Today I discuss the allegations against Justin Baldoni.
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The last thing I wrote before a little Christmas break was about the financially success adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel It Ends With Us. My goal at the time was to urge people to avoid giving into hate mobs, especially when it comes to on set disagreements, and that I thought that the sensitive nature of the story and its disparate elements could create a muddled movie.
And in hindsight, I should've both waited about a week and gone with my gut instinct, which was heavy suspicion about the movement against Blake Lively, because Lively has levied a damning lawsuit against director Justin Baldoni for habitual sexual harassment and abuse on set and attempting to ruin her reputation by working with a PR firm to paint her as unsympathetic about domestic abuse to paper over the tensions between him and the entirety of the cast. This was submitted days after an equally damning expose from The New York Times about the efforts to undermine Lively amidst accusations of harassment.
Now a lot of people who are better legal researchers than me have done extensive work to unfold Lively's filing to highlight the accusations that stand out. Some of which you can find here.
To make my feelings clear on this matter crystal f***ing clear. Justin Baldoni is a monster. Everything described in the suit is heinous and in particular Baldoni's response to the accusations starting to bubble out as promotion for the movie started is one of the worst things I can imagine someone doing to try and cover up their own misdeeds.
So today, I'm going to try and examine how we got here and how we can prepare ourselves for it moving forward. Starting with...
Blake Lively's Public Image
Like most people in entertainment and the public eye, Blake Lively's record as a public figure isn't without controversy. She's had open disagreements with co-stars including her time on Gossip Girl, her wedding to Ryan Reynolds was held on an old plantation (which they have since apologized for), and she's been known to make what I'll call a "dumb famous person statement" here or there. Not bad enough for her not to get cast in stuff or be shunned from the business, but enough that if a friend of yours didn't like her, they probably had a reason or two in the chamber.
And if you combine that with her husband Ryan Reynolds arguably being overexposed through promoting his latest Deadpool movie, doing advertisements for Mint mobile, and his English soccer club show, you can see why someone might be "sick" of this Hollywood power couple even before this movie or any accusation was levied against Lively.
My feeling about celebrities is that they are people who more often than not live in a bubble of privilege and wealth, that have likely made a number of mistakes in their life or will misspeak from time to time.
And if you combine that with her husband Ryan Reynolds arguably being overexposed through promoting his latest Deadpool movie, doing advertisements for Mint mobile, and his English soccer club show, you can see why someone might be "sick" of this Hollywood power couple even before this movie or any accusation was levied against Lively.
My feeling about celebrities is that they are people who more often than not live in a bubble of privilege and wealth, that have likely made a number of mistakes in their life or will misspeak from time to time.
Almost every famous artist you love has done something cringe-worthy at best. Unless you have firsthand knowledge of what it's like to work with them or how they are in private, I'm a skeptic. And I really don't like the general vibe of purity tests that we seem to demand from famous people, as if they should always speak exactly how we want about everything all the time.
My thoughts go to Chappell Roan, who rightly, in my opinion, said she was going to vote for Kamala Harris but didn't want to endorse her because she didn't take a strong enough stance on things she cared about. Like the notion that no full-throated endorsement from the newest biggest pop star on the planet who maybe didn't want the people of Gaza to be genocided could/would sway the election or was an irresponsible use of power is dumb.
My thoughts go to Chappell Roan, who rightly, in my opinion, said she was going to vote for Kamala Harris but didn't want to endorse her because she didn't take a strong enough stance on things she cared about. Like the notion that no full-throated endorsement from the newest biggest pop star on the planet who maybe didn't want the people of Gaza to be genocided could/would sway the election or was an irresponsible use of power is dumb.
Anne Hathaway has also spoken out recently about the surge of negative press and internet fury she got at what should've been the high point of her career. While fellow "hip Oscar host" James Franco had to get credibly accused of sexual harassment by a boatload of women before studios had enough.
What you should notice right away is that the majority of the targets for these purity tests are....women.
The Culture We're In Right Now
In case you weren't aware, there's been a surge in misogynist thinking online, especially when it comes to women in the public eye. We can point to the surge in "trad wife" content on TikTok, the folks on Twitter who look for attention by posting photos of a gorgeous woman and claim that she's ugly (i.e. Sydney Sweeney in a bikini) or the ongoing denigration of sex workers who make a good living on OnlyFans being called whores by men who often follow them or subscribe to their pages. Classy stuff all around.
As many people have pointed out, we appear to be in the push-back period for the #MeToo movements as abusers attempt to unapologetically re-enter public life (see Louis C.K.), deny claims of harassment as overblown or lies, or claim to be victims of "cancel culture" in their very public forums.
And I think few things demonstrate this better than the public reactions to Johnny Depp's suits against Amber Heard.
Before we go any further, I'm going to make my thoughts on this clear. It is my opinion that Depp filed their suits to bankrupt Heard as retribution for "ruining his reputation" by accusing him of domestic violence. Every legal analyst and source I trust on the matter, has been very clear that the public hearings were specifically designed to humiliate Heard and turn public opinion against her.
And it f***ing worked.
As many people have pointed out, we appear to be in the push-back period for the #MeToo movements as abusers attempt to unapologetically re-enter public life (see Louis C.K.), deny claims of harassment as overblown or lies, or claim to be victims of "cancel culture" in their very public forums.
And I think few things demonstrate this better than the public reactions to Johnny Depp's suits against Amber Heard.
Before we go any further, I'm going to make my thoughts on this clear. It is my opinion that Depp filed their suits to bankrupt Heard as retribution for "ruining his reputation" by accusing him of domestic violence. Every legal analyst and source I trust on the matter, has been very clear that the public hearings were specifically designed to humiliate Heard and turn public opinion against her.
And it f***ing worked.
While there were a few outliers, almost every voice online decided that Heard was a villain and a liar, because they know liars and they all talk like that. And on. And on. And on. There were public billboards, skyflyers and restaurant signs saying "We Stand with Johnny Depp" or that "Amber Heard is a liar."
A British court ruled that Depp was guilty of abuse. And then they brought a case to America for defamation to try and bankrupt her and her ruin her reputation. And America ate that shit up. Because they had been waiting. Aching for a story about a "fake abuse victim." To tell us that women lie when they accuse people of abuse.
It was proof that while America claims to hate abusers, the thing it hates more...is women who spoke out about abuse. As ugly as this is though, Depp supporters and people want to give abusers a second chance, were not and were never going to be the people to turn against Lively. Because It Ends With Us is all about domestic violence and especially how a perfect partner can be a monster at home. So the director and lead of the movie calling Lively and company liars wouldn't have worked. So instead, he and his PR team came up with something more insidious.
A British court ruled that Depp was guilty of abuse. And then they brought a case to America for defamation to try and bankrupt her and her ruin her reputation. And America ate that shit up. Because they had been waiting. Aching for a story about a "fake abuse victim." To tell us that women lie when they accuse people of abuse.
It was proof that while America claims to hate abusers, the thing it hates more...is women who spoke out about abuse. As ugly as this is though, Depp supporters and people want to give abusers a second chance, were not and were never going to be the people to turn against Lively. Because It Ends With Us is all about domestic violence and especially how a perfect partner can be a monster at home. So the director and lead of the movie calling Lively and company liars wouldn't have worked. So instead, he and his PR team came up with something more insidious.
The Baldoni Attack
I'll admit that I didn't know much about Justin Baldoni before this fiasco outside of him being a star on Jane the Virgin. But Baldoni's carefully cultivated public image has been a clever one two punch of being a traditionally handsome man who also spoke the language of anti-patriarchy and social justice. A sensitive guy in an age of toxic masculinity. For over half a decade he's been making videos and podcasts under the Man Enough brand to explore modern masculinity.
And that guy can't accuse someone calling him a harasser and an abuser a liar. You're flying in the face of your public image. So instead...he went after Lively indirectly.
There were a lot of red flags surrounding Baldoni before It Ends With Us came out. The biggest one was Baldoni's absence from the film's promotion and how the entire cast wanted nothing to do with him. Which, for those who don't know, this does not happen. Not every director does the promo tour with their actors, but Baldoni was also a co-lead on the movie. And unless some s*** went down, everyone does interviews together. So that had my hears up.
And that guy can't accuse someone calling him a harasser and an abuser a liar. You're flying in the face of your public image. So instead...he went after Lively indirectly.
There were a lot of red flags surrounding Baldoni before It Ends With Us came out. The biggest one was Baldoni's absence from the film's promotion and how the entire cast wanted nothing to do with him. Which, for those who don't know, this does not happen. Not every director does the promo tour with their actors, but Baldoni was also a co-lead on the movie. And unless some s*** went down, everyone does interviews together. So that had my hears up.
I also saw that he had hired a PR firm to deal with the conflict between himself and Lively, which at that point hadn't been defined outright. Which is...not something someone usually does over a creative disagreement.
But the five alarm fire that went off in my brain was went social media influencers started going off on Blake Lively for glossing over the film's emphasis on domestic violence and painting her as "out of touch" and only looking to promote herself and her brands.
But the five alarm fire that went off in my brain was went social media influencers started going off on Blake Lively for glossing over the film's emphasis on domestic violence and painting her as "out of touch" and only looking to promote herself and her brands.
Based on the texts submitted in this filing, this wasn't a groundswell of outrage. It was purposely cultivated by Baldoni and his PR team.
They activated this in spaces that loved the book, many of whom are domestic assault survivors, and fuled the fires until Lively had to make a very public pivot during the film's promo. My guess is that this is where a lot of the rumors of competing cuts came from as well.
Now outrage campaigns towards celebs are nothing new. What stood out was that all of the outrage seemed to paint Baldoni in a positive light. As though he was the one who was really trying to tell the story of courage and survival they wanted to see. Which...how on earth would anyone know? They weren't in test audiences nor did they work for the studio. Where did that come from?
And it's not like Lively could say, this all the workings of a monstrous man who sexually harassed the cast and crew without looking like she was deflecting, because she hadn't made her concerns public yet.
Folks were playing nice, and Baldoni and company used that to their advantage.
They activated this in spaces that loved the book, many of whom are domestic assault survivors, and fuled the fires until Lively had to make a very public pivot during the film's promo. My guess is that this is where a lot of the rumors of competing cuts came from as well.
Now outrage campaigns towards celebs are nothing new. What stood out was that all of the outrage seemed to paint Baldoni in a positive light. As though he was the one who was really trying to tell the story of courage and survival they wanted to see. Which...how on earth would anyone know? They weren't in test audiences nor did they work for the studio. Where did that come from?
And it's not like Lively could say, this all the workings of a monstrous man who sexually harassed the cast and crew without looking like she was deflecting, because she hadn't made her concerns public yet.
Folks were playing nice, and Baldoni and company used that to their advantage.
So let's lay out exactly what Baldoni and his group did. When facing accusations of sexual harassment and abuse, they weaponized victims of domestic violence (which very sadly often coincides with sexual abuse as it is even portrayed in the film) to destroy the reputation of the person who was about to accuse him of being an abuser. An abuser used abuse victims to attack an abuse victim. F***ing disgusting
And for some time, it worked. The world turned against Lively and she had to apologize and put up a poker face and play the long game.
And I hope to god they set fire to this man's career and he never works in this industry again. For once, I actually think that could happen. Because a lot of the reasons people feel Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are overexposed, are exactly why Baldoni stepped in it. Reynolds and Lively have so much more money to throw at investigators and attorneys and that's probably part of the reason they were able to get text messages from the PR team and Baldoni.
My best hope is that they either force him into open court or insist on a public admission of guilt as part of settlement. That's the sunny side. But he's the thing I want everyone to remember. What if Lively wasn't as rich or famous?
My best hope is that they either force him into open court or insist on a public admission of guilt as part of settlement. That's the sunny side. But he's the thing I want everyone to remember. What if Lively wasn't as rich or famous?
This Could Happen Again
As much as I'm upset that Baldoni went after Blake Lively as he did, I'm glad it was someone with more than enough power to fight back like Lively. He fucked up by thinking Lively would let it lie and he and his PR team were even celebrating it was "over" before this filing.
What scares me to death, is imagining what could've happened to a co-star that wasn't at Lively's level of wealth and power. In all honesty, it could've destroyed a career. Permanently. And Baldoni would have continued to be a respected star and director who would be put in charge of another movie. With more vulnerable people who depend on him to get paid and get their job done. Who might be in intimate scenes with him without an intimacy coordinator on set that go far beyond an actresses comfort zone or anything that was discussed beforehand.
The scariest thing about Baldoni's attack isn't that it worked in the moment. It's that in different circumstances, it would've let an abuser off the hook.
There's not many lessons to derive from this that we shouldn't know already. But here's my take. Whenever you see a woman online being dogpiled ask yourself two questions. Why now and who benefits?
As skeptical as we are of women accusing men of abuse, we should be even more skeptical of the outrage merchants who turn on women.
There's not many lessons to derive from this that we shouldn't know already. But here's my take. Whenever you see a woman online being dogpiled ask yourself two questions. Why now and who benefits?
As skeptical as we are of women accusing men of abuse, we should be even more skeptical of the outrage merchants who turn on women.
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