Candace Owens has finally met the man she has repeatedly called her “cousin.” Owens has been a vocal defender of Justin Baldoni throughout his legal battle with Blake Lively, despite the two having never met in person. Now, after more than a year of publicly standing behind Baldoni, the political commentator and the director have finally come face-to-face in a chance encounter.
On September 1, political commentator Candace Owens shared a photo with Justin Baldoni on her social media accounts, marking their first in-person meeting after more than a year of voicing her support for the director amid his legal battle with Blake Lively. The two were all smiles as they posed for the camera.
“We asked Claude. There was an approximate 1 in 100 million chance that I ran into Justin Baldoni at an airport in Iceland on a Friday afternoon. Just incredible,” Owens captioned the post on X. She posted the same photo on Instagram, adding the hashtag #Cousins.
As the podcaster noted, the unexpected encounter happened on August 28 in Iceland while they were both waiting for their flight back to the U.S. Baldoni had been vacationing with his family in Sweden and Iceland, as he noted on Instagram.
The Podcaster Firmly Backed Justin Baldoni Through The ‘It Ends With Us’ Drama
Owens was one of Baldoni’s most vocal supporters during his legal battle with Lively, covering updates about the case on her self-titled podcast despite never having met the director before.
In February 2025, just a few months after The New York Times investigative article about Baldoni was published, Owens did a deep dive on the allegations and criticized Lively. She slammed the actress’ approach to marketing “It Ends With Us” and raised questions about her allegations.
In later episodes, Owens went over pieces of evidence presented by both camps and stood firm in her opinion that Baldoni was being unfairly villainized.
Candace Owens Was Subpoenaed In Connection With The Case
Owens was among those who were sent a subpoena in connection with the “It Ends With Us” lawsuit. According to the commentator, Lively’s legal team wanted to investigate the alleged smear campaign and requested her to disclose communications, information, and pertinent data that linked her to Baldoni.
Owens rejected the idea that she was part of any type of smear campaign and repeatedly denied ties to Baldoni. She clapped back at the actress, saying, “I have not the slightest idea what I am being subpoenaed for as I knew none of these parties when their respective lawsuits were filed,” she said on her podcast, as reported by The Blast.
Amid her coverage of the case, Owens repeatedly referred to Baldoni as her “cousin,” joking that they were basically family after she fiercely defended him.
In April, a judge tossed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims against Baldoni ahead of the trial date, which the director’s supporters saw as a big win. The claims that remained were breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation, per The Blast.
The dismissal effectively removed Baldoni as an individual defendant, and the focus of the case shifted to his production company, Wayfarer Studios.
Owens rejoiced following the news, writing on X: “Everybody please congratulate me on Blake Lively’s psycho claims about Justin Baldoni being dismissed. We worked really hard on that one. In the end, truth wins.”
Justin Baldoni Will Share His Side Of The Drama In Time
Baldoni has remained largely silent throughout the ordeal, opting to release statements via his attorneys. Near the scheduled trial date, the two camps settled, bringing the lengthy and messy legal battle to an end.
In July, Baldoni and his wife, Emily, broke their silence and expressed their sincere gratitude to those who stood by them during the difficult time. While they did not share details about the case, Emily said the “facts have spoken for themselves” and that the time will come when they will be able to share their side of the story.
