16 hours ago
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Blake Lively’s brother-in-law is no fan of Justin Baldoni.
“High School Musical” actor Bart Johnson, who is married to Lively’s sister, Robyn, blasted Baldoni, 40, on social media following Lively’s bombshell lawsuit against her “It Ends With Us” co-star and director.
Baldoni has been accused of sexually harassing Lively on the set of the film and formulating a smear campaign to “destroy” her reputation.
Johnson, 54, called Baldoni “a fraud” in a scathing post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.
“He puts on the ‘costume’ of a hero, man bun and all. Used all of the trendy catchphrases & buzz words for his podcasts,” Johnson continued. “None of it’s genuine. It’s all theater. And everyone fell for it. For years.”
“Rewatch his videos with a more critical eye and watch him compliment and praise himself with faux humility and self deprecation. What a performance,” Johnson added.
Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni on Friday and claimed he acted inappropriately on the set of their domestic violence drama.
The “Gossip Girl” star also alleged that Baldoni and his allies — including PR crisis manager Melissa Nathan, who worked with Johnny Depp during his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard — were behind an online smear campaign that trashed Lively.
Baldoni has denied all of Lively’s accusations against him.
“These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media,” Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told The Post.
However, Baldoni is dealing with major professional fallout amid the scandal.
The actor was dropped by his talent agency, WME. Also, his “Man Enough” podcast co-host, Liz Plank, announced she’s quitting the show.
Lively, meanwhile, has received support from her “It Ends With Us” co-star Brandon Sklenar and Colleen Hoover, who wrote the book that the film is based on, since making her claims against Baldoni.
Her sister and brother-in-law also spoke up in her defense after the lawsuit was filed.
“FINALLY justice for my sister @blakelively,” Robyn, 52, posted on her Instagram Story over the weekend, sharing a link to the New York Times article about the alleged smear campaign.
Johnson, meanwhile, wrote on Instagram that Baldoni’s PR team was “gross and disgusting but highly effective.”
He also referenced the resurfaced interviews of Lively being “rude” to reporters that went viral when “It Ends With Us” came out in August.
“But yeah let’s post from our couch how much we hate her for making mistakes. That makes sense,” Johnson wrote. “I mean, she’s been rude in these interviews that magically played on repeat. I saw it. None of us have ever been wrong or mean. Never. We should discount decades of good for those few bad moments. Glad the microscope isn’t on me every day of my life.”
Lively addressed her lawsuit against Baldoni in a statement to the New York Times.
“I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,” she said.
English (US)