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The ongoing legal dispute between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively has taken an unexpected turn, with Hollywood power agent Ari Emanuel adding fuel to the fire. During a live taping of Freakonomics Radio Live at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, the Endeavor CEO dismissed Baldoni's accusations in a condescending manner.
"It is a f-ked up, bad situation with what Bologna ... Baldoni ... whatever his name is ... is doing," Emanuel said, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. The comment sparked immediate backlash, with Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, responding, "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."
A Hollywood power struggle
The controversy began when Lively, 37, filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, accusing him of orchestrating a smear campaign to damage her reputation. She also alleged sexual harassment and is suing for breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, and retaliation. In response, Baldoni, 41, filed a countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, seeking $400 million in damages for defamation and extortion.
Emanuel, who confirmed that Baldoni had been dropped as a client from WME, expressed strong for Lively and Reynolds, saying they are "incredible people" with spotless reputations. He emphasized, "People work with them, they've never had any bad mojo out there or treated people badly. They are charitable ... they've given tons of money away."
Industry backlash and divided opinions
While Emanuel stands firmly behind Lively, others in the industry have begun speaking out. Barbara Szeman, an assistant director on A Simple Favor, claimed in a since-deleted Instagram comment that Lively was "cruel" and frequently brought her to tears.
Meanwhile, Baldoni has taken an aggressive approach to defend himself, launching a website featuring behind-the-scenes footage from It Ends With Us and text messages between him and Lively to prove his innocence.
As the legal battle intensifies, Emanuel remains dismissive of Baldoni's strategy, stating, "[Baldoni's team] should just stop, since they think they're innocent, and let the process play itself out."
With both sides holding their ground, this Hollywood feud shows no signs of cooling down anytime soon.