Justin Baldoni previously admitted to having an “unhealthy” relationship with porn in a resurfaced interview amid Blake Lively’s sexual harassment lawsuit against him.
“I was introduced to porn when I was 10 years old. Long before I ever, you know, could have an erection or even knew how I felt about anything,” he shared on a July 2021 episode of Sarah Grynberg’s “A Life of Greatness” podcast.
“It was, you know, like any young boy who sees boobs for the first time, it’s exciting because our culture has shielded them from us because they’re sexualized. It’s cultural,” Baldoni added.
“You go to places like Africa and different tribes … and the breast is the breast. We’ve sexualized this thing, so, of course, it becomes fascinating and interesting and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, boobs.’ And then, you know, hormones start raging.”
The “It Ends With Us” actor, 40, said he “sought refuge” with porn when he felt alone, abandoned or hurt and because it was a “dopamine rush.”
“I trained my brain to deal with pain with the dopamine hit. … But it doesn’t mean that I’m not using something in an unhealthy way,” he said.
“And I found myself, over the course of my life, going back to looking at images and videos of naked women when I was feeling necessarily bad about myself,” Baldoni told Grynberg.
“And I knew that it was an issue for me when I would tell myself that I don’t want to do that.”
Baldoni’s previous comments about porn resurfaced after Lively filed a complaint against her “It Ends With Us” co-star for sexual harassment and attempting to destroy her reputation.
Per the suit filed Friday and obtained by Page Six, the “Gossip Girl” alum, 37, alleged that there had to be an “all-hands” meeting — which included the presence of Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds — about Baldoni’s inappropriate behavior.
The director was allegedly warned to no longer show “nude videos or images of women” to Lively and to stop mentioning his past “porn addiction” and sexual conquests.
The “Jane the Virgin” actor was also urged to no longer make any mentions of “cast and crew’s genitalia,” inquire about Lively’s “weight” or her “dead father,” as well as a request to not add more sex scenes, oral sex or climaxing on camera “outside the scope” of the pre-approved script, per the complaint.
Lively also accused her co-star of engaging in “social manipulation” to “destroy” her reputation.
The complaint included an alleged text from Baldoni’s publicist to a studio rep that stated he “wants to feel like [Lively] can be buried,” to which the other person responded, “You know we can bury anyone.”
In response to the lawsuit, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told Page Six that the “claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious” and “another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ [Lively’s] negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film.”
On Saturday, the “Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity and Boys Will Be Human” author was dropped by his talent agency, WME.
Meanwhile, Lively is still represented by the company.
“It Ends With Us” was released in August 2024 and was plagued with rumors of an on-set conflict between Baldoni and Lively.
