Justin Baldoni's podcast cohost Liz Plank exits show amid Blake Lively harassment complaint

Liz Plank, one of the cohosts on Justin Baldoni's Man Enough podcast, is exiting the show in the wake of Blake Lively's legal complaint accusing the It Ends With Us actor and director of sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign against her.

In a statement posted to social media Monday, Plank said, "I'm writing to you today to let you know that I have had my representatives inform [Baldoni's production company] Wayfarer that I will no longer be cohosting the Man Enough podcast. Thank you for trusting me with your hearts and stories, for holding space for mine, and for making this show what it was."

Stressing that she will miss listeners "so much," she added, "I love what this community created together with every fiber of my being, and that's because of you. As this chapter closes for me, I remain committed to the values we've built together. Thank you for being here, for trusting me, and for being by my side for the last four years."

Related: It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover supports Blake Lively amid Justin Baldoni complaint: 'Never change'

Though Plank did not directly address Lively's allegations against Baldoni — which Baldoni has denied — she appeared to allude to them, writing, "We all deserve better, and I know that together, we can create it. I will have more to share soon as I continue to process everything that has happened. In the meantime, I will continue to support everyone who calls out injustice and holds the people standing in their way accountable."

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Baldoni and Wayfarer for comment on Plank's departure.

A journalist and the author of For the Love of Men: From Toxic to a More Mindful Masculinity, Plank had hosted Man Enough alongside Baldoni and Wayfarer CEO Jamey Heath since its launch in 2021. The podcast is billed as exploring "what it means to be a man today and how rigid gender roles have affected all people."

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Plank's exit comes days after Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department accusing Baldoni and Heath of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us, a big-screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel centered on a woman's fight to break the cycle of domestic violence. Lively starred opposite Baldoni in the film, and Heath served as a producer.

Lively's complaint alleges that Baldoni engaged in "invasive, unprofessional and sexually inappropriate behavior” on set, including unwanted and unplanned kissing, walking into her dressing room while she was undressed, making comments about his sex life and porn addiction, and degrading her with remarks about her age and weight.

Related: Amber Heard supports Blake Lively after Justin Baldoni hired Johnny Depp crisis firm: 'I saw this firsthand'

The Gossip Girl alum is also accusing Baldoni and Heath of mounting a smear campaign against her, providing in the complaint subpoenaed emails and text messages from Baldoni's publicists to illustrate what she calls a "sophisticated, coordinated, and well-financed retaliation plan" to damage her reputation.

"Mr. Baldoni was desperate to suppress any suggestion that he engaged [in] inappropriate conduct, much less sexually harassing conduct, because it would entirely undermine his carefully curated public image as a feminist ally," the complaint says.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney representing Baldoni and his production company, has called Lively's allegations "categorically false." He also defended Baldoni's crisis PR firm in a statement provided to EW on Monday.

"TAG PR operated as any other crisis management firm would when hired by a client experiencing threats by two extremely powerful people with unlimited resources," Freedman said, adding that the "standard scenario planning" proved "unnecessary" due to what he calls Lively’s own "distasteful" press tour.

Freedman also claimed that the New York Times, which broke the news of Lively's complaint, "played directly into the hands of Lively’s own dubious PR tactics by publishing leaked personal text exchanges that lack critical context — the very same tactics she’s accusing the firm of implementing."

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly