Director Baldoni stripped of women's rights award after Blake Lively's complaint

Director Justin Baldoni was stripped of his recent award for "courage and compassion in advocating for women and girls" after actress Blake Lovely accused him of harassment. The Guardian newspaper wrote about it on December 25.

He received the Voice of Solidarity Award on December 9, 2024 from Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international non-profit organization that promotes women's rights and opportunities.

The organization said on December 23 that Baldoni's alleged harassment, detailed by Lively, was contrary to Vital Voices' values and the spirit of the award, then withdrew the award.

Actress Blake Lively, who rose to fame for her TV series "Gossip Girl," on Dec. 21 accused director and "It's Gonna End on Us" partner Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment. Her statement indicated that Baldoni and the CEO of his production company Wayfarer, Jamie Heath, behaved inappropriately not only with Lively, but with others on the set.

The publication reports that Lively, along with husband Ryan Reynolds, met with Baldoni, Heath and other producers to discuss ways "to address the hostile work environment" that nearly derailed the filming of the movie. The actress' list included demands that Baldoni and Heath immediately stop initiating personal conversations on sexual topics with Lively and other women on set. In addition, there were negotiated requirements to shoot sexy and intimate scenes for the motion picture.

Everyone came to a settlement and agreed to fulfill the requirements. However, prior to the release of the movie, Baldoni and Heath hired a crisis public relations expert to conduct a full-scale campaign to destroy Lively's reputation. According to the actress, they spread negative stories about her on social networks.

Earlier, on December 22, it became known that Blake Lively sued the director of the film "All Ends With Us" Justin Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios for sexual harassment on the set.

Before that, on December 18, El País newspaper reported that Spanish director Eduard Cortes is accused of harassing 27 women. It is noted that most of the victims are actresses aged 20 to 30 years old, which through social networks he offered allegedly work for his new projects.