Blake Lively’s brother-in-law, Bart Johnson, is taking back the “unkind” comments he has made in the past after previously defending her amid her lawsuit drama with Justin Baldoni.
Johnson, 54, took to X on Tuesday, January 28, to share a throwback photo from the set of High School Musical. (Johnson played Zac Efron’s dad in the Disney films.) He subsequently received a response asking if he deleted his past tweets allegedly about Baldoni because Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds were “being exposed as liars” amid their legal back and forth with Lively’s It Ends With Us director and costar.
“My [past] comment wasn’t for any individual. Never said a name,” Johnson, who is married to Blake’s half-sister Robyn Lively, replied. “It was directed at a certain ‘type’ [of person] that I find performative and disingenuous when they post clips of themselves being ‘amazing’ and even add sappy music to enhance it. There’s a lot of that out there.”
Johnson elaborated in a separate post where he apologized for past commentary on social media.
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“Anytime I’ve said anything unkind about someone I’ve regretted it. Fortunately that’s almost never and definitely not when I’m at my best,” he wrote via X. “Regardless if it’s true or not, if it’s my opinion, even if I’m trying to speak truth or stand up for someone, it’s never good. Even in times where it might ‘feel’ justified and doing the right thing, it makes no difference. There’s a better way.”
The actor admitted he wasn’t thrilled with his behavior online, adding, “It’s below the standard I have for myself and I regret it. I do sincerely apologize to anyone I’ve hurt or let down by saying something that sounds mean. I’ll do better. If you follow me you know you’ll be hard pressed to find more than 1 time I’ve criticized anyone on social. It’s not my jam.”
Johnson concluded: “You can easily find a million times I’ve uplifted, support, encourage and uplifted my family, friends, followers & strangers. That’s what I’m committed to and where I find my happiness. We all have flaws and I’m definitely a work in progress and doing my best to grow and be better. Sending ALL my love to ALL of you. 
.”
Johnson was previously vocal in his support for Blake when she filed paperwork in December 2024 accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment, creating a “hostile work environment” and causing her “severe emotional distress” while working together on It Ends With Us.
At the time, Johnson left a comment on an Instagram post from The New York Times, writing, “Her complaints were filed during the filming. On record. Long before the public conflict. The cast unfollowed him for a reason. Read this article before spiting [sic] ignorance. … No one is with out faults. But the public got played.”
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Johnson also appeared to reference Baldoni later that month on X, writing, “He’s a fraud. He puts on the ‘costume’ of a hero, man bun and all. Used all of the trendy catchphrases & buzz words for his podcasts.” (Baldoni previously hosted the “Man Enough” podcast where he tackled themes such as toxic masculinity, mental health and gender disparity.)
While Lively has said that she took legal action to help “pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,” Baldoni’s legal counsel called Lively’s claims “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.” Bryan Freedman alleged in a statement to Us Weekly that Lively filed the lawsuit to “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” regarding the production of It Ends With Us.
Freedman went on to claim that Lively made “multiple demands and threats” during the film’s production, which included “threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.”
Baldoni has since launched a $250 million lawsuit with nine other plaintiffs against The New York Times for its coverage of Lively’s accusations. A spokesperson for the The New York Times told Us that the outlet is planning to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
Baldoni has also filed his own $400 million lawsuit accusing Lively, Reynolds, and Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy and other claims. Lively responded to Baldoni’s studio suing her, Sloane and Reynolds.
“This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook. This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender,” a statement from her legal team read. “Wayfarer has opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.”
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Lively’s legal team accused Baldoni’s team of trying to “shift” the focus.
“They are trying to shift the narrative to Ms. Lively by falsely claiming that she seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni. The evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer. The evidence will also show that Sony asked Ms. Lively to oversee Sony’s cut of the film, which they then selected for distribution and was a resounding success,” the statement continued.
The statement concluded: “Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it’s her fault. Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing. In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail.”
The larger trial for Lively and Baldoni is set to begin on March 9, 2026, according to an order filed on Monday, January 27.
