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Justin Baldoni's podcast co-host has ended her association with the actor and director following the filing of a legal complaint by his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively.
This is the latest blow for the 40-year-old, who was dropped by his talent agency, WME, which also represents Lively, 37, following her allegations of creating a hostile work environment and orchestrating a smear campaign against her.
In a statement released on social media, journalist and author Liz Plank announced she was leaving the The Man Enough podcast, which was launched in 2021.
'I’m writing to you today to let you know that I have had my representatives inform Wayfarer (the production co-founded by Baldoni) that I will no longer be co-hosting The Man Enough podcast,' she wrote.
The For the Love of Men: From Toxic to a More Mindful Masculinity author thanked her audience for 'trusting me with your hearts and stories, for holding space for mine, and for making this show what it was.'
'I will miss you, the listeners, so much. I love what this community created together with every fiber of my being, and that’s because of you,' she said.
Justin Baldoni's podcast co-host, Liz Plank, has ended her association with the actor and director following the filing of a legal complaint by his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively.
The show was designed to explore and re-define 'what it means to be a "man" in today's world' including topics such as masculinity, gender roles, mental health, relationships, and societal expectations.'
Referring to the fallout from the egregious charges against Baldoni, Plank said, 'I will have more to share soon as I continue to process everything that has happened.'
'In the meantime, I will continue to support everyone who calls out injustice and holds the people standing in their way accountable.'
In her December 20 filing, Lively not only named Baldoni, but Wayfarer co-founder Steve Sarowitz and CEO Jamey Heath, who was also the lead producer on It Ends With Us.
The filing claims Sarowitz, a multi-billionaire, stated at the August premiere of It Ends With Us in New York City that he was 'prepared to spend $100 million to ruin the lives of Ms. Lively and her family.'
The complaint argued Baldoni, Sarowitz and Heath collaborated to silence Lively and others who were part of the film from 'speaking out about the hostile environment that Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath created,' calling their actions a violation of state and federal law.
Baldoni has denied the allegations and his publicist Jennifer Abel, who is named in the suit, claimed in since-deleted comments on Facebook that she advised the actor to contact the crisis experts to counter 'horrible stories' launched by Lively, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Lively also named Melissa Nathan from The Agency Group for their alleged efforts to 'bury' her reputation.
Plank, a journalist and author, made the announcement Monday on Social media
The Man Enough podcast was launched in 2021, and was designed to explore and re-define 'what it means to be a "man" in today's world' including topics such as masculinity, gender roles, mental health, relationships, and societal expectations'
Lively, 37, has filed her complaint not only against Baldoni, but his company Wayfarer Studios and executives Steve Sarowitz and Jamey Heath for their participation in creating a toxic work environment and allegedly colluding to ruin her reputation (Pictured in New York City in October)
Baldoni has denied the allegations. His crisis PR team issued a statement claiming they were brought on to counter Lively's 'horrible stories' against the actor (Pictured in New York City on December 10)
TAG PR released a statement via Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman, saying their company 'operated as any other crisis management firm would when hired by a client experiencing threats by two extremely powerful people with unlimited resources.'
They claimed 'audiences found Lively’s own actions, interviews and marketing during the promotional tour distasteful, and responded organically to that which the media themselves picked up on.'
Lively did received quite a bit of bad PR for the way she promoted the film, but her filing claimed 'The Marketing Plan directed the cast to focus more on the character's 'strength and resilience as opposed to describing the film as a story about "domestic violence" and to "[a]void talking about this film that make sit feel sad or heavy [sic]—it's a story of hope."'
The actress and her attorney claim Baldoni began acting contrary to that directive and 'he and his team used domestic violence “survivor content” to protect his public image.'
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