New unsealed court documents in the ongoing Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively lawsuit revealed some of the thoughts of Liz Plank, Justin’s former Man Enough podcast co-host.
The podcast, which shares a name with Justin’s book, started in 2021 and aimed to explore “what it means to be a man today and how rigid gender roles have affected all people.”
However, after Blake sued Justin in 2024 over alleged sexual harassment and retaliation (which he has denied), Liz resigned and said on social media, “I will continue to support everyone who calls out injustice and holds the people standing in their way accountable.”
In one of the newly unsealed files, Blake said in a declaration that she spoke with Liz after first meeting Justin about the movie, where she “shared several negative experiences that she and others had with Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios LLC.”
This is echoed in a text Liz sent a “baffled” Ryan Reynolds in April 2023: “i tried to warn blake on the red flags but was hoping [Justin] had gotten better.”
“Working on his set was truly one of the worst days of my life, but it’s survivable and i’ll help,” Liz continued.
The following month, Liz texted Blake, “i keep thinking i should have been more direct with the level of dysfunction, i thought maybe things had gotten better. and i know you already know this but none of this is your fault.”
“I also think they’ve never met their match. like i put up with a lot, most women do and you’re not and i’m sure that’s making them go even more nuts,” Liz continued. “You’re confronting them to have to see who they really are. you’re meant to take this on because you’re strong enough to!”
“I’ve also purposely stayed out of it and haven’t asked or talked to them at all about the film because i’m standing by you regardless,” she added. “It’s astounding they have gotten away with so much. you inspire ME in more ways than you can possibly imagine blake.”
In a statement to BuzzFeed, Sigrid McCawley, a member of the Blake Lively legal team, said, “The newly unsealed, damning documents show the consistent reaction numerous women, cast, crew, executives, partners, co-host and even his own PR team had working with Justin Baldoni.”
BuzzFeed has reached out to representatives for Liz and Justin respectively for comment.
