Joe Rogan weighs in on Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' legal fight with Justin Baldoni: 'They f***ed up'

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As the legal battle between actor-director Justin Baldoni and his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds drags on, Joe Rogan has let his listeners know that he’s firmly on Team Justin.

In December, Lively, 37, accused Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment on the set of the movie and claimed he tried to damage her reputation as part of a smear campaign following a meeting in which she and Reynolds addressed “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour” by the Jane the Virgin star and producers on the film.

Baldoni’s plan, Lively’s complaint said, included a proposal to plant rumours on online message boards, engineer a social media campaign and orchestrate news stories critical of the actress. The complaint also accused Baldoni of using “domestic violence ‘survivor content’ to protect his public image.”

According to the Washington Post, Lively’s lawsuit further alleged that Baldoni “flouted intimacy protocols on set, improvising kisses in scenes without an intimacy coordinator present and trying to add sexual or nude scenes she found unnecessary.”

Variety reported that Lively also contended that while the pair filmed “a slow dance scene for a montage in which no sound was recorded,” Baldoni “leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘it smells so good’… When Ms. Lively later objected to this behaviour, Mr. Baldoni’s response was, ‘I’m not even attracted to you.’”

Baldoni denied Lively’s claims and his team released footage from the scene in question saying, “Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism.”

After Lively’s suit was filed, Baldoni announced he was taking action against both her and Reynolds and the Times for defamation and extortion.

The suit, filed in federal court in New York earlier this year by Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios, seeks at least $400 million for damages that include lost future income. 

“This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio,” the suit says, according to the Associated Press. “Then, when Lively and Reynolds’ efforts failed to win them the acclaim they believed they so richly deserved, they turned their fury on their chosen scapegoat.”

In his lawsuit, Baldoni accused Reynolds of bullying and he alleged that the actor mocked him by including Nicepool in Deadpool & Wolverine to poke fun at his public image.

Earlier this month, Reynolds asked a judge to drop him as a defendant and claims Baldoni’s argument against him has no legal bounds and amounts to “hurt feelings.” The actor also claimed that he “genuinely believes Mr. Baldoni is a predator.” 

Weighing in the affair with guest Brendan Schaub, Rogan said “they f—ed up” and accused Lively and Baldoni of trying to topple a “sweet, nice guy.”

“They were trying to take over the movie and the franchise,” the UFC commentator said, slamming Lively and Reynolds on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. “The whole thing is crazy. (Baldoni) is suing The New York Times. He has a great case there, too … She told him to come into the dressing room while she was breast feeding and then part of her complaint was that he came into the dressing room while she was breast feeding. They have text exchanges going back and forth. They just thought no one was going to come out with the receipts. Everyone is scared of them. Ryan and Blake are A-list.”

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Schaub also sided with Rogan, saying, “This is what you get though, for trying to f—ing ruin a guy’s livelihood, by using the #MeToo movement.”

Lively and Baldoni’s case is set to go to trial next spring.

mdaniell@postmedia.com