Kaylah Walton
Justin Baldoni recently faced scrutiny after his past issues with porn were revisited amid Blake Lively‘s allegations of sexual harassment against him, which she claims were aimed at damaging her reputation.
Lively, who is married to Ryan Reynolds, stated that interventions were needed to stop Baldoni from sharing nude videos and discussing his past sexual encounters. She reported incidents where he made inappropriate comments about cast members’ bodies, commented on Lively’s weight and her late father, and added unsanctioned sexual scenes to scripts, some involving graphic content.
While Baldoni’s legal counsel has labeled these allegations as “completely false” and intended to harm him publicly, it has come to light that Baldoni had previously acknowledged his problematic relationship with pornography dating back to his childhood.
In a 2021 interview with A Life of Greatness, Baldoni shared that he was first exposed to porn at the age of 10, before he even understood his own body or feelings. He reflected on how society sexualizes certain aspects of life, making things like nudity seem taboo and thus more alluring.
Baldoni’s attorney mentioned that he engaged a crisis manager to deal with various challenges posed by Lively, who allegedly threatened to withdraw from promoting their film unless her concerns were addressed.
Baldoni talks about “training” his mind
There are concerns that consuming pornography at a young age, or excessively at any age, can harm personal development and influence sexual relationships negatively.
From his statements, it appears Baldoni is aware of these dangers, admitting that he has “trained” himself to cope with emotional pain through the release of dopamine while acknowledging that this mechanism does not equate to a healthy use of adult material.
He stated, “I trained my brain to cope with pain through dopamine,” recognizing the unhealthy patterns: he often turned to images of naked women during low moments and realized it was a problem when he found himself telling his inner self to stop.
