Blake Lively is seeing an outpouring of support from high-profile corners of Hollywood in her sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, becoming a rallying point in a resurgent #MeToo movement as 2024 comes to a close.
Lively, 35, filed the explosive complaint Friday alleging that Baldoni, 40, subjected her to a hostile work environment with inappropriate sexual comments and behavior, then launched an “astounding” smear campaign to destroy her reputation when she spoke up. The lawsuit is rapidly snowballing into the highest-profile entertainment industry sexual misconduct case since Harvey Weinstein’s downfall launched the #MeToo era.
Co-stars, Author Rally to Lively’s Defense
In a show of solidarity, the central women of Lively’s career have lined up behind her, amplifying her voice and slamming the alleged “weaponization of feminism” against her:
- Colleen Hoover, author of the novel It Ends With Us, hailed Lively’s “ability to refuse to sit down and ‘be buried'” as “nothing short of inspiring.”
- America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel, Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars, said they “stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation.”
- Amber Heard, who defended against ex-husband Johnny Depp’s defamation claim, said she witnessed “firsthand” how the same PR tactics can spread misinformation “as horrifying as it is destructive.”
Baldoni Accused of ‘Exploiting’ #MeToo
The filings paint a disturbing picture of a calculating scheme by Baldoni and crisis manager Melissa Nathan to “bury” Lively through a covert online smear offensive when she raised complaints about inappropriate conduct. The lawsuit includes damning texts strategizing to “destroy” Lively’s reputation and “weaponize” her association with figures like Taylor Swift against her.
We are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice. Most upsetting is the unabashed exploitation of domestic violence survivors’ stories to silence a woman who asked for safety.
– Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars
Baldoni has disputed the allegations as an attempt by Lively to “‘fix’ her negative reputation.” But the surfacing of emails laying out an alleged campaign cloaked in feminist language to smear a woman raising sexual harassment claims hits a nerve in an industry still reckoning with abuses of power.
A New Flashpoint for #MeToo
With its combustible mix of star power, “astounding” evidence and accusations of bad faith exploitation of #MeToo, insiders say the Lively-Baldoni battle may be a turning point in holding Hollywood to account, win or lose. As the movement approaches its seventh year, supporters hope Lively’s suit is a shot across the bow to those still leveraging status to prey on and retaliate against less powerful performers.
For Lively, taking on a male power player comes with risk, but also the chance to define her own narrative and set a new standard. “Never change, never wilt,” Hoover wrote to Lively. As the lawsuit unfolds, all of Hollywood will be watching to see if the culture is ready to change with her.
