Latest news with #Bahai
Forbes
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Baldoni Vs. Lively Feud Explained: Lively Files Motion To Dismiss Baldoni's Lawsuit
Blake Lively filed a motion to dismiss her 'It Ends With Us' co-star and director Justin Baldoni's lawsuit in New York federal court Thursday, days after her husband, Ryan Reynolds, who is a co-defendant, filed a similar motion to dismiss. (Here are in-depth explanations for Lively's claims and Baldoni's claims.) Blake Lively attended the "Another Simple Favor" premiere Friday evening. (Photo by Michael ... More Buckner/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images) March 20, 2025In her motion to dismiss, Lively slammed Baldoni's 'vengeful and rambling lawsuit' as a 'profound abuse of the legal process,' urging the court to 'dismiss all claims against Ms. Lively with prejudice, deny leave to amend, and award Ms. Lively all relief sought,' including attorney's fees and damages for 'reputational and emotional harm.' March 18, 2025Reynolds filed a motion to dismiss Baldoni's lawsuit, in which he is named as a co-defendant, alleging Baldoni's lawsuit does not prove Reynolds defamed him and is instead 'a list of grievances attempting to shame Mr. Reynolds for being the man Mr. Baldoni has built his brand pretending to be.' March 7, 2025Lively attended the South by Southwest premiere of 'Another Simple Favor,' a sequel to the 2018 film 'A Simple Favor,' where she received a warm reception from the crowd and spoke primarily about her work on the film, though co-star Anna Kendrick dodged a question that appeared to allude to Lively's legal battle, and one protester held up a sign that said 'Justice for Justin Baldoni' outside the theater. March 6, 2025At a hearing Thursday, Lively's attorneys argued certain information should be treated as highly classified 'attorney's eyes only' material, which lawyer Sigrid McCawley said would help minimize the risk of 'irreparable harm if marginal conversations with high profile individuals with no relevance to the case were to fall into wrong hands'—apparently suggesting messages between Lively and celebrity friends may leak. The judge did not rule on the request Thursday. Though it's unclear which 'high profile individuals' McCawley was referring to, Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman has previously suggested he could request Lively's friend Taylor Swift testify, after she appeared to be referred to in Baldoni's lawsuit. March 5, 2025The Los Angeles Times published an investigative report on Baldoni's career, citing multiple unnamed employees at his Wayfarer Studios production company, some of whom said he injected 'toxic positivity' and his Bahai faith into the workplace culture in a way that felt 'professionally inappropriate.' Representatives for Baldoni and Wayfarer told the Los Angeles Times there have 'never been any reported complaints regarding the workplace culture' and Wayfarer's work is rooted in 'various faiths and backgrounds.' March 4, 2025Lewis Liman, a U.S. district judge, said the New York Times' motion to dismiss Justin Baldoni's $400 million case against the newspaper provided 'substantial grounds,' suggesting the lawsuit—in which Baldoni accused the Times of working with Lively's team to smear him—could be dismissed. Feb. 28, 2025Shapiro, who formerly served as the CIA's deputy chief of staff between 2013 and 2015 before starting his own strategic consulting firm, will advise Lively's litigation team on legal communications relating to the lawsuit she filed against Baldoni in New York federal court. Feb. 20, 2025Attorneys submitted a letter on behalf of Lively and Reynolds asking a new, more extensive protective order be imposed that would shield 'personal, sensitive or proprietary information' from the public after claiming they and their allies have been victimized since the legal battle began. The letter goes on to say that it is "inevitable" that the release of more discovery in the case will further violate their privacy, expose them to threats and create "a climate of possible witness intimidation." Feb. 18, 2025Lawyers for Lively filed an amended complaint that included new accusations Baldoni's behavior made at least two additional, unnamed female cast members uncomfortable and that both of those women brought their complaints to Lively, who documented them in writing and reported them to higher-ups on the film (the complaint references Baldoni's 'unwelcome behavior' but does not specify exactly what he is accused of doing). The suit claims Baldoni was made aware of at least one of the additional cast members' concerns and responded to her in writing at the time, promising "adjustments would be made'—but alleges he instead launched a PR campaign to discredit any future claims made against him. Forbes reached out to Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, for comment on the new complaint Wednesday. Feb. 13, 2025Baldoni and Lively's letter to the judge, filed in New York federal court on Thursday, said mediation or reaching a settlement would be 'inappropriate' and 'premature' for this case, suggesting their legal feud could eventually head to trial. Feb. 12, 2025Hoover, who deactivated her Instagram account as the legal battle between Lively and Baldoni continued to play out, has wiped any photos with Lively or Baldoni from her account. Most posts related to the film at all have been deleted, including an post supporting Lively that went up shortly after she filed her initial lawsuit against Baldoni: "@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt," she wrote. During promotion for the 'It Ends With Us' film, Hoover appeared to take Lively's side when a clear rift emerged among the film's cast and crew. Lively refused to promote the movie alongside Baldoni and the pair were never interviewed or photographed together during its highly publicized press tour, Hoover and most of Lively's co-stars, including Jenny Slate, Brandon Sklenar and Isabela Ferrer, appeared at her side rather than Baldoni's. Hoover still follows Lively on Instagram, but does not follow Baldoni. Feb. 11, 2025A three-year-old video interview of Blake Lively admitting to Forbes she's ruffled feathers in the film industry by attempting to have more 'authorship' over her projects has gone viral. In a resurfaced interview from the 2022 Forbes Power Women's Summit, Lively said just following direction as an actress "wasn't fulfilling for me" and that she's received backlash for stepping in and trying to be part of costume design, writing and other aspects of a project. She said she's had writers, producers and directors "welcome that and invite that," and others who resented her for stepping on toes. She also said she hasn't always upfront with her plans to step in to other parts of a project when she was hired as an actress, and that she 'wouldn't reveal that I actually need to have authorship in order to feel fulfilled... Sometimes that might have felt like a rug pull.' Feb. 8, 2025Filmmaker Judd Apatow joked about "It Ends With Us" at the 77th Annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards Saturday night, calling it "such a terrible movie" and referencing the Baldoni-Lively lawsuits. "I loved Wicked. I saw it four times in the first four days," Apatow added. "It was the highest-grossing movie musical of all time. Do you know that? Usually to make that much money, you have to sue Blake Lively." Feb. 7, 2025Comedian Chelsea Handler, who hosted the Critics' Choice Awards, also poked fun at the legal battle, which has played out dramatically in the media over the last six weeks. Handler thanked the pair for providing a "distraction" from heavier headlines: 'I want to personally extend my gratitude to Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively... I'm grateful. I think we're all grateful. And I think we're good. I think everybody in this room, no matter whose side you're on, we can all agree to accept that there's probably not going to be a sequel. It ends with us, guys." Feb. 5, 2025Baldoni's lawyer suggested in an interview with TMZ he could call on Taylor Swift—a close friend of Blake Lively's who may have been alluded to in Baldoni's lawsuit against the actress—to testify once the case goes to trial. After TMZ's Harvey Levin asked about deposing Swift, Freedman didn't rule out the idea, calling it a 'game time decision' and adding he would seek testimony from anyone who may have relevant information (Freedman also said Swift was present alongside Baldoni, Lively and Ryan Reynolds at a meeting about Lively's proposed script edits to 'It Ends With Us' that is referenced in Baldoni's lawsuit, though the suit only refers to the alleged attendee as 'Taylor' with no last name). Feb. 4, 2025Jed Wallace, owner of the crisis PR firm Street Relations, sued Lively in Texas federal court for defamation, alleging she falsely claimed in a civil rights complaint and her lawsuit that Wallace participated in an alleged smear campaign against the actress at the behest of Baldoni's public relations team, which he says caused him 'millions of dollars in reputational harm.' Feb. 4, 2025'A Simple Favor 2,' Lively's latest film, will open at the SXSW Film and TV Festival next month, Director Paul Feig said, after rumors the film had been shelved, partially due to the Lively/Baldoni legal battle. Feb. 3, 2025New York federal judge Lewis J. Liman told lawyers for Lively and Baldoni that he would move up the trial date, set for March 2026, if the case continued to be 'litigated in the press.' Liman ordered both sides to adhere to the New York Rules of Professional Conduct, which stops lawyers from making public comments that have a 'substantial likelihood' of tainting a jury, but stopped short of sanctioning Baldoni's attorney, Freedman, despite claims from Lively's team that he has gotten close to defaming her and has made 'extrajudicial statements' about her and her character. Feb. 1, 2025Baldoni's team published a website dedicated to supporting his lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds that links to to an amended complaint filed on Jan. 31 and contains a timeline of events outlining what he says happened on the set of 'It Ends With Us,' including corresponding text messages, emails and a statement Baldoni has said he was pressured into releasing by Reynolds and Lively that would have seen him take the blame for the "troubled production" of the movie (he refused to put out the statement). In addition to the statement, Baldoni released a text message exchange with Lively that showed she chose not to meet with the on-set intimacy coordinator he hired, leaving him to relay uncomfortable information from the meeting on his own. Jan. 30, 2025Lawyers for Lively and Reynolds said in a letter to Liman that they plan to move to dismiss the lawsuit filed against them at a pre-trial conference scheduled for Monday, Feb. 3. Jan. 29, 2025The Hollywood Reporter cited unnamed sources in reporting Baldoni has "lost three jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars' since Lively first filed suit against him in December and that an in-the-works "Pac-Man" movie project he was set to direct is now in jeopardy. Jan. 27, 2025Liman told Lively and Baldoni's lawyers to prepare for a March 9, 2026 trial date and set a pretrial conference to discuss, among other things, complaints from Lively's team about the conduct of Baldoni's lawyer. Lively's lawyers have claimed Freedman is trying to paint potential jurors by creating a website to release communication between the two actors and documents from set, and accused him of making an "endless stream of defamatory and extrajudicial media statements." Jan. 27, 2025 The Daily Mail first published a nearly seven-minute voice note it says Baldoni sent to Lively at 2 a.m. during the filming of "It Ends With Us," in which he allegedly apologizes for not being open enough to script changes she made, admits he is a 'a very flawed man' and makes a reference to her breastfeeding her then-newborn child. Jan. 21, 2025Baldoni's legal team countered Lively's claims that he acted inappropriately while filming a slow dancing scene for the film by releasing a 10-minute video from set that includes three takes of the same scene, which Baldoni's team says is the entirety of the footage shot for that scene, during which Lively alleged in a lawsuit Baldoni 'leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, 'it smells so good.'' The footage shows a similar interaction, where Baldoni is seen nuzzling Lively's neck, and she says, "I'm probably getting spray-tan on you," to which he responds, "It smells good." Lively's team says the footage fully corroborates her account, and 'any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively's discomfort.' Baldoni's lawyers said the footage proves both actors clearly behaved "well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism.' Jan. 16, 2025Baldoni filed a federal lawsuit in New York against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, her publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane's firm Vision PR alleging his co-star "tormented" him, his family and his partners, falsely accused him of sexual harassment and used him as a "scapegoat" to dodge the negative press surrounding. He also pushed back on claims he sexually harassed her, instead claiming she "calculatingly devised" fake stories to destroy his reputation and livelihood, seized control of the film he was directing and set out to damage his career and Wayfarer Studios "if they did not bend to her incessant demands' (Here's more on Baldoni's lawsuit). Jan. 10, 2025Deadline reported Baldoni's former publicist Stephanie Jones, who sued the actor and a handful of others for defamation and breach of contract in December, has issued subpoenas to WhatsApp, Signal, website hosts Hostinger and Name Cheap, digital publishing platform AnyFlip and chatbot company Gab AI in attempts to discover who may have been behind posts and websites aimed at harming Lively and Baldoni's reputations. Jan. 10, 2025Feig, who directed Lively's upcoming film "A Simple Favor 2," responded to viral rumors the film had been shelved "indefinitely," partially due to the Lively/Baldoni legal battle, calling it "total BS" and confirming the film "is finished and coming out soon." Jan. 8, 2025In an interview with Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, TMZ founder Harvey Levin said about the co-stars' competing accusations about online campaigns to damage one another's reputation: 'Both sides tried to skew this story. We've been on the recipient end of that ... It has happened on both sides in the Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni war. Both sides.' Freedman responded by saying, 'That's good to know.' (In recent days, Freedman has denied Lively's allegations that she faced a smear campaign by Baldoni's PR team, claiming Lively's team was instead working to smear Baldoni.) Jan. 7, 2025Freedman appeared on Megyn Kelly's YouTube show to discuss Baldoni's plans to sue Lively 'into oblivion' and pushed back on several of the actresses' allegations, accusing Lively of not reading the source material for the film, refuting claims she was sexually harassed and accusing her of orchestrating her own smear campaign against Baldoni. The interview also included newly released sound from a voice note from Baldoni explaining that he was "sent to the basement" of the film's premiere because Lively "didn't want me anywhere near her or the rest of the cast' (Here's more on what Freedman said on Kelly's show.) Jan. 3, 2025Freedman told NBC's "Today" he "absolutely" plans to file suit against Lively after she alleged she was subjected to "sexually inappropriate behavior" by Baldoni on the set of their 2024 film, but wouldn't say exactly what the countersuit would allege, though denied Lively's claim that Baldoni and his team launched a smear campaign against the actress. Jan. 2, 2025Glaser, the first solo female to ever host the Golden Globes, warned viwers in advance that she wouldn't be poking fun of Baldoni and Lively while on stage. 'I think the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni thing is such a hot-button thing right now that even a mere mention of it will seem like I could be on the wrong side of things, even though I would never be,' Glaser told Yahoo Entertainment. 'I also don't want to give (Baldoni's) name any — I'm mad I even know his name, to be honest with you, so I don't need to say it anymore.' Dec. 31, 2024Baldoni filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times for the paper's reporting on Lively's allegations, accusing the outlet of having "cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood elites"—Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds (on Jan. 31, Baldoni added defamation allegations against the Times to his sweeping lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds, and his attorney said he would drop the original suit against the paper). Dec. 31, 2024Lively formally filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against Baldoni, his publicist, Wayfarer Studios and other defendants for "retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns." Dec. 24, 2024Baldoni was sued by his ex-publicist, Stephanie Jones, over an alleged conspiracy to discredit her and steal her clients. Dec. 24, 2024Vital Voices, a nonprofit that focuses on empowering women, rescinded an award it gave to Baldoni, who has made a career expressing his support of women's stories and co-hosted a podcast about masculinity called "Man Enough," which his co-host pulled out of the same day. Dec. 21, 2024Baldoni was reportedly dropped by his talent agency. Dec. 20, 2024Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department claiming Baldoni invaded her privacy by "entering her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed," pressured her to lose weight four months after giving birth and coordinated a PR campaign with a crisis firm "designed to 'destroy' Ms. Lively's reputation." Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text 'Alerts' to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here. The message, which was obtained by the Daily Mail and has since gone viral on TikTok, appears to be Baldoni apologizing for his reception to changes Lively proposed for a scene in "It Ends With Us." Baldoni says his reaction to the changes "fell short" and thanked her for telling him how she was feeling about his response, according to the newspaper. "I f***ed up, that is a fail on my part," he appears to say. "One thing you should know about me is that I am willing to apologize when I fail... I am a very flawed man, as my wife will attest." Baldoni then appears to talk for almost another five minutes, in which he says there is 'nothing more exciting to me' than working with Lively. The message does not specifically say which scene Baldoni is referring to but his lawsuit against Lively mentions tension over a rooftop scene in the film that Lively rewrote and presented to Baldoni as her own work before telling media outlets that her husband, Reynolds, actually wrote it. Baldoni directed and co-starred with Lively in 'It Ends With Us,' the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling book of the same name, which released last August. Rumors of a rift developing between Lively and Baldoni during post-production began to emerge around the movie's release, and were further fueled during the film's press tour when Lively appeared to avoid mention of Baldoni in interviews. Speculation emerged that there were disputes over creative control and sources told TMZ Baldoni had "fat-shamed" Lively by inquiring about her weight, telling an on-set trainer he wanted to avoid injury while lifting the actress in the movie. Baldoni and Lively were never photographed together while promoting 'It Ends With Us.' As rumors of a feud grew, Baldoni hired Melissa Nathan, a crisis PR manager who represented Johnny Depp in his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard. According to texts published by The New York Times, Nathan suggested plans including 'full social take downs' by creating 'threads of theories' and planting pieces in the media of 'how horrible Blake is to work with.' Lively said the alleged smear campaign had caused 'severe emotional distress' for her and her family, prompting her to back out of hosting the 'Saturday Night Live' season 50 premiere. Lively's initial complaint included excerpts from thousands of pages of text messages and emails, which were the main focus of the Times article at the center of Baldoni's lawsuit. The text messages were largely between Baldoni, his publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis management expert Melissa Nathan, and were obtained through a civil subpoena, Lively's complaint said. A lawsuit filed by Baldoni's ex-publicist Stephanie Jones, the founder of the Jonesworks publicity firm, days later revealed she was the source of the text messages, which were obtained from Abel's work phone. In her own lawsuit against Baldoni, Jones claimed Abel was fired for conspiring to steal clients from her firm and Jones later had Abel's company-issued phone 'forensically preserved and examined in detail.' Lively's team then obtained the texts through a subpoena against Jonesworks. The texts show discussions on how to coordinate a social media campaign against Lively, and how Baldoni wanted to feel like Lively "can be buried' under negative media. The messages show the trio talking about the 'shift on social' against Lively, and reveal that Baldoni was aware of the negative messaging against her. Messages from Baldoni also show him encouraging the P.R. team, flagging social media posts for them to use and, in one case, suggesting 'flipping the narrative' on a positive story about Lively and Reynolds, according to The Times. In other messages, he reiterates that the campaign needs to be untraceable. Around the time of the 'It Ends With Us' premiere, Lively was the subject of intense criticism online targeting how she promoted the film, the opportune release of her haircare line and other behaviors. In one promotional video, Lively encourages the audience to "grab your friends, wear your florals and head out to see (the movie)." Fans instantly criticized Lively's upbeat tone and claimed she was attempting to promote the movie as a lighthearted love story, cheapening the movie's serious take on domestic abuse. Comments on the video attacked Lively—"shame on you and your PR team for turning a blind eye," one said—but praised Baldoni for how he handled promotion. Lively was also criticized for seeming to promote her newly launched hair-care line, Blake Brown, off the back of the film, but it was later revealed that the two were never supposed to launch at the same time. Production delays caused by Hollywood strikes in 2023 pushed the premiere of 'It Ends With Us,' then coinciding with the predetermined launch date of the brand. At the same time, Lively was freshly criticized for her reaction to an interviewer in a resurfaced 2016 clip. Lively's lawsuits claim the public's attacks were part of the smear campaign she says was orchestrated against her. A number of celebrities have come out to support Lively since she filed her initial complaint, including Hoover, Lively's 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' co-stars and actress Amber Heard, who claimed to be a victim of a similar social media takedown. Hoover, who The Times reported also refused to do press with Baldoni, posted to Instagram after Lively first made her allegations to call her "nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient." America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn, who starred alongside Lively in her 2005 breakout role in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," slammed the 'vindictive effort ensued to discredit her voice' and Heard said she has seen similar social media campaigns "firsthand and up close,' calling it "horrifying and destructive.' Actresses Kate Beckinsale and Abigail Breslin shared their own stories of harassment and retaliation in the wake of Lively's lawsuit, and director Paul Feig posted that Lively "did not deserve any of this smear campaign.' Lively's "It Ends with Us" costar Brandon Sklenar posted a link to the initial New York Times story and Jenny Slate, another co-star in the film, said she stands by her "loyal friend." Amy Schumer posted a story on Instagram that said, 'I believe Blake.' Political influencer Candace Owens posted in support of Baldoni after he was stripped of his Vital Voices award, writing that he should "have his day in court" before such drastic measures are taken.
Los Angeles Times
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
How ‘The Traitors' saved its season with a killer cliffhanger
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who's 100% faithful — to the reality competition 'The Traitors.' In this week's newsletter, Screen Gab editor Matt Brennan shares his thoughts on the U.S. edition's recently concluded third season, streaming recommendations for your weekend and more. Must-read stories you might have missed Justin Baldoni's tumultuous road to the center of a Hollywood scandal: The actor-director built a career blending his Bahai values and storytelling. Now allegations involving Blake Lively and 'It Ends With Us' threaten his image. 'The White Lotus' critiques luxury tourism while also promoting it with partnerships: HBO's anthology is a class satire that skewers high-end tourism, but for Season 3, it also has served as an ad for luxury travel with partnership and marketing deals. Vincent D'Onofrio breaks down the 'Daredevil: Born Again' reunion we've all been waiting for: Back as Wilson Fisk in 'Daredevil: Born Again,' the actor discusses returning to 'Daredevil,' how the diner reunion came together, Fisk's marriage counseling and more. Conan O'Brien navigates the Oscars through song, dance and awards: The comedian and former late-night host led the ceremony replete with musical numbers and nods to L.A., filmmaking and the current political climate. Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times 'Toxic Town' (Netflix) Self-dealing politicians rewarding cronies; nervous whistle-blowers; riled up mothers taking on the government; and a selfless lawyer sticking with a case across decades: All inform this splendidly executed, fact-based, four-hour U.K. drama. Written by playwright and screenwriter Jack Thorne, most recently known for 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,' it's based on the Corby toxic waste case, in which a cluster of birth defects were associated with the careless removal and transportation of waste from decommissioned steel mills. There's something inherently dramatic, suspenseful, enraging and exciting about the material — it's not the first time we've seen this sort of legal drama, and it's an especially good time to add another to the list. But what takes the series to a higher level is the work of a great cast, including Jodie Whittaker (you know her, the 13th Doctor), Aimee Lou Wood (currently seen on 'The White Lotus'), Robert Carlyle ('The Full Monty'), Rory Kinnear (so many things) and Brendan Coyle (Mr. Bates of 'Downton Abbey,' not nearly so nice here). Even in small scenes, they animate the personal story inside the political. — Robert Lloyd 'With Love, Meghan' (Netflix) Will I be harvesting my own honey in this lifetime? No. Do I often comment on the beauty of an egg yolk? Honestly, in this economy, maybe I should. But I have spent an afternoon fashioning giant bows out of pink plastic table cloths from Dollar Tree for affordable Galentine's Day decor (thanks for the tip, TikTok!) and, in my head, I am Ina Garten's West Coast bestie. I fear I am the target audience for a celebrity lifestyle series like 'With Love, Meghan.' Domestic doyennes like Garten and Martha Stewart certainly bring more genuine knowledge and skill to the format, but while there is nothing groundbreaking about this Netflix offering — it's too well-tailored, too beige and too precious — there's still something fascinating in observing the former 'Suits' star-turned-monarchy defector make a balloon arch or assemble tea bags with bath salts. Maybe it's the joy she has in doing it, sometimes leaving the viewer with the same look of dumbfound curiosity and wonder that guest Mindy Kaling has seeing the host make star-shaped cucumber sandwiches for an imaginary children's party. Or maybe it's the fact that her doing it enrages people. I'm not a hate-watcher: It's the distraction I need. Plus, as someone who will find any excuse to host so I can make themed invites on Canva, the overly curated content that is 'With Love, Meghan' is definitely my vibe. Who doesn't dream of making beeswax candles, topping naked cakes with berries and writing on labels with picture-perfect penmanship? — Yvonne Villarreal Everything you need to know about the film or TV series everyone's talking about As a reality fan who generally avoids competition series, the occasional 'Top Chef' or 'Project Runway' excepted, I approached Peacock's Emmy-winning 'The Traitors' with a fair amount of skepticism: If I didn't find 'Survivor' castaways or 'Big Brother' house guests compelling, what could I possibly see in a glorified game of Mafia? Three seasons into the U.S. edition, hosted by Alan Cumming at a sumptuously appointed highland castle, I'm eating Scottish crow. Though the money-earning 'missions' remain a snooze, the real game play, in which a super-majority of 'faithfuls' try to sniff out the traitors in their midst, has proved highly addictive. I'd even go so far as to call the format's confrontational roundtable meetings, where cast members lob accusations, sow confusion and 'banish' their brethren, better television than a 'Housewives' reunion. And, unlike a contrived season of Bravo's shady flagship, 'The Traitors' has already shown the capacity to course-correct. After all, the current season of 'The Traitors U.S.,' which concluded Thursday, seemed destined to be plagued by its ham-fisted start. A trio of reality-competition 'gamers' joined the proceedings midstream; a spate of entertaining but feckless contestants were eliminated early on; and unprecedented levels of traitor-on-traitor bickering threatened to derail their usual gleeful scheming. But 'The Traitors' is all about trust, and I should have trusted that the format would come through as it always has. With the emergence of 'Big Brother' veteran Danielle Reyes as the season's anxious anti-heroine, diabolically plotting to steal the prize money despite heavy suspicions of her loyalty, the series steered itself back on course — and set up one of the best reality-TV cliffhangers in recent memory. I won't spoil the outcome of last night's finale by telling you whether Reyes, who we last saw locked in a life-or-death tie at the roundtable, lived to betray another day. I'll simply say that 'The Traitors' has my loyalty because it can turn on a dime, or a knife in the back. I guess I'll be checking out the Australian version in the offseason. — Matt Brennan A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they're working on — and what they're watching A little bit 'Succession,' a little bit 'Goodfellas' and a whole lot of funny, 'Deli Boys' (Hulu), the first Asian American / Pacific Islander-centered series from Disney's Onyx Collective brand, leaves no viewer expectation unturned. From the surprisingly bloody pilot on, creator Abdullah Saeed's tale of polar-opposite brothers (Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh) who inherit a very different family business from the one they planned on defies convention; stay tuned in particular for 'Never Have I Ever's' Poorna Jagannathan playing deliciously against type as a crime syndicate consigliere. Showrunner Michelle Nader stopped by Screen Gab recently to discuss what's so 'radical' about its depiction of Pakistani Americans, what she's watching and more. — Matt Brennan READ MORE: 'Deli Boys' is a quirky and smartly written crime comedy What have you watched recently that you're recommending to everyone you know? 'Sly Lives: aka The Burden of Black Genius' on Hulu. Questlove directed this documentary and it's a beautiful exploration of Sly and his singular talent. What's your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again? My comfort watch is 'Seinfeld' [Netflix]. I have specific episodes that I watch for certain feels. But in general Season 4 is my go-to. The Pakistani American community at the heart of 'Deli Boys' has often been erased or villainized in Hollywood film and television. What blind spot or misconception were you most adamant about avoiding or combating with this series? Abdullah was very intentional about making a show about a family. Not just a Pakistani family. They are Pakistani and illustrate the richness of their culture but that wasn't the goal of the series. That is the radical new perspective. Between 'Deli Boys,' your ABC sitcom 'Shifting Gears' and the projects you've got in development, you've got to have a hectic schedule. What's your go-to convenience store (or other) snack when you are stressed? My favorite snack is a glass of orange wine.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Justin Baldoni Hits Back At Claims His Good Deeds Are 'Phony' And That He Fostered A 'Toxic' Workplace
Justin Baldoni is defending himself against former employees' allegations of hypocrisy and claims that he presided over a "toxic" workplace culture. The actor has been in a legal standoff with his "It Ends With Us" co-star Blake Lively after she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him, which he responded to with a $400 million countersuit. Ever since, Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively have been involved in a back-and-forth over the case, with the actress claiming in an amended complaint that her kids are "traumatized" by the legal drama. Baldoni has been left fighting for his reputation after several allegations surfaced, claiming that his philanthropic efforts were nothing more than a charade. In a Los Angeles Times feature, one of his former employees at Wayfarer Studios raised eyebrows at his charitable gestures, such as "filming himself giving clothing to a homeless man or asking employees to sign their emails with the phrase 'so much love.'" "It was constant positivity all the time — I would say toxic positivity," the ex-Wayfarer employee said. "I'm always a little dubious of people who advertise themselves as disruptors of the status quo or quote-unquote 'good people.' It felt phony." Some former colleagues spoke to his character, suggesting that the 41-year-old actor/director gives off a pattern of performative virtue and power plays that, in their view, conflicted with the ideals he professes to uphold. "They keep talking about [the Baldoni-Lively battle] as David and Goliath, but that's just not my experience," said one former colleague, who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of being drawn into litigation. The ex-colleague continued, "Justin has a lot of power and a lot of money, and he is not afraid to use them to get his way. We need allies, but we need allies whose personal and business dealings align with who they say they are." Baldoni has now slammed the allegations that his charitable gestures are "phony" and that he fostered a "toxic" workplace environment. In a statement shared with the Daily Mail, a rep for the "Jane The Virgin" star wrote, "There have never been any reported complaints regarding the workplace culture, or any communicated issues regarding the platforms or its founders." "If any guidance was ever provided to employees on how to conduct their written correspondence, it was to ensure that the activities of its employees remained professional and aligned with the ethos of the company. Wayfarer believes that joy and positivity are the essence of good work, and they stand by this statement," Baldoni's spokesperson added. The Los Angeles Times also claimed that former employees in Baldoni's company alleged they felt uncomfortable with the "increasing prominence of the Bahai faith in Wayfarer's office culture." Other employees claimed that "Bahai principles were frequently invoked in discussions about the company's mission and projects" at the workplace, "particularly after Sarowitz became more involved." A past employee noted, "There was an evangelizing aspect to the way Justin spoke about the faith that, in my opinion, felt professionally inappropriate." Baldoni's rep seemingly distanced the actor from the claims that he was being unprofessional with his religion. They told the Daily Mail that because all the company's "projects are rooted in a belief system that stems from various faiths and backgrounds, speaking from a place of spirituality is commonplace." The rep added, "Employees are encouraged to celebrate and practice their individual beliefs however they see fit, a message which is proudly supported by leadership." The reports come after a judge moved to dismiss the New York Times as a defendant in his lawsuit against Blake Lively. The co-stars have been embroiled in a bitter, escalating legal battle after Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and misconduct on the set of "It Ends With Us." Baldoni denied the claims and filed a $250-million defamation suit against her and the New York Times, which published her allegations, before following up with a $400-million countersuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist, Leslie Sloane, accusing them of conspiring to destroy his reputation and usurp control of the film from him. However, a judge on Tuesday suggested he may dismiss the news outlet as a defendant in the case. U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan said the New York Times' February 28 motion to be excused from the case offered "substantial grounds for dismissal" and "a strong showing that its motion to dismiss is likely to succeed on the merits."
