Blake Lively is taking legal action against director and co-star Justin Baldoni, alleging sexual harassment and a smear campaign against her.
For those who are in the dark; this summer, during the release of “It Ends With Us,” public opinion sharply turned against Blake Lively. Online communities noticed a strained relationship between Lively and Baldoni, and discovered the entire cast had unfollowed him on Instagram. This sparked widespread criticism of Lively, including articles accusing her of bullying the cast and unprofessionally behaving during press events. Meanwhile, Baldoni was portrayed as a victim of Lively’s alleged abuse, with many praising his dedication to the film’s message against domestic violence. The initial response celebrated the public backlash against Blake Lively, framing it as a righteous takedown of a “Mean Girl.” However, this narrative quickly fell apart when serious allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct surfaced against Justin Baldoni.
The evidence suggests Baldoni engaged in predatory behaviour on set. This included unwanted sexual advances, such as adding inappropriate intimate scenes and making sexually suggestive remarks. The lawsuit alleges he also demonstrated a blatant disregard for boundaries, staring uncomfortably at Lively while she was breastfeeding and making objectifying comments about her body. Furthermore, Baldoni exploited vulnerable situations, insisting on partial nudity during a childbirth scene and making insensitive comments about a young actress losing her virginity.
Adding to these concerns, Baldoni confessed to past instances of non-consensual sexual encounters, revealing a troubling history of abuse. He also is accused of demonstrated negligence and disregard for safety by knowingly exposing Lively and her new born child to COVID-19
Blake Lively, despite her high-profile status, faced a significant power imbalance when she attempted to report sexual harassment by co-star, director, and producer Justin Baldoni within his own production company.
Despite her fame and connections, Baldoni allegedly felt empowered to intimidate and harass Lively. When she resisted his behaviour, he reportedly retaliated by launching a sophisticated smear campaign against her. This campaign, orchestrated by the same PR firm that defended accused abusers like Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt, utilised online platforms to spread negative narratives and turn public opinion against Lively.
“He wants to feel like she can be buried,” a publicist working with the studio and Mr. Baldoni wrote in an message to the crisis management expert, Melissa Nathan on 2 August.
“You know we can bury anyone,” Ms. Nathan replied.
Following Lively’s allegations, Ms. Nathan, a prominent PR executive who previously represented figures like Johnny Depp, actively worked to suppress negative stories about Baldoni and amplify negative narratives about Lively. This included employing digital strategies to boost social media posts that supported their agenda.
This incident echoes the experiences of Amber Heard during the Depp v. Heard trial, where she also accused Depp’s PR team of orchestrating a smear campaign against her. Heard emphasised the destructive power of misinformation in the digital age, highlighting how falsehoods can spread rapidly and irrevocably damage reputations.
In response to the allegations, Baldoni’s attorney dismissed them, suggesting that the influence of TAG PR, the firm representing both Depp and Baldoni, has been exaggerated. He argued that the public perception of both Heard and Lively has primarily been shaped by their own highly publicized lives and public appearances.
This is where the pattern becomes obvious.
Brad Pitt reportedly hired PR expert Matthew Hiltzik in 2016 to manage his public image during his divorce from Angelina Jolie. Hiltzik has a reputation for representing high-profile clients, including Justin Bieber, Katie Couric, and previously, figures like Harvey Weinstein. He also recently assisted Johnny Depp during his legal battle with Amber Heard. While Hiltzik had worked with Pitt since 2016, he wasn’t heavily involved in managing media coverage of Pitt’s personal life until Jolie’s recent allegations of assault surfaced.
The tendency for the internet to launch intense hate campaigns against women raises concerns, particularly following events like the Amber Heard trial, the backlash against Anne Hathaway, and GamerGate.
GamerGate serves as a significant example of online harassment. In 2013, video game developer Zoe Quinn released “Depression Quest,” a game praised for its unique perspective. In 2014, Quinn’s ex-boyfriend published a lengthy post detailing personal grievances, alleging infidelity with video game journalists, among other accusations. These claims lacked substantial evidence, appearing more as the resentment of a scorned ex-partner.
This post triggered a coordinated harassment campaign against Quinn on 4chan, including rape and death threats, doxing, and hacking. The justification given for this campaign was “ethics in video game journalism,” even though the attacks extended to other women in the gaming industry, such as Brianna Wu and Anita Sarkeesian, who had no connection to the alleged ethical breaches. These women were targeted simply for being present in male-dominated spaces.
GamerGate helped to normalise the online harassment and doxing of women on a cultural level, particularly in online spaces dominated by men. Though platforms have implemented measures to combat these campaigns, the underlying message persists women who are disliked can be subjected to intense online harassment with little recourse.
This pattern of online slander and public condemnation of women repeats itself, with examples including Megan Thee Stallion when she spoke about her assault by Tory Lanez and Courtney Love when she made allegations against Harvey Weinstein.
So the question is why does time and time again people fall for the bait? Is it because blaming women have been historically easier than holding men accountable? Or is it just misogyny at this purest form?
As the Blake lively lawsuit unravels hopefully we will get the answer