Justin Baldoni has been accused of imposing his Baha’i religious beliefs on the set of It Ends With Us, amid his ongoing legal battle with Blake Lively who is suing the actor-director for sexual harassment.
According to sources who spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, Baldoni’s Baha’i faith would result in an ‘unusual’ amount of physical contact with crewmembers, as well as ‘asking God for guidance’ before making creative decisions on the film.
DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Baldoni, who have so far been unavailable for comment.
The lengthy cover story – which features a spoof illustration of Baldoni and Lively – poked fun at the way Baldoni allegedly mixed his religion with his professional duties.
In the story, it wryly notes that there is nothing in the sacred Baha’i texts ‘on how to behave on a movie set’ or ‘how to collaborate with an A-list movie star.’
The ancient Baháʼí faith is a religion that originated in Iran in the 19th century and emphasizes the unity of all people and the worth of all religions.
Justin Baldoni has been accused of imposing his Baha’i religious beliefs on the set of It Ends With Us, amid his ongoing legal battle with Blake Lively who is suing the actor-director for sexual harassment (Baldoni pictured in 2024)
Baldoni, who has been open about his devotion to the Baha’i faith, seemingly comes at odds with Hollywood’s current climate following the #MeToo movement, which increased awareness of sexual harassment and led to stricter policies against abusive behavior.
‘The Justin that I know isn’t capable of doing the things that he’s accused of doing because he truly sees himself as this feminist. But Blake clearly got grossed out,’ a source, who worked on It Ends With Us, told THR. ‘I honestly feel like it was a perfect storm of two opposing personalities.’
A female executive that sat down with Wayfarer executives last year recalled an unusual meeting with Baldoni, where she recalls how they started ‘asking participants to go around the table and share something private, something that brings them “joy” and has nothing to do with their jobs or their career.’
‘In my head I was like, “I’m sorry, are we at Café fucking Gratitude?”‘ the woman recalled. ‘Why are you imposing your culture on this meeting that’s being held at our offices? I can’t explain exactly why, but it made me so uncomfortable.’
According to THR, Baldoni’s ‘faith was an even more pronounced on-set presence during production’ since he served as the director, producer and leading man.
A source told the outlet that ‘on the first day of filming, several members of the crew participated in a Baha’i prayer’ and that ‘there was an unusual amount of physical contact in the form of hugging among crewmembers.’
Although Lively did not explicitly mention Baha’i by name, THR points out that ‘religion was at least background noise on the set’ in her suit.
In the suit, she admitted to feeling ‘alarmed’ after learning that the unknown actor that Baldoni cast was Baldoni’s ‘best friend’ and a fellow Baha’i.
According to sources who spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, Baldoni’s Baha’i faith would result in an ‘unusual’ amount of physical contact with crewmembers, as well as ‘asking God for guidance’ before making creative decisions on the film; Lively seen in 2022
The lengthy cover story – which features a spoof illustration of Baldoni and Lively – poked fun at the way Baldoni allegedly mixed his religion with his professional duties
Additionally, Lively accused Baldoni of claiming that he ‘could speak to the dead’ in the suit.
In 2017, Baldoni spoke about his interest in the afterlife in a series titled What if Birth and Death Are Actually the Same? as well as, more recently, on on the Gent’s Talk podcast.
‘The people that love us the most that aren’t here anymore are just guiding us in these beautiful ways,’ Baldoni said on the Gent’s Talk podcast. ‘I can feel so often the nudge.’
Zackery Heern, who is Baha’i and a professor at Idaho State University, clarified to THR that ‘the Baha’i writings don’t say much about’ seances and that it ‘is not encouraged’ to speak to the dead.
‘It’s a bit fringe for Baha’i,’ he explained.
Baldoni, who has been open about his devotion to the Baha’i faith, seemingly comes at odds with Hollywood’s current climate following the #MeToo movement, which increased awareness of sexual harassment and led to stricter policies against abusive behavior
Previously, a source, who worked with Baldoni on the 2019 film Five Feet Apart, said Baldoni ‘did talk about his religion a lot’ on set.
Another source on the Five Feet Apart set, however, appreciated Baldoni and the influence of his religion on the set.
‘I’ve never worked with a male director who was so worried about everyone’s emotional and mental well-being,’ says the source. ‘There was an openness and emotionality to his style that was more typical of a woman, and it probably wouldn’t be an issue if it was a [female director] because of the preconceived notions of gender,’ they said.
The insider continued: ‘[Justin] genuinely believes that if we do this, we’ll work better as a group. There’s a little bit of an arrogance to it. It’s like he doesn’t want to acknowledge the world we live in.’
According to THR, Baldoni’s ‘faith was an even more pronounced on-set presence during production’ since he served as the director, producer and leading man
In December, Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in December against Justin, who vehemently denies her claims.
Justin followed up by launching a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake, her publicist and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
He also filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against the New York Times for its reporting on Blake’s allegations.
Last month, a judge scheduled a trial date for their lawsuits in March of 2026, and both parties have already decided to skip any attempt at mediation.
