Justin Baldoni was candid about his past porn addiction in a resurfaced interview amid the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him by his “It Ends with Us” costar Blake Lively.
Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni on Friday, December 20, alleging that he acted inappropriately toward her and tried to destroy her reputation.
However, Baldoni responded to the lawsuit through his attorney, who claimed Lively used it to “fix” her “negative reputation.”
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Justin Baldoni’s Candid Porn Admission
In July 2021, Baldoni appeared on an episode of Sarah Grynberg’s “A Life of Greatness” podcast and opened up about his previous “unhealthy” relationship with porn. He revealed that he was introduced to porn at 10 years old before having an erection or knowing his feelings about anything.
Baldoni said per Page Six, “It was, you know, like any young boy who sees boobs for the first time, it’s exciting because our culture has shielded them from us because they’re sexualized. It’s cultural.”
He added, “You go to places like Africa and different tribes … and the breast is the breast. We’ve sexualized this thing, so, of course, it becomes fascinating and interesting and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, boobs.’ And then, you know, hormones start raging.”
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Justin Baldoni Found Solace In Porn
During the interview, Baldoni also admitted that he turned to porn for “refuge” during moments of loneliness, abandonment, or pain and described it as a source of “dopamine rush.”
He shared, “I trained my brain to deal with pain with the dopamine hit. … But it doesn’t mean that I’m not using something in an unhealthy way.”
Baldoni also said, “And I found myself, over the course of my life, going back to looking at images and videos of naked women when I was feeling necessarily bad about myself. And I knew that it was an issue for me when I would tell myself that I don’t want to do that.”
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Blake Lively Files Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Justin Baldoni
Baldoni’s past comments about porn resurfaced two days after Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him, claiming that his behavior made her suffer “severe emotional distress.”
The 37-year-old actress also claimed that things got very heated on set and that a meeting was needed to discuss her demands regarding Baldoni’s conduct on the movie set.
TMZ reported that Lively demanded that she wouldn’t be shown “nude videos or images of women” and that there wouldn’t be any more mention of Baldoni’s past “pornography addiction.”
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Lively, who shares four kids with husband Ryan Reynolds, also requested that Baldoni cease discussing his “sexual conquests” in front of her and others on set. She added that he should not mention the cast and crew’s private parts, ask questions about her weight, or mention her late father’s name.
Per the lawsuit, Lively also demanded that there should no longer be “adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing” outside the scope of the script she approved when she signed onto the project.
Lively also claimed in her lawsuit that Sony Pictures, the distributor of “It Ends with Us,” agreed to her demands. However, she claimed Baldoni orchestrated a “social manipulation” campaign to ruin her reputation.
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Baldoni’s Response To Lively’s Lawsuit
Following Lively’s lawsuit, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, condemned her in a statement. Freedman claimed Lively filed the lawsuit to “fix her negative reputation,” an apparent reference to the backlash she faced for how she promoted “It Ends with Us.”
Baldoni’s attorney also said that Lively’s allegations were “false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious, with an intent to publicly hurt.” Freedman also claimed that Lively was deeply problematic throughout filmmaking and threatened not to show up to set.
The legal attorney further claimed that the actress threatened “not to promote the film,” adding that all of her actions led to its “demise during release.”
WME Drops Baldoni Following Lively’s Lawsuit
Baldoni suffered a major setback soon after news of Lively’s lawsuit made headlines.
The Hollywood Reporter learned that WME, which also represents Lively, dropped Baldoni from its talent agency. However, there has been no further communication about WME’s actions.
Meanwhile, besides his lawyer’s statement, Baldoni has yet to react to Lively’s lawsuit or his agency’s move to end working relations with him.