in Hollywood. 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.”
Damn!
Sounds like Ari formed a very strong opinion about Justin when he has not even met him before AND may have only gotten one side of the story — Blake and Ryan’s version! As we’ve said before, he may regret that depending on how everything plays out in court! Reactions, Perezcious readers? Share ‘em in the comments below.
[Image via Jay Shetty Podcast/YouTube, MEGA/WENN]
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