Ari Emanuel Mocks Justin Baldoni, Says He Made Call On WME Firing

1:22 PM PT -- Bryan Freedman tells TMZ, "Mr. Ari Emanuel is notably one of the best agents, and clearly the most loyal, in Hollywood. As I understand it, Justin hasn’t been called ‘Bologna’ since the fifth grade. Perhaps Ari’s perspective would be different if they had ever met in the half decade they were clients of his agency."

Ari Emanuel, CEO of William Morris Endeavor, is mocking Justin Baldoni and throwing his support behind Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds ... explaining why he fired Baldoni from his talent agency.

The Hollywood honcho speaks out on the "It Ends With Us" drama in an upcoming "Freakonomics" podcast appearance with host Stephen Dubner.

Ari takes a few colorful shots at Justin, his former client at WME ... saying, "I mean it is a f***ed up, bad situation what Bologna ... Baldoni ... whatever his name is ... is doing."

When Stephen points out Baldoni was on the WME roster until recently, Ari shoots back ... "Until I fired him."

WME dropped Justin back in December after Blake sued Baldoni for sexual harassment and accused him of running a smear campaign against her ... and Ari says it was easy to pick sides.

Ari praises Blake and Ryan for being "really incredible people" who "never had any bad mojo out there or treated people badly ... they are charitable ... they've given tons of money away."

Emanuel says he's known Blake and Ryan for over a decade and when push came to shove, Baldoni was expendable ... explaining, "I am a ride or die, and they are good people."