The Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, who considers loyalty a top virtue, came out on February 13 to support Team Blake Lively in her legal conflict against Justin Baldoni. Appearing on Freakonomics Radio Live show, Emanuel claimed to be “ride or die” for the couple who are currently neck-deep in controversy.
Meanwhile, Ari Emanuel is the same person who previously published an op-ed against Kanye West, urging business partners to cut ties with the rapper. Back in 2019, after West’s anti-Semitic rants, Emanuel had urged people to stop associating with the singer, much like he had previously encouraged through his 2006 op-ed against Mel Gibson.
Businessman Ari Emanuel supports Blake Lively against Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit
Appearing on Freakonomics Radio Live show, after Stephen Dubner asked the power broker and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel about the legal clash between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, the star agent expressed his public support for the Gossip Girl alum. Breaking down the reason behind his support for Team Lively, Emanuel claimed to be “ride or die” for the actress (via THR).
Claiming to have known the couple for decades, Ari Emanuel hailed Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds as “good people”. Further, elaborating on how he decided to “fire” Justin Baldoni from WME in December 2021, after Lively’s s*xual harassment allegations against him, Emanuel called the It Ends With Us team “bad people” for treating the actress poorly.
It is a f*cked up, bad situation with what Bologna… Baldoni… whatever his name is… is doing. It’s not really fair. I’ve known Ryan and Blake for over a decade. They’re really incredible people. In Hollywood, they have been incredibly successful. People work with them, they’ve never had any bad mojo out there or treated people badly.
They are charitable — we help them with their foundation — they’ve given tons of money away. If what is alleged in her lawsuit [and] what happened on social media is true… they’re really bad people. I know Blake, I know Ryan, they’re good people.
Further, reflecting on Blake Lively’s allegations about lack of intimacy coordinators on the set of her movie with Justin Baldoni, Ari Emanuel noted how the actress must have felt that “she was not being protected”. Later on, urging Baldoni’s team to stop harassing Lively, Emanuel supported the actress and her husband Ryan Reynolds in their legal battle.
Meanwhile, Justin Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, emailed a response to the WME CEO’s comments saying that the actor “hasn’t been called ‘Bologna’ since the fifth grade”. Further, Freedman noted how Ari Emanuel’s statements and perspective towards Baldoni would have been different had he ever met the actor personally, like he claimed to have known Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
The Endeavor CEO previously went after Kanye West in 2019
While Ari Emanuel’s grand display of corporate friendship with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds made headlines, his previous comments about Kanye West resurfaced right on time. Amid the billionaire businessman declaring his unwavering loyalty to Team Lively, Emanuel’s 2019 op-ed in the Financial Times against the rapper went viral among netizens.
According to reports from Billboard, back in 2019, after Kanye West went on a now-infamous anti-Semitic rant, the WME CEO Ari Emanuel didn’t just shake his head in disapproval. He went full rogue and wrote an op-ed urging West’s business partners—including music streaming platforms like Apple and Spotify—to stop working with the rapper.
According to reports from Ajc.org, Kanye West had echoed a long-standing antisemitic remark suggesting that “white” Jews are imposters while Black people are the “real Jews.” This comment had surprisingly sparked outrage among the public and was believed to have inspired a deadly shooting in a Jewish market in New Jersey. The gravity of the situation later led Emanuel to voice his concerns.
West is not just any person — he is a pop culture icon with millions of fans around the world. And among them are young people whose views are still being formed. This is why it is necessary for all of us to speak out. Hatred and anti-Semitism should have no place in our society, no matter how much money is at stake.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t Ari Emanuel‘s first rodeo, for he had previously flexed his cancel-culture muscles in 2006 when he wrote another bashing op-ed about Mel Gibson. Considering how even the Oscar winner was known for similar anti-Semitic remarks, Emanuel had previously called for Hollywood to stop working with the actor.
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