Blake Lively: The Woman That Took Taylor Swift’s ‘The Man’ A Little Too Seriously – And What Her Legal Battle Against Justin Baldoni Means For The #MeToo Movement

Ok, so my previous blog entry was all about second chances and redemption arcs. This got me heavily thinking about Blake Lively. I’ve written about her so much just on the blog alone, even when she’s not even the main subject matter of the blog entry in question. It’s getting tiring, yes. But she’s been on the news so much as of late, that writing about her is getting harder to avoid. In my blog entry on Lea Michele, I wrote about Michele’s redemption arc following her 2020 scandal when she was called out by Samantha Ware for her toxic, and even abusive behaviour on the set of Glee. She’s someone who proved to the world that people were, in fact, capable of change in the 5 years since the scandal. Blake Lively, on the other hand…. is a much different story.

In the latest Blake-Lively-related news, Scarlett Johansson opened up to Vanity Fair about her feature film directorial debut, Eleanor The Great, which is backed by Wayfarer Studios, founded by Justin Baldoni. When Baldoni’s name was brought up in the interview, Johansson said, with a laugh, that the Wayfarer team was supportive all throughout the process of making the film. She also called it a ‘weird timing’, in reference to the movie being released in the midst of Baldoni’s legal battle against Lively, or is it the other way around – Lively’s legal battle against Baldoni? It all really depends on how you view the situation from the outside looking in.

If you didn’t already know, Johansson was previously married to Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, between 2008 and 2011. She’s currently married to Saturday Night Live cast member, Colin Jost. In December 2024, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni for sexual harassment and released the entire 80+ pages of it on The New York Times. In turn, Baldoni filed two separate lawsuits – one against Lively and Reynolds for a whopping $400 million, and the other against The New York Times for $250 million. The trial is set for March 9, 2026. Since December more and more revelations keep coming in from both sides practically on a daily basis. Lively managed to release another movie, Another Simple Favor, with Anna Kendrick, in March, with it being a big success, having spent at the #1 spot on Amazon Prime for two weeks in a row. She was happily posing for pictures while doing press. And just as she did on the It Ends With Us press, she brought along Reynolds and his best friend and frequent co-star, Hugh Jackman. She added Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci this time too.

Rumours of tensions between Lively and Baldoni began to swirl following the premiere of their movie, It Ends With Us, where Lively starred as Lily Bloom, and Baldoni starred as Ryle Kincaid, Lily’s abusive husband. Baldoni not only starred in the movie, but produced and directed it as well. In fact, the movie was made thanks to him. He obtained rights to the book, written by Colleen Hoover, after reading it. He approached Hoover himself to discuss making of the movie. Lively starred and produced the movie, though her role as a producer was very much questionable. It was made to believe that she took over the making of the movie with the aim to make it her own. In fact, it’s said that the movie that we all got to see was made by Lively, and there’s an entirely different version of the movie, a director’s cut, that was made with Baldoni’s direction. At the movie’s premiere, Entertainment Tonight asked Baldoni if he was willing to direct and star in a sequel based on Hoover’s follow-up book, It Starts with Us. Baldoni immediately suggested the perfect candidate to take over the directing job: “I think there are better people for that one,” he said. “I think Blake Lively is ready to direct.”

I myself didn’t watch the movie. As a domestic violence survivor, it was too much to bear for me to even consider watching it from beginning to end. Even watching clips was hard; almost sickening. And yet, even by watching the scenes that I did, it was very much obvious that Lively didn’t read the book. And I wasn’t the only one who thought so. This claim is even supported in Baldoni’s lawsuit against her, in which he accused Lively of insisting on having control over various aspects of the movie, including wardrobe, marketing, and, like I mentioned earlier, even creating her own cut of the film. Additionally, Baldoni claimed that Lively claimed she read the book, but evidence suggests otherwise, according to a text exchange between Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath. To break things down more thoroughly:

• Allegations in a lawsuit: In summary, Justin Baldoni, who directed and starred in It Ends with Us, has filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and others, alleging that she took control over various aspects of the film and didn’t read the book before or during production. 
• Text evidence: A text exchange between Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath appears to show Baldoni questioning whether Lively had read the book, suggesting she had not, according to Us Weekly. 
• Perceived lack of understanding of the book’s themes: Some critics and fans have noted that Lively seemed to have a limited understanding of the film’s themes, particularly the complexities of domestic violence and abuse. 
• Lively’s focus on her own vision: Baldoni has accused Lively of trying to create her own vision of the movie, which went against the original intent of the film based on the book. 
• Crew members’ observations: Crew members have also reported a shift in Lively’s attitude and a perception that she didn’t want to be involved in the production

I’d like to go back to my previous post where I discussed everything it took to be a not just a good singer, but a GREAT singer. Of course, vocals are very important, and we discussed this in the case of Lea Michele’s portrayal as Fanny Brice on Funny Girl. She absolutely nailed it. But alas, it’s more than just about vocals. It’s about having the emotional depth to understand the essence of the song that’s sung. This was exactly why Michele was so great in her role as Fanny, whereas Beanie Feldstein, who originated the revival that was 60 years in the making, was only good in her role as Fanny. Michele really understood the depth that it took to portray Fanny so flawlessly. Maybe it has to do with the fact that she had 10 years of experience preparing for the role when she portrayed Rachel Berry on Glee, where she was preparing for the fictional role of Fanny Brice and sang many, many songs from the musical.

Michele is a Broadway veteran. She’s been doing theatre since she was 8 years old. But even her performances of Don’t Rain On My Parade in season 1 vs. People in season 5, both from Funny Girl, were incomparable. The emotional essence in her performance of People was uncanny. And while her performance of Don’t Rain On My Parade in season 1 was also good, something was lacking, and I’d say its maturity and life experience which made her relate to the real Fanny Brice. By season 5, Michele had lost the love of her life and the person she thought she’d spend the rest of her life with, Cory Monteith. He passed away in 2013 of an accidental drug overdose. He and Michele were in a longterm relationship at the time of his passing. She was reeling in grief. She was a 26 year old young woman grieving in sorrow; publicly, for the world to see. People is honestly my favourite performance of the entire series. It’s simple, and yet so elegant; and so raw. I felt every single word that Michele sang.

This was something Feldstein was lacking. Again, she was good, but not great. It’s not to say that she didn’t go through hardships and turmoils in her life; but probably not ones that made her even remotely relate to the real person that was Fanny Brice. Feldstein is a great actress, and she was on Broadway before. But the fact of the matter is, the role of Fanny wasn’t meant for her. It was always meant for Michele. And many agree with me – critics and Broadway goers alike. Michele was cast as Fanny after producers decided to go in ‘a different direction’. We obviously know what that means. Feldstein’s portrayal as Fanny was underwhelming; practically a failure. But Michele saved it.

It’s the same with acting. To be a good actor, one has to be emotionally prepared for the role they play. The actor has to really get to feel the emotional essence of the character that they play. This is something that Lively lacked in her role as Lily. She was more worried about the character’s fashion, appearance and image rather than her depth and her vulnerability. And even in Lily’s fashion and appearance, Lively seemed to be confused by who her character really was. On one hand she’s wearing middle-class styled clothing, messy hair, and barely any makeup, and the other, she’s wearing designer clothing (which were actually borrowed from model Gigi Hadid by Lively), Saint Laurent sparkly fishnet mesh pointed-toe boots as accessories, hair done, and makeup all dolled up. So who is Lily Bloom, really? Is she someone who came from a middle-class family? Is she someone who came from a rich family? Did she get a large inheritance from her father that allowed her to afford such clothing and a business? And finally, which version Lily did Ryle fall in love with – the messy one or the designer one? I just had so many questions….

I was hoping that Blake Lively would answer all my questions during the press tour, but instead, she left me even more confused. More than anything, Lively’s press tour left me embarrassingly angry and frustrated. And the reason I’m calling it Lively’s press tour is because the promotion of the movie felt like two completely different movies were being presented – one that’s about romance and floral, and the other that’s about survival. Lively presented the movie as a romantic comedy; Baldoni, in contrast, presented it for what it was, which is a movie about domestic violence, and having the courage to leave an abusive relationship. In his own press tour, he really advocated for survivors of abuse and intense partner violence (IPV). While I listened to him speak about the film that was made, or intended to be made, by him with love, I finally felt seen, by a man, as a domestic violence survivor. It’s something that’s so rare, and in a way, daring.

At the New York premiere of the film, Baldoni wasn’t photographed with any of the cast members—especially his lead co-star. Colleen Hoover didn’t pose for photos with him either. It seemed as though the entire It Ends With Us cast has seemingly sidelined Baldoni. It was then revealed that he was, in fact, sidelined at the premiere, when an audio of Baldoni was leaked about how when Lively arrived at the event, wearing a Britney Spears dress that she wore decades before, Baldoni and his team were sent to the basement. He claimed that he and his family were placed in a basement room, a ‘holding area’ with only concession stand stock and basic seating, and weren’t allowed to join Lively and other stars on the red carpet. On top of audios, Baldoni shared photos of himself, his family, and Wayfarer Studios team celebrating their new movie in the basement. In turn, Lively’s representatives have accused Baldoni’s team of making ‘more attacks’ and ‘blaming the victim’, even suggesting he brought the situation on himself. I honestly can’t help but LOL.

Lively seemed to have been completely tone-deaf when it came down to promoting the movie. It was particularly so when she used the press tour as an opportunity to promote her haircare line, her sparkling beverage company, and encouraged fans to in her own words, ‘wear their florals’ to screenings in homage to Lily’s character, who is a florist. Lively, as well as Hoover and the rest of the cast, promoted the film as a more light-hearted romance. Many, like me, believed that she, unlike Baldoni, was minimizing the themes of abuse. I’d even say that she, in a way, romanticized it. Her approach was insensitive and degrading to survivors everywhere. Movie critics felt that Lively didn’t fully comprehend the film’s message or the complexities of domestic abuse, and that she was prioritizing her own brand over the seriousness of the story. Baldoni, on the other hand, was praised for taking a more serious and thoughtful approach to promoting the movie and the importance of addressing domestic violence. I personally felt like she almost making fun of the subject matter. In response to the criticism she’d faced, Lively made a bold statement that Lily was ‘not just a survivor and not just a victim’. The movie did explore Lily’s resilience and growth, but many moviegoers felt it downplayed the impact of domestic violence and the role of victimhood. While Lively made the entire press tour about her and her image, Baldoni said of the film at the New York premiere, ‘This isn’t my night — this is a night for all the women who we made this movie for. This is a night for Blake, this is a night for Colleen. I’m just so grateful that we’re here, five years in the making’. I found this to be such a lovely tribute to women everywhere, as well as to the women who tried to destroy him.

Despite the backlash, It Ends With Us ended up making $350 million USD in the box office. And that’s because of the marketing narrative. You see, romantic comedies do much better at the box office than any other genre. It’s the same when it comes to streaming. This has a lot to do with the human psychology. According to neuroscientists from Princeton, our levels of oxytocin, or the love hormone, increase when watching a rom-com that we can connect with personally. This was the science behind the marketing strategy that Blake Lively and Colleen Hoover took advantage of along with the rest of the cast, with the exception of Baldoni. Even Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman chimed in. Their movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, was released simultaneously and grossed a total of total of $1.26 billion globally, making it a Barbenheimer 2.0 moment for the married couple.

If you, as a viewer, gotto see the movie in theatres without knowing the premise or the book, you surely believed Blake Lively and team in that it’s a romantic comedy. The story followed florist Lily Bloom and neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid as they navigated their way through an early courtship. The first hour of the film was filled with whirlwind dates, intense stares, passionate kisses, and of course, sex. It was everything you’d expect from a rom-com. All was well until one moment in time it wasn’t, and the violence, abuse and toxicity creeped in – triggered by Lily’s reconnection with a childhood sweetheart, Atlas Corrigan. It happened even moments beforehand. Atlas noticed the harm caused by Ryle from a violent attack on her, and he confronted her about it. She made up a story of how her bruising came to be, but he knew well enough to know that it was a lie and a cover up, so he gave her his number just in case.

We never actually see the violence, as it was the nature of Baldoni’s (or Lively’s, as we got to see her cut of the film) filmmaking. It seemed to have been somewhat of an own-goal given the secretive nature of domestic abuse and the lack of true story telling of what it feels like to be in this type of relationship. When I watched the particular scenes of violence unfold, it felt like it was in the eyes of the victim. In this case, Lily. We’re not supposed to believe it was abuse, but instead believe Ryle in his lies when he gave excuses as to why she fell and had bruising on her face. The movie danced around important subjects such as generational trauma and coercive behaviour, never truly dipping into the impact for long before rolling back into another Hallmark rom-com setting. Getting out of such abuse seemed too easy. In real life, it’s nothing of the sort. It’s never that easy. In fact, it’s always much harder after breakup, and more dangerously so. In the UK, for instance, 38% of women killed by their ex-partner were killed within the first month of separation and 89% in the first year (2009-2018). As a result, the movie simplistic and ignorant description of domestic abuse.

One particular scene that got a lot of hate from viewers was the ending scene. Many called it outrageous. It was where, whilst Ryle held their newborn daughter, Lily asked for a divorce, and Ryle responded with contrition, understanding and acceptance as he nodded his head and seemingly walked away from a relationship that, a mere few months ago, he was aggressively defending. I have to agree to disagree with the crowd. You see, it was at a public place. it was at the hospital. If anything were to publicly go wrong, Ryle would’ve lost his license and wouldn’t have been able to work. The fear of potentially of not ever working again was what caused the very first violent altercation between them. She knew he couldn’t ever bear the consequences of violently attacking her at a place that’s so close to home for him. And if you really paid attention to the scene, you see that Lily is really analyzing him and trying hard to make sense of his feelings and emotions while he was holding their daughter. She was trying to figure out whether it was the right time for her to speak up for herself. But I also realize I might be completely talking out of my a**, because I’d never, ever, ever experienced domestic violence with the father of my child.

That being said, Lively had faced much scrutiny during the summer months and beyond. The public practically hated her. Her reputation completely shattered. Nothing she ever said or did made things right. No one had seen or heard from her for months – until December 2024. In her lawsuit, Lively alleged that Baldoni and key stakeholders of the film sexually harassed her and attempted, along with Baldoni’s production company and crisis PR company, The Agency Group PR, to orchestrate a smear campaign against her. In her lawsuit, she included text messages, but were they obviously altered to make herself appear more like the victim in the entire situation. This was proven in Baldoni’s countersuit filed a month later.

A lot has happened in the months since, and I can’t say that they were good things; at least not for Baldoni. Let’s just say Lively took Taylor Swift’s The Man far too seriously. And speaking of Taylor Swift, she’s suddenly become the main character in the battle between Lively and Baldoni. Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, claimed that lawyers had been in touch to demand that Taylor post a message publicly supporting Blake during her lawsuit, or messages between Blake and Taylor would be leaked to the public. He said that the It Ends with Us actress’ reps had ‘requested, on Ms. Lively’s behalf, that Taylor Swift make a social media statement in support of Ms. Lively given her absence from the Super Bowl that year, and stated that if Ms. Swift failed to do so, Ms. Lively would release ’10 years’ of private texts with Ms. Swift.’ A judge has since rejected the claims. Lively then released a statement which read, ‘It took the court less than 24 hours to see through Mr. Freedman’s irrelevant, improper and inflammatory accusations, strike them, remove them from the court and warn Mr. Freedman that further misconduct may be met with sanctions.’ The judge had called Baldoni’s claim ‘defamatory’. It’s been reported that even though the decade-long friendship isn’t completely over, Lively and Swift are taking a breather in their once-close bond as the singer wants no part in Lively’s legal battle. Hadid, as Swift’s longtime friend, has also been broken.

Though stars around Hollywood have voiced their support towards Lively in the entire situation, Swift has remained silent. But in an August 2024 with CBS Mornings, Lively said that the singer was ‘was with me throughout this whole process. So I think that, for better or worse, she, you know, experienced the whole thing with me.’ Baldoni, in his filing, alleged that some of Lively’s demands included having Baldoni’s “film by” credit removed from posters, as well as Lively getting more time in the editing room with her personal editor to oversee the final cut of the movie. Baldoni stated, ‘This maneuver felt less like a professional request and more like extortion. holding the film’s marketing efforts hostage to gain creative control.’ One of these demands was to use Swift’s song, ‘My Tears Ricochet’, in the main trailer.

And speaking of songs, former Nickelodeon star Alexa Nikolas, who starred on Zoey 101 for the first two seasons, slammed Lively and the rest of the team behind the movie back in August when the movie first came out for including a song made by her ex-husband, Michael Molish, who’d abused her. She wrote on Instagram, ‘I can’t say enough how disappointed I am in @BlakeLively and @ItEndsWithUsMovie. Not only has your roll out of this film been a complete disaster and shame, but you also put my known abuser/groomer’s music in your film. There is physical evidence of him grooming me when he was 33 and I was 16. It’s easily accessible on the internet sadly since I had to also take on the emotional labor of exposing Rhye with evidence. [There] was also a very public lawsuit that goes into great detail about what he did to me. Shame on this film.’

She’s right; the information IS easily accessible. This further proves that Lively had absolutely no interest in making the film for the love, respect and care for domestic violence survivors. If she did, she would’ve done her research when it came down to editing and ‘directing’ the film. Let’s not Lively was also previously slammed for the way she answered an interview question one about the movie’s very serious themes. It all seemed to just simply be a joke to her; a paycheque. Nevertheless, Lively was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People, and was recognized as a “Titan” in the entertainment category. In her speech, Lively began by discussing the responsibility that comes with being named to the TIME100 list and said she wanted to take the opportunity to honor female survivors. She said, ‘I have so much to say about the last two years of my life, but tonight is not the forum. Then, instead of focusing on herself, she focused on her mother, who, despite living with undeserved shame for years, encouraged Lively to use this moment to share her harrowing experience. Lively continued, ‘We can make it to the end alive, physically or emotionally, and we will, and we do, and we thrive. Even when it doesn’t feel possible. Even when we are in sharp pain. Never underestimate a woman’s ability to endure pain. Thank you to every woman whose strength brought life to me and my four children, and thank you to every man—including my sweet husband—who are kind and good when no one is watching. And to all the communities across the gender, age, political, geographical, and racial spectrum who fight every day just to be safe, I see you.’

Somehow, I just have a hard time believing her. I have a hard time empathizing with her. Lively’s career seemed to have been completely untouchable in the past 5 months since she filed the lawsuit. She’s at an all time high; on top of the world when it comes to her career. She’s making public appearances. She’s releasing movies. She’s releasing products. She’s been more active on social media more than she’s ever been in the past. She’s happy. She’s content. She’s confident. She’s proven herself to be unstoppable. She’s a woman living in a man’s world. Baldoni, on the other hand; Baldoni’s career has faced significant setbacks due to Lively’s lawsuit. He’s reportedly lost three jobs and millions of dollars in potential earnings, and experts predict he’ll struggle to secure future roles. Baldoni was dropped by his talent agency, his podcast episode was removed, and a women’s organization rescinded an award it had given to him. He’s also been sued by his former publicist.

To sum it all up, Lively has got Baldoni right where she always wanted. She was always capable of doing it, and she knew it. She’s a powerful woman in the film and entertainment industry. She’s a nepo-baby. Her entire family has been a part of the entertainment industry for decades. Her father is the late Earnie Lively. Her husband is the most influential figure in the entertainment industry today, Ryan Reynolds. Her friends are some of the most powerful and influential women of the 21st century, including Taylor Swift and Gigi Hadid. Her supporters include Selma Hayek, Amy Schumer, Nikki Glaser, Hugh Jackman, Emily Blunt, Gwyneth Paltrow, amongst others. Colleen Hoover also publicly showed her support for Lively following the lawsuit publication. She wrote on Instagram, ‘@blakelively you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.’ Most interestingly, Alex Saks, a producer who worked on It Ends With Us, also showed his public support for Lively. The reason I’m saying it’s interesting is because most of the filmmakers involved in the film have supported Baldoni.

And who’s Justin Baldoni? He’s practically a nobody, especially if you compare him to Lively’s power and public influence. He started out in the entertainment industry in 2004, having starred in Hallmark movies and small roles here and there. His biggest role was as Rafael on the TV series Jane The Virgin, which ran between 2014 and 2019. Ever since then he’d spent his endless time, money, and energy in filmmaking, philanthropic actions, and advocacy. But in the world of politics, it makes no difference. Lively is the one that has the upper-hand in the matter. The New York Times titled its press release on Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni as ‘We Can Bury Anyone’, and it’s exactly what she’s doing. She doesn’t like him, and is now using her power to destroy him…because she can. And she knows she can. Following Baldoni’s lawsuit filing against the publication, The New York Times released the following statement, ‘The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead. Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.’

I honestly doubt those are the facts, and Baldoni has already proven that the messages Lively has inserted in her lawsuit have been altered to make herself look like a victim. I think Lively is using her connections very wisely. She knows how to get people on her side. She also has others around her who know as well. She certainly knows how to play the game very well. People will do what’s most beneficial for them, and what’s most beneficial for them is to be on Blake Lively’s side because that’s what will make them the most money. So will Baldoni ever recover? It’s hard to say. If he does, it’ll definitely take time. But I’m glad to see that he’s fighting the allegations against him, even if the odds aren’t in his favour. There are still those who support him too; like, as I said before, Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Reynold’s ex-wife, Penn Badgley, Blake Lively’s ex-boyfriend and co-star, Sabrina Carpenter, who previously worked with Baldoni, Jessica Chastain, Jameela Jamil, Mandy Moore, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and others. They’d never publicly spoken of the matter, but still follow Baldoni on Instagram.

The #MeToo movement is a social media movement that was first created to bring awareness to sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which women publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. It was initially formed in 2006 by sexual assault survivor and activist Tarana Burke. The hashtag, however, was used starting in 2017 as a way to draw attention to the magnitude of the problem. “Me Too” is meant to empower those who have been sexually assaulted through empathy, solidarity and strength in numbers, by visibly demonstrating how many have experienced sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace. It was inspired by actress Alyssa Milano after she posted on X, formerly Twitter, ‘If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.’ Women like Uma Thurman, Ashley Judd, Jennifer Lawrence, and more soon followed. Then women from all around the world started posting their own experiences.

The intention of the movement was extraordinary, but there’s a problem, which is that it’s gotten out of control. The #MeToo movement’s whole point was to hold abusive male predators accountable. It was an admirable goal no doubt. However, it had an unintended consequence, as even the accusation is enough to destroy a man’s life resulting in many men deciding that it’s easier to just avoid women altogether. But where’s the line in that? Blake Lively has proven that the movement now has gone completely out of control, because now, women are taking advantage of the movement and using it to their advantage when men aren’t even to blame. You can’t get back your reputation after it’s been tarnished, and you will always be branded as a predator even if you’re proven innocent, and you’ll likely never financially recover. But as long as you have money there are alway other means to keep going. Yes, Justin Baldoni is ‘rich’, but this doesn’t make him inhumane. That being said, I hope that with him defending himself against Blake Lively, he’ll be the inspiration behind making new steps in redefining the meaning behind the #MeToo movement. And this comes to you from me – a woman who, herself, has been affected by the #MeToo movement in the past. So to finally end this blog post on a more positive note, I’d like to include just some of the best Justin Baldoni quotes:

• In a world where deep down everyone just wants to fit in, I wish we could realize that it takes true confidence to have enough love for ourselves, a belief that we are enough.
• I can only be brave if I deal with and confront my fear. If I’m not afraid, there is no such thing as bravery.
• I can be afraid and I can be brave at the same time.
• Behind every great man is his wife trying to keep him alive.
• I know if I react, and I want to get mad, and emotions come to the surface, I think quickly of my friends who have died and how they overcame their struggle and used their cancer and their lives for the betterment of mankind, and it sets me back in place.