Still I Rise Outlook Magazine issue cover Still I Rise Outlook Magazine issue cover The entertainment industry is once again grappling with allegations of sexual harassment and abuse. This time, it is actress Blake Lively facing off against her co-star Justin Baldoni, who positioned himself as a feminist ally in the #MeToo movement. Lively has filed a legal complaint accusing Baldoni of sexually harassing her on the set of their movie It Ends With Us and hiring a PR crisis management firm to 'destroy' her reputation.
In the legal complaint filed on Friday, Lively made several allegations, including Baldoni discussing his genitalia, criticising her weight, and contacting her personal trainer four months after the birth of her fourth child to pressure her into losing weight. She also accused Baldoni of inserting sexually explicit and nude scenes that were not part of Colleen Hoover’s original novel. The complaint further states that Lively’s concerns extended beyond her own experience to those of other female cast and crew members who had also spoken up.
Lively, in the romantic drama based on Hoover’s book, plays a woman who enters a relationship with a charming but abusive boyfriend, played by Baldoni.
In a statement to The New York Times, Lively said, “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.” Meanwhile, Baldoni’s lawyer called the claims “shameful”, “categorically false” and “yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’” Lively’s reputation.
Before this match, India will take on Japan in their second match of the tournament and Pakistan will clash with South Korea at the same venue.
Many have begun comparing Lively to Amber Heard, dubbing her “Amber Heard Part 2.” These comparisons recall the highly publicised Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial of 2022. The six-week trial, broadcast globally from Fairfax, Virginia, saw Depp suing Heard for defamation over an article in The Washington Post that implied he was abusive, though it did not name him directly. Heard counter-sued.
In the end, Depp won, and Heard lost. The trial exposed the murky intersections of fame, power, and public opinion.
Outlook’s June 27, 2022, issue, Still I Rise, looked at how the #MeToo movement brought empowerment to many, and how the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial exposed its fault lines.
In her article ‘A Feminist Future’, Outlook’s Chinki Sinha argues that with every case a powerful man wins against a woman, the movement suffers a setback. “Heard isn’t the perfect victim. She also isn’t as powerful as Depp.”
In a legal complaint, Lively also notes that Baldoni enlisted the services of Melissa Nathan—a crisis PR specialist whose previous clients include Johnny Depp—to help him manage the situation.
Editor and author Debotri Bhar discusses in the story ‘He Said, She Said, and What it Says About Us’ how the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation case and its verdict was publicly presented as a resounding victory for Depp and confirmation of his 'objective' truth. In the process, the complex role of power in the legal process was largely overlooked.
To read more stories from the June 2022 issueph dream, click here.