The Internet loves to hate a hypocrite. It’s one of the many reasons why users turned on Justin Baldoni, a self-described feminist, who was accused by his It Ends with Us co-star Blake Lively of sexism, sexual advances, and loutish manners on set.
Hypocrisy appears to be rife in both camps of the scandal that has taken hold of Hollywood since December. Lively has faced criticism for her behavior in the past—some social-media users reposted instances of Lively being rude and ungracious—and on set (there were accusations of Lively attempting to take creative control), and her promotion of her own brands, including her hair-care line, Blake Brown, and her beverage company, Betty Buzz, in conjunction with a film about domestic abuse.
Baldoni, meanwhile, who is best known for his role in the CW series Jane the Virgin, appears to be one contradiction after another. Lively’s laundry list of creepy complaints—about Baldoni’s alleged pornography addiction, inquiries about her weight, and adding unnecessary sex scenes to the film—is particularly bad when you consider Baldoni is an official “Ambassador” for the Tahirih Justice Center, a nonprofit organization that advocates for women, girls, and immigrant survivors of gender-based violence.
Justin Baldoni, who shares two children with his wife, the Swedish actress Emily Baldoni, is also the author of Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity and the co-host of the Man Enough podcast, which claims to explore “what it means to be a man today and how rigid gender roles have affected all people.” One well-known director who was a guest on Baldoni’s podcast in 2023—on air to promote his latest film and talk about writing realistic, relatable, and confident female characters—claims that he ended the interview abruptly following incessant questions from Baldoni about the director’s sex life. (Representatives of Baldoni did not respond to Air Mail’s request for comment.)
Perhaps the only remaining unexplored aspect of Baldoni is his Baha’i faith, something the actor has referenced in interviews and on social media, calling the religion a “daily source of inner happiness.” Born in Los Angeles to an Italian Catholic father and an Ashkenazi Jewish mother, Baldoni was raised to follow the Baha’i religion and its central tenet: unity.
The faith was founded by a young Persian—a champion of women’s rights, no less—in the mid-1800s, and the early Baha’i leaders had their spiritual roots in Islam. Today, it is headquartered in Haifa, Israel, and touts rigorous moral standards—members don’t drink, are barred from joining political parties, and are forbidden to lie. The faith also considers homosexuality to be against God’s will.
While Baha’i doesn’t keep membership statistics, it’s estimated that it has between five and eight million followers around the world (with as many as 200,000 in America) and is one of the fastest-growing religions, despite followers facing prosecution in Iran, Egypt, Yemen, and elsewhere.
There is no minimum practice, no clergy, and no confession in the Baha’i religion. But there are a series of prohibitions, which only serve to underscore Baldoni’s possible hypocrisy—namely, that backbiting and gossiping are strictly denounced.
While not quite Scientology—there’s no Tom Cruise bouncing off Oprah’s seat cushions—Penn Badgley, the floppy-haired Gossip Girl fan favorite and homicidal You heartthrob, is also a member of the Baha’i faith. (Coincidentally, Badgley dated Lively, his Gossip Girl co-star, for three years in the late 2010s, while filming the show.)
According to a 2020 New Yorker profile, Badgley converted to the religion in his 20s and was drawn to its message encouraging its members to be “engaged in thinking about and attempting to meet the needs of the age you live in.” On X, Badgley alerts his followers to global injustice. “Right now, I’m considering how to post about my visit to a detention facility, in New Mexico,” he told The New Yorker.
Rainn Wilson, the actor best known for his portrayal of Dwight Schrute on The Office, is also a follower of the religion.
In the Baha’i writings, the leading way to describe God is “unknowable.” Perhaps that explains why Baldoni—who has said repeatedly that, “through God, we are told to not rely on the external or superficial for joy and serenity, and while no one is perfect at that, it’s an incredible guiding light”—seems so confounding.
Bridget Arsenault is a Writer at Large at Air Mail
