Justin Baldoni admitted in the past to having had a ‘unhealthy relationship’ with pornography

Justin Baldoni is in the eye of the storm after Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against him for sexual harassment and attempted defamation during the filming and subsequent promotion of ‘It Ends With Us’. The actor, who also directed the film, had been hailed by many as a true feminist and won the hearts of the internet, but now the landscape has changed following the serious accusations that Lively has brought against him.

Amid the controversy, other controversies have come to light, one that was also mentioned in the lawsuit filed by the Gossip Girl actress. It is about his "unhealthy" relationship with pornography after being introduced to it at a young age.

What did Justin Baldoni say about his relationship with pornography?

"I was introduced to pornography when I was ten years old. Long before I could, you know, have an erection or even knew how I felt about anything," shared Baldoni, now 37, in a July 2021 episode of the podcast Sarah Grynberg's "A Life of Greatness". "We've sexualized this, so of course, it becomes fascinating and interesting and you think, 'oh my God, breasts'. And then, you know, hormones start to go haywire."

Baldoni added at that moment that "I sought refuge [in pornography] when I felt lonely, or when I felt abandoned, or when I felt hurt or something like that, because it was a dopamine release - I didn't know it then. At an early age, I trained my brain to deal with pain with the dopamine hit."

Baldoni is also the author of a book titled Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity, where he extensively wrote about his "relationship" with the porn industry and how it informs young people's understanding of consent. "I think especially the pornography that young people are watching is very violent and since no one ever sits down with us and teaches us about consent, we learn it through pornography," he said in 2021. "So, what do you have? You have an entire generation of guys who think that when a girl says 'no', or 'stop', or 'that hurts', that means it's okay."

In Lively's lawsuit, it is alleged that Baldoni's behavior towards her on set caused the actress "severe emotional distress". According to the lawsuit, her demands included "no more showing videos or images of naked women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni's alleged previous 'addiction to pornography,' no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no more mentions of the cast and crew's genitals, no more questions about Blake's weight, and no more mentions of Blake's deceased father."