Blake Lively sues prominent Baha'i film-actor, Justin Baldoni, for sexual harassment


Blake Lively has filed a lawsuit against actor Justin Baldoni, her co-star and director in the film It Ends With Us, alleging sexual harassment and a smear campaign aimed at damaging her reputation. The lawsuit was filed on December 21, 2024, following months of reported tension between the two during the film's promotional activities, which included noticeable avoidance of each other at public events.

Allegations and Context

Lively's lawsuit claims that Baldoni engaged in persistent sexual harassment during the filming, which took place from April 2023 to early 2024. Specifically, she alleges that Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath created a hostile work environment by making inappropriate comments and violating her physical boundaries. The legal complaint details several demands made by Lively to ensure a safe working environment, including:

- No more showing of nude videos or images of women to Lively.
- No discussions regarding Baldoni's pornography addiction.
- No comments about sexual experiences or inquiries about Lively's weight.
- No additional sex scenes outside the scope of the approved script.

In her filing, Lively also asserts that Baldoni orchestrated a campaign to undermine her public image after the film's release, which caused her significant emotional distress.

Agreement in January 2024

In January 2024, an agreement was reportedly reached among the involved parties. This agreement mandated that Baldoni and Heath would cease behaviors that contributed to the toxic environment on set. However, despite this agreement, Lively claims that Baldoni continued to engage in actions that were detrimental to her reputation and well-being.

Reaction of Steve Sarowitz

Steve Sarowitz, co-founder of Wayfarer Studios and a follower of the Baha'i faith, has publicly defended Justin Baldoni in light of Blake Lively's lawsuit against him. In a statement, Sarowitz expressed his strong support for Baldoni, emphasizing that he believes the accusations are unfounded and that Baldoni is a person of integrity who has always acted with respect towards others.

Sarowitz's defense aligns with Baldoni's legal team's stance, which has characterized Lively's claims as “entirely false” and an attempt to damage Baldoni's reputation. Sarowitz stated that he has witnessed Baldoni's commitment to creating a positive work environment and his advocacy for women's rights, underscoring that Baldoni's actions do not reflect the behavior alleged by Lively.

Justin Baldoni (a person of integrity) and porn addiction

Justin Baldoni has admitted to having a porn addiction. In a podcast interview from July 2021, he discussed his early exposure to pornography and described how it developed into an unhealthy relationship. Baldoni shared that he was introduced to porn at the age of 10 and later used it as a coping mechanism for feelings of loneliness and pain, stating, "I trained my brain to deal with pain with the dopamine hit". He acknowledged that this behavior was problematic, especially when he found himself returning to porn during difficult emotional times.


People outside the Faith are talking about the allegations against Wayfarer Studios. The Baha’i Faith was mentioned in the New York Times article about the lawsuit (although thankfully while the article was very critical of Wayfarer Studios it was kind to the Faith). Imagine this being someone’s first introduction to the Baha’i Faith.

This is beyond gossip at this point. The allegations in the legal complaint that led to the lawsuit are horrifying and extremely serious and if Wayfarer Studios is found liable for these allegations it could do serious damage to the public reputation of the Faith.

Not to mention that the possibility of prominent Baha’is engaging in such rampant and egregious hypocrisy, abuse, and spiritual narcissism under a business whose name references the Seven Valleys makes me sick to my stomach. This is not private misconduct. If it is indeed found they are liable for/guilty of these things they’re accused of, it is akin to peeing on the Shrine of Baha’u’llah.

Text of full complaint here: https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/1629cc34e562e325/4410b1d9-full.pdf

More here: https://old.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/1hjfg9h/blake_lively_sues_justin_baldoni_for_sexual/

Historical documents show that the Baha'is who did not close their business on Baha'i holy days were admonished by the LSA.

The protection committee of the LSA of Tehran interrogates the Baha'is who do not close their work during the Baha'i holy days.










Baha'i who worked for the Imperialists and oppressors


Photo of 'Ayn ul-Mulk (son of Mirza Reza Qannad Shírází), who was a companion of Shoghi Effendi and the father of former Iranian Prime Minister Amir 'Abbas Hoveyda. He was the ambassador of Iran to Saudi Arabia and an important figure for the British occupying forces.

Some more details here:

https://iranbahaipersecution.bic.org/archive/tebyan-cultural-institute-biography-hoveyda

Shoghi Effendi's properties in Iran







Mr. Esfandiari from the Ministry of Finance evaluated one of Shoghi Effendi's properties, the third leader of the Baha'is. According to official documents, a mansion in Tehran's 4th sector on Shibani Street was valued at 708,000 Rials at the time of Shoghi's death.

Another property owned by Shoghi Effendi is located in Tehran's 10th district on Briyank St., No. 61. This property includes a garage, warehouse, three houses, and three stores (butcher shop, electrical, etc.), totaling 2480 square meters. The value of this property at the time of Shoghi's death was 4,000,000 Rials.

Despite never setting foot in Iran during his life, Shoghi Effendi owned lands in the country. Mr. Esfandiari also reported that Shoghi Effendi earned an annual income of millions of Rials from farming and agriculture activities in Baba Salman village owned by him and leased to Falah Company for 6 years from July 1331 (Iranian calendar), with the appointment of Waliullah Varqa as a lawyer.

Apart from the above Shoghi Effendi also owned numerous properties in Madbor district and in Ghar village of Ray city (Tehran) and big plots of land in Mashhad also.

Plurality of wives: Islam vs Baha'i Faith


I used to think that Baha'u'llah's ideas were revolutionary in the context of religious dispensations. But over the years, some ideas I thought were novel were almost word for word found in Persian poetry from famous "Sufi" poets.

I also used to think that it was novel that Baha'u'llah says in the Kitab-i Aqdas that no more than 2 wives are permitted in conjunction with Abdul-Baha's interpretation that only 2 wives are permissible provided justice and equity are observed, but since that is impossible, you can only have one wife.
https://bahai-library.com/provisionals/aqdas/aqdas147.notes.html

Any of you who have kids will also understand that it's impossible to be equitable to your children, especially if you have more than one. The 2nd and 3rd children are invariably always treated differently, and this is just natural part of being human. So why should people be allowed to have more than one child if you can't treat them the same?

I recently watched this YouTube video about some Bedouins in Israel and one of the leaders was asked specifically about Polygamy, and his response was surprising and demonstrated that this Baha'i idea is not novel at all.
https://youtu.be/_g3f1xVhPX4?si=PKJB0P2M3YObHFwW&t=907

In the video the Bedouin leader basically says that plurality of wives has to meet certain conditions, and you can't just take a new wife because you see a beautiful lady on the street. He says you have to be able to treat them equitably, especially by material means.

While I can see there could be some rebuttals of this, on the difference between equality and equity, material equity and feelings of love and affection for one wife or the other, etc. But the problem is that growing up in a Baha'i family you grow up being told that Muslims can take multiple wives willy nilly. But it's not true and there is more nuance to it. There is definitely some baggage Baha'i's have against Islam in this regard.

Not to mention that Baha'u'llah doesn't even appear to be adamantly against more wives than two, it sounds like it's just a warning, not a divine decree in the same way that he abrogated Jihad.

https://old.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/1bbx0xv/plurality_of_wives_islam_vs_bahai_faith/