When the film adaption of Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel It Ends With Us was announced, feedback was mixed. The novel aimed to tell a love story before revealing its message against domestic violence. Later, it was announced that Justin Baldoni would be directing and starring as Ryle Kincaid, while actress Blake Lively would play the film’s lead, Lily Bloom.
As the movie wrapped and the press tour began, Lively marketed the film as a chick flick. “Grab your friends. Wear your florals,” she said at the premiere.
However, the Barbie-esque marketing rubbed people the wrong way, especially due to the film’s serious subject matter. Baldoni, however, positioned himself as someone who actually cared about the film’s message.
Initially, there were pieces written on the cast’s refusal to associate with Baldoni. However, as time went on, he was painted as a victim of Lively’s bullying.
The Smear Campaign
Due to Lively’s fame, husband, and pushy reputation, the world was quick to label her the aggressor — an interesting inversion of traditional gender roles.
Baldoni’s own social persona seemingly reinforced this stigma. His post-Jane the Virgin career was made by inserting himself in feminist spaces with his podcast Man Enough.
Baldoni worked alongside colleague Jamey Heath, CEO of the film’s production company Wayfarer, and journalist Liz Plank. Baldoni also wrote a book with the same title and played into this “nice guy” persona.
Blake Lively, on the other hand, faced an intense amount of internet scrutiny. Interviewer Kjersti Flaa exploited this by resurfacing an old interview with Lively in which her “mean girl” persona is on full display.
When the entire internet swarms a female celebrity, it’s not hard to see the inherent sexism. It’s not that the critiques of Lively are invalid; rather, it’s that a lot of the critiques demonstrate blatant misogyny.
Lively’s dry humor is quite similar to that of her husband, Ryan Reynolds. Yet, when it comes out of the mouth of a man, the public finds it much less egregious.
Lawsuits Drop
It wasn’t until Dec. 19, 2024, that Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni. Then, on Dec. 21, reporters Megan Twohey, a Pulitzer-winning journalist, and Mike McIntire broke the story with the New York Times.
Those named in the suit include Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath, and the heads of Baldoni’s PR team, Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan. In the suit, it was alleged that Baldoni led a multi-channel smear campaign.
Text exchanges between Baldoni and his team expressed fear and anxiety of Lively’s complaints becoming public, writing to Nathan and Heath, “Not in love with the document they sent. Not sure I’m feeling the protection I felt on the call.”
But what were Lively’s complaints? What could’ve been so bad that a self-proclaimed feminist would want to covertly take down his female co-star?
Now, let’s rewind
On Jan. 4, 2024, a small group met to discuss guidelines that needed to be agreed upon before production resumed. This followed the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) strikes of 2023.
Lively brought forward numerous complaints, including (1) “No more showing nude images or videos or images of women, including producer’s wife,” (13) “No more improvised kissing,” and (16) “No more filming of BL nudity without a fully executed SAG-compliant nudity rider in place.”
These only scratch the surface of the 30-point list. The troubling document revealed that even one of the most famous actresses in the country is not safe at her place of work.
This incident seems to be a microcosm of what it is to be a woman. Lively is not the everyday woman; she is much more powerful. Yet, men still strip her down (literally) to her most vulnerable form and exert this power over her. From their alleged lack of boundaries when Lively was in her dressing room, breastfeeding, or even having body makeup removed.
In addition, scenes of nudity were added during production, and pressure was put on Lively to do so without a SAG-compliant Nudity Rider. Article 29 in Lively’s agreement reads, “No more retaliatory or abusive behavior to BL for raising concerns or requesting safeguards.”
Baldoni also showed a lack of social decorum when he confided in Lively about his deepest traumas, which is inappropriate in professional settings.
The complaint also revealed that Lively was required by contract to market the film as a story of resilience and not one of domestic abuse. This was one of her biggest offenses in the eyes of the internet, but this all feels a bit frivolous considering the onset environment that Lively and other women on set were subjected to.
Now?
Baldoni has filed retaliatory lawsuits against the New York Times for $250 million and Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist for $400 million.
Baldoni’s case against Lively feels like a last-ditch effort after reading Lively’s complaint and the alleged sexual harassment committed by him and Jamey Heath.
Blake Lively doesn’t have to be likable for you to believe her. The idea of the perfect victim isn’t real, and until we allow women to be three-dimensional people, we will only fixate on their shortcomings.
Maybe this will be a catalyst for internet spaces to critically evaluate how they treat famous women. Or maybe in a month, it’ll happen to another woman, and this woman won’t have the support that an established actress like Blake Lively has.
As Baldoni’s publicist Melissa Nathan said: “We can bury anyone,” so who’s the next woman the internet will destroy?
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