EXCLUSIVE: Justin Baldoni's Dark Past Exposed — How Scandal-Hit Filmmaker Preached Against 'Toxic Masculinity… While Hiding Bombshell Accusation of RACIAL Discrimination BEFORE Blake Lively's 'Harassment' Lawsuit
Justin Baldoni spoke out about toxic masculinity just years before getting hit with sexual harassment allegations.
March 7 2025, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
Justin Baldoni was on a mission to reinvent himself as a "feminist" before being hit with major sexual harassment allegations.
But while the 41-year-old director spoke out against harmful gender norms, RadarOnline.com can reveal he was secretly embroiled in serious discrimination lawsuits – which he's seemingly attempted to keep under wraps amid his current legal battles.
The It Ends With Us star was hit with multiple bombshell lawsuits accusing him of discrimination just a few years back.
In a 2017 Ted Talk, Baldoni – who called himself a feminist – admitted to silencing his wife, Emily Foxler, despite his pledge to amplify women’s voices while confronting his own toxic masculinity.
He said: "So I had to ask myself a tough question: Am I man enough to just shut the hell up and listen?"
Baldoni has been wrapped up in a legal battle with his co-star Blake Lively since December.
The Man Enough podcaster seemed to be "doing the work," exploring what it means to be a "woke" man.
But his integrity took a major hit in December, when his It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively filed a civil suit against the actor/director – publicly accusing him of sexual harassment on set and launching a smear campaign in retaliation.
However, it wasn't the first time Baldoni or his company, Wayfarer Studios, was accused of mistreatment.
Shocking legal documents reveal back in 2020, a former employee claimed Baldoni and his company fired him because of his race and punished him for pursuing legal action.
Four years before his legal battle with Lively, 37, Shane Norman was brought on as general manager of Baldoni's Man Enough brand, which produces his popular podcast and promotes the fight against toxic masculinity.
But by the end of the year, Norman had lost his $225,000-a-year salary and was let go.
In December 2020 court papers, Norman, a Black man, made explosive claims accusing them of misleading him about his employment contract, subjecting him to racial discrimination, and wrongfully firing and retaliating against him after he raised concerns.
In his filings, Norman said Baldoni, the company's co-owner, was sympathetic when he raised concerns about feeling targeted due to his race.
In fact, he claimed: "(Justin's) response was to be supportive" and "praise his work." The Jane the Virgin star even told Norman "he want(ed) to continue working with him."
Baldoni was previously accused of misleading one of his company workers and subjecting him to racial discrimination.
However, Baldoni and his company denied the staffer's allegations, countering Norman was an at-will employee with performance issues who antagonized his colleagues. The case was ultimately dismissed in April 2022 without any admission of wrongdoing.
A source added: "Justin must have feared this lawsuit would rise again and that it would cast him in an even darker light" amid his legal troubles with Lively.
"He's always tried to present himself as a progressive man, and it contradicts what he stands for. It's just more damaging negativity that he doesn't need."
In fact, this was the second lawsuit from Baldoni's past to emerge in the wake of his legal battle with Lively.
In January, details resurfaced from a 2021 case filed by screenwriter Travis Flores, who accused the actor of ripping off his story and script for Three Feet Distance for his 2019 directorial debut Five Feet Apart.
The case was settled and dismissed in 2022.
Baldoni's carefully crafted public image continues to be questioned as additional claims surface.
A source explained: "Justin is fighting for his reputation and livelihood.
"It just looks bad to have these allegations coming out of the woodwork at a time when his legal fight with Blake is getting uglier."
On February 18, Lively's attorneys filed an amended complaint against Baldoni that included 50 more pages detailing what she says went down while making the 2024 film based on Colleen Hoover's novel about domestic abuse.
Lively claimed two other women were "made uncomfortable" by Baldoni's "unwelcome behavior" on set and were willing to testify.
In May 2023, the amended complaint stated one woman "conveyed her feelings (to a Sony Pictures Entertainment rep and a producer) that the work on the film was suffering as a result of Mr. Baldoni's behavior."
A source added: "He's always tried to present himself as a progressive man, and it contradicts what he stands for. It's just more damaging negativity that he doesn't need."
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Baldoni has spent the last month in Hawaii with wife Emily, 40, and kids Maiya, 9, and Maxwell, 7, trying to "get some semblance of peace," attorney Bryan Freedman said.
Freedman said in a statement that all the additions have been "underwhelming" and "filled with unsubstantial hearsay."
Baldoni has denied all of Lively's initial and added claims, labeling them 'false' and 'salacious.'
He previously denied Lively's claims, which included allegations stating Baldoni subjected her to graphic sex talk and improvised during love scenes; added "numerous kisses" to takes; and repeatedly entered her trailer while she was undressed, including when she was breastfeeding as "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious."
Justin filed his own detailed $400million lawsuit, which included full text exchanges with Lively and others, in which he accuses Blake and husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, of taking over creative control of his film and seeking to destroy his reputation with false claims.
