This article discusses sexual violence and may be triggering for some readers. The Kingston Sexual Assault Centre’s 24-hour crisis and phone line can be reached at 613-544-6424 / 1-800-544-6424. For on campus , community may email [email protected].
There’s no such thing as the “perfect victim.”
If you’ve been on social media at all for the past month, you’ve probably been bombarded with information about the ongoing legal battle between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni concerning their behaviour on the set of It Ends With Us—a film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel about domestic violence.
In December 2024, Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni and his production house, Wayfarer Studios, for creating a hostile work environment on set. This was followed by a lawsuit against Baldoni for sexual harassment and emotional distress.
Baldoni then sued the New York Times, who broke the news about Lively’s legal complaint, for libel. Now, in 2025, new information is emerging, with the pendulum of public opinion swaying between believing—and not believing—Lively’s claims.
Multiple people, including many of the cast and crew of It Ends With Us, Hoover, and even Lively’s castmates from The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (2005) have publicly ed Lively. Yet, the public’s belief in her claims continues to shift.
This entire situation is reminiscent of the infamous Depp v. Heard trial from 2022, specifically their trial in Virginia, where Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel over an article she wrote about suffering from domestic violence.
At the time, the public was divided, refusing to believe Heard because she didn’t fit the mould of the “perfect victim,” a common myth used to discredit survivors of sexual assault if they don’t fit certain characteristics.
These characteristics include lacking any power or strength in the situation, being involved in a socially acceptable activity during the victimization, being entirely blameless in the interactions, victimized by an unpopular offender, and having no personal relationship with the offender.
In this situation, Lively doesn’t fit the criteria of a “perfect victim.”
For instance, Lively, more famous than Baldoni and having a history of being sharp with interviewers, chose to do a movie with romantic scenes with Baldoni, and Baldoni is publicly celebrated as a “male feminist.”
While there’s no denying her past behaviour has been problematic, none of this changes the fact she could’ve experienced sexual harassment in her workspace. Nor does it negate the fact that Baldoni allegedly created a hostile work environment where Lively was subject to structural misogyny.
Lively’s public perception shouldn’t discredit allegations that Baldoni orchestrated a smear campaign to discredit her and tarnish her reputation. Even if Lively may not seem like a nice person, she isn’t immune to experiencing misogyny and its repercussions.
We’ve built a system where women face difficulty being believed even when they’re drowning in fame and influence. If this can happen to Lively, a white woman in a position of power, imagine what this means for women of colour who may not have access to the same resources.
Lively shared evidence, including texts from Baldoni in which the actor sends a destructive X thread attacking another celebrity to his publicists, stating “this is what we need,” among other messages. These included distributors pushing Lively to make the press tour light-hearted and less focused on domestic violence.
Lively’s evidence, coming straight from Baldoni’s former publicist, shows the actor was aware of what he was doing and was preparing for the possibility of her coming forward. Baldoni seemingly created a campaign to ruin her public image and tarnish her credibility.
Baldoni’s countersuit primarily focused on attacking her character, didn’t dispute her claims of sexual harassment, and provided “context” for a few of those texts.
Yet, judging by the comments on any Instagram post involving the two, Baldoni has regained public online. This backing seems to be growing stronger when excerpts of his lawsuit against Lively are shared, despite most of the excerpts focusing more on attacking her character than on proving Baldoni’s innocence.
It’s time we question the media cycle that builds women up, only to break them down. The fickle, toxic nature of this media cycle allows men like Baldoni and Depp to defame women like Lively and Heard, protect their own image while discrediting theirs, and walk away with a stronger reputation than they had before it all began.
The next time you see a female celebrity being excessively praised in the headlines, only to then have her past controversies unearthed and used against her, ask yourself why this is happening. Ask why the same scrutiny isn’t applied to the men around her, even if they have just as much to be criticized for.
It’s time we break this cycle down. It’s time we start believing survivors. It’s time we start believing women.
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sheri
Actually lots of people believed her when she first filed her case. Then it became clear she had only published or leaked specific bits of info, and the full picture does not seem to fit with her version of events. Women who lie or twist the truth to make themselves look like victims are not doing the rest of us any favors and do not deserve unconditional simply because they are women.
laura
Sheri is an example of someone participating in smearing Lively rather than honestly addressing the fact Baldoni was caught expressing requesting a smear campaign from his PR team–the same team that successfully smeared Amber Heard.
Jacob
The hate is not just happening organically, though, he does now have a lot of ers. The PR team Justin Baldoni hired is known in Hollywood for rehabilitating the image of men who are facing abuse allegations. It is not hard to find claims that this PR team starts smear campaigns against their victims using the DARVO strategy. They are paying for bots and influencers to push an anti-Blake Lively narrative. Blake Lively has said that exact thing herself. Thank you for touching on how he doesn’t actively deny her claims. All he is doing is spinning the narrative. I haven’t seen any evidence that makes me think Blake is lying. On the contrary, everything being released proves to me more and more that Justin has been acting inappropriately. Yet his ers are acting as if Blake Lively has already been proven a liar. Most of the hate against Blake is based off of nothing but rumors that are being stated as if they are facts.
Jess Sharp
If you haven’t seen any evidence she is lying, you haven’t actually looked at everything. Just the comment about there bring no intimacy coordinator until she demanded it shows she is lying. It is proven that there was one and she was notified of it, she chose not to until way later but still before she said there wasn’t one. There is fact after fact showing she is lying. This isn’t about being a “perfect victim” this is about her not telling the truth and weaponizing SH to get her way, only she did it to someone who is so gentle and sweet, they couldn’t even conceive of how beyond reproach he was. They thought he was weak and easy target, he’s just nice but also smart and yes, hired the right people to stand up for him.
Maya
Actually, most people believed her when her claims came out as most ppl do with pretty blonde white women tears. However, the new evidence is changing people’s minds. If you read the uncensored texts between Lively and Beladoni it’s clear she lied. For example, she invited him to come to her trailer while she pumped breast milk (she told him in the text she was pumping but wanted to run lines anyway). He didn’t randomly barge into her trailer like her claim says. Anyway, I’ll never be a Beladoni fan because I’m not into his hippy “male feminist” vibe, but I am no longer a Lively fan. Maybe new evidence will change my mind though and I can rewatch Gossip Girl again.