The Price of Ego: What the Baldoni/Lively Lawsuit Teaches Us About Healing.

Over the last year, we’ve witnessed a highly public dispute with accusations between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni regarding the filming of the movie It Ends With Us. Last week, Mr. Baldoni created a website where the public could read his Complaint and a Timeline of Relevant Events. I’m a former actor, writer, director, and producer who has created my own content via theater and film. Because I’ve done what JB has done, but on a smaller scale, I wanted to read his Timeline to gain a better perspective on what was being shared in the news. After reading the Timeline, I feel that there are two spiritual teachings here for all of us.

The first is Ego. Ego is our sense of self. We can have a healthy ego or an unhealthy ego. The unhealthy ego behaves in a way that requires validation and self-importance. BL’s behavior, as substantiated by text messages and emails in the Timeline, shows an ego that needs to be in control, needs to be right, and to take credit when credit isn’t due. In my own experiences in working with actors, I’ve dealt with egos, but nothing of this proportion. It’s no wonder that JB ended up in the hospital physically broken down and emotionally shut down by the constant barrage of changes, demands, and requests from BL. In a way, BL’s behavior is a powerful teacher for us. She has shown us what happens when the ego goes too far and commands too much.

The second is the Spiritual Law of Consequences. There’s the expression, “You reap what you sow” or “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” Unhealthy ego drives us to make choices that incur consequences. Each time BL made another request or demand, we witnessed JB and the production company fold and acquiesce until there was nothing left to give. This established one part of the consequences that followed. The second part happened when her promotion of the film blew up in her face. BL was labelled insensitive and criticized for taking a lighthearted approach to the topic of domestic violence. Instead of admitting her mistakes, her ego drove her to accuse JB of sexual harassment. To date, her allegations have not been proven because the snippets of information she has provided don’t show the bigger picture that the Timeline details. Is BL aware of the consequences she created? Probably not.

What is the bigger message for all of us? We are being shown that unchecked ego and consequence go hand-in-hand, and that whether we want to acknowledge it or not, our choices do have an effect in the world. As far as BL, is there a part of her that desires to heal her ego? Perhaps. Did this drama emerge publicly as an opportunity for true healing and self-reflection? Maybe. Was JB's response also a test of character, serving to refine his own inner strength and boundaries? It could be. Time will tell, but one thing we need to remember: This drama can serve as a mirror to what we all have—an ego that needs to be acknowledged and constantly healed.