We’ve heard a LOT of accusations about Justin Baldoni in recent months. But now we’re hearing from inside his own house — as employees who used to work at Wayfarer Entertainment are speaking out about the workplace culture in a shocking new report in the Los Angeles Times.
As Baldoni grapples with the ongoing drama surrounding Blake Lively‘s lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment during the filming of It Ends With Us — he now has to deal with former staffers at Wayfarer coming out of the woodwork to make their own allegations! And what they had to say to the LA Times centers on what they refer to as “toxic positivity,” faith-based pushiness, and “phony” workplace vibes. Uh-oh!
Related: Blake Lively Defender Brandon Sklenar Defects To Team Baldoni?!
One former worker, who spoke anonymously to the newspaper, said much of what went on at Baldoni’s production company very often felt performative. According to that ex-staffer, Baldoni and all the rest of ’em operated on a culture of “toxic positivity” while on the job:
“It was constant positivity all the time — I would say toxic positivity.”
The staffer also recounted their deep, deep skepticism for that whole dog-and-pony show:
“I’m always a little dubious of people who advertise themselves as disruptors of the status quo or quote-unquote ‘good people.’ It felt phony.”
Oof!
Contents [hide]
Down On Skid Row
Another former worker recalled to the newspaper how Baldoni went to his annual Skid Row Carnival of Love event one year in downtown Los Angeles to help the homeless. However, he was allegedly just filming himself doing good deeds the entire time. Yikes. BIG yikes!
And yet another former staffer claimed Baldoni specifically requested all employees of the production company sign their emails with “so much love.” Dude…
Related: Michelle Trachtenberg Spoke Publicly About Blake And Justin Before Her Death, And…
‘Slightly Exploitative’
And it just keeps getting worse. Two former staffers expressed their unease with the fact Baldoni’s production company consistently chose to take on projects that had a “repeated focus on stories of terminal illness.” That included Wayfarer producing the 2015 documentary The Simpsons, which could have been about many aspects of the show… but focused on the story of Sam Simon donating his entire $100 million fortunate charity prior to dying of colon cancer in 2015.
Powerful story, right? Sure! Simon was a really interesting individual. However… when you take into account all the projects had that same angle… One ex-employee figured:
“The message was always, ‘these people are dying and they still have a positive outlook, so everyone has a reason to be positive.’ But, you know, you’re also making money off these people, so it feels at least slightly exploitative.”
Yeesh…
‘Professionally Inappropriate’
There were troubling issues rooted in religion, as well. Baldoni is outspoken about his Baháʼí faith — so much so that former employees claimed it was a constant part of their time on the job. One ex-employee called Baldoni’s alleged desire to push the Baháʼí faith into everything he did “professionally inappropriate,” saying:
“There was an evangelizing aspect to the way Justin spoke about the faith that, in my opinion, felt professionally inappropriate.”
Seems like we’ve heard that before somewhere…
Other anonymous interview subjects echoed those sentiments, as well. Several agreed that the Baháʼí faith became an even more significant part of the gig after an investment mogul named Steve Sarowitz bought into Wayfarer through his 4S Bay Partners. Multiple interviewees expressed varying levels of discomfort regarding that realm in their comments to the newspaper, with one saying:
“Baháʼí values were a driving force behind everything they did. It came up routinely. As a newer Baha’i member, Steve wanted to talk about it all the time.”
We can only imagine…
(The Baháʼí religion, BTW, was founded in the 19th century and is focused on eliminating prejudice and uniting humanity.)
Team Justin
Here’s the other interesting part of all this, though: even though plenty of former staffers came forward with criticisms, several more stepped up to defend Baldoni!
His former personal assistant Melissa Ames spoke on the record to the LA Times and said:
“He is highly creative and in tune with his spiritual side. He has a heart for helping others. Working at Wayfarer was one of the best times of my life.”
Meanwhile, a second anonymous staffer argued that Baldoni is “exceedingly honorable and highly ethical.” And a third said the actor’s heart is “truly in the right place” no matter what may have gone on at Wayfarer, or in the It Ends With Us saga! That third staffer said:
“He’s a young guy who has gained access to a lot of money and has been figuring out how to run the company as he goes. He did a lot of stuff that was really helpful to a lot of people that no one knows about that far outweighs any mistakes.”
Justin’s Response
And Justin himself also clapped back at the LA Times bombshell!
In a statement sent to Us Weekly and other media outlets just hours after the newspaper’s feature dropped on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the actor and his production company pushed back on some of the claims made in the report. That included specifically denying the “so much love” email signature allegations:
“There have never been any reported complaints regarding the workplace culture, or any communicated issues regarding the platforms of its founders. If any guidance was ever provided to employees of how to conduct their written correspondence, it was to ensure that the activities of its employees remained professional and aligned with the ethos of the company. Wayfarer believes that joy and positivity are the essence of good work, and they stand by this statement.”
Then, a second statement also sent by that spokesperson confirmed that Baldoni and the other founders of Wayfarer are indeed adherents of the Baháʼí faith. However, the spox denied that they’d ever pushed their faith onto the company’s employees:
“As all of Wayfarer’s projects are rooted in a belief system that stems from various faiths and backgrounds, speaking from a place of spirituality is commonplace. Employees are encouraged to celebrate and practice their individual beliefs however they see fit, a message which is proudly supported by leadership.”
So, there you have it. A shocking report, and then two spokesperson statements put out in response. Contentious AF, that’s for sure! But would you ever honestly expect anything less from all the relentless IEWU drama and its fallout??
By the way, you can read the full Los Angeles Times piece HERE.
Thoughts, yall? Share ’em (below)…
[Image via MEGA/WENN]
Related Posts
