Last month, a judge dismissed the $400 million defamation lawsuit filed by actor Justin Baldoni against his former co-star Blake Lively. Yet, judging by the online backlash she has endured, it often seems as though she has been the one losing the public battle.
This legal dispute began shortly after the 2024 release of their film, "Break the Cycle," when standard interviews and online discussions unexpectedly turned hostile towards Lively, painting her as domineering, superficial, and difficult. In December, Lively responded by suing Baldoni and his hired publicity team, accusing them of orchestrating a coordinated campaign of defamation through tabloid press and social media after she reported sexual harassment on set. Baldoni’s representatives have denied these claims, calling them "completely false, scandalous, and deliberately salacious."
Baldoni countersued Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, for defamation but ultimately lost. His separate lawsuit against a major newspaper covering the allegations was also dismissed. Despite the legal outcomes, Lively has been caught in a storm of public scrutiny over her appearance, personal relationships, and perceived demeanor during press interactions.
Her ordeal echoes a growing pattern faced by public figures who come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct: they often encounter backlash not only from the accused but also from an aggressive online audience eager to dismantle their credibility.
This phenomenon is reminiscent of the treatment Amber Heard received during the Johnny Depp defamation trial, where countless YouTube videos capitalized on the case, generating substantial advertising revenue. Heard’s legal team argued that the unbalanced digital media coverage influenced the trial’s outcome. The court documents in Lively’s case suggest that some of the public drama surrounding high-profile disputes is deliberately manufactured and amplified to cast doubt on accusations and tarnish reputations, all while attracting public attention. Such an atmosphere discourages many women from coming forward.
Private messages revealed in Lively’s lawsuit expose how Baldoni’s publicists discussed strategies to "bury" Lively by spreading "fabricated content" on social media and in tabloid outlets. While the exact extent of this orchestrated negative content remains unclear, it is undeniable that a homegrown industry of ambitious influencers, right-wing media operatives, and traditional tabloids has emerged to elevate these narratives for national attention and financial gain.
Feminist YouTuber Ophie Dokie refers to this as the "disgusting misogyny ecosystem," where pop culture detectives on TikTok and Reddit, gossip sites like Perez Hilton, and journalists like Kjersti Flaa—whose uncomfortable 2016 interview with Lively resurfaced online—regularly publish anti-Lively content garnering millions of views. Their theories frequently find their way into outlets such as The Daily Mail.
"We live in a culture that rewards the misogynistic impulses everyone carries," Ophie Dokie explained. "What makes it an ecosystem is the endless recycling and repetition of fragments from one source to another." Even when no new developments arise, these content creators sustain audience engagement through continuous dissections and speculations.
This ecosystem has evolved into a powerful tool for defending men accused of sexual violence or harassment. It fuels fervent fanbases determined to protect the accused, generating online content that bolsters their position in court and, crucially, fosters public doubt about the validity of allegations.
A recent example involves a sworn affidavit from Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, claiming that on Valentine’s Day he received a call from an individual "closely connected" to pop superstar Taylor Swift, a friend of Lively’s. According to this anonymous source, Lively’s legal team allegedly pressured Swift’s lawyer to issue a public statement supporting Lively, threatening to release private messages if she refused. Swift has not made any public comment on the case, and Lively never disclosed any communications with the singer.
Despite Freedman’s denial of these claims, the allegation that Lively’s lawyer attempted to extort Swift spread widely across celebrity news ecosystems. Tabloid headlines echoed Freedman’s statement, Reddit threads amassed hundreds of comments, and gossip enthusiasts eagerly scrutinized Lively. The resulting surge in views, likes, and shares also unleashed harsh insults directed at Lively, including accusations of being "vindictive," a "manipulative liar," and "narcissistic."
The judge dismissed the affidavit within 24 hours, stating that its sole purpose was to "generate public scandal" by making inflammatory, unsubstantiated accusations against Lively and her attorney, and that it was transparently designed to provoke media frenzy by implying an attempt to "extort" a well-known celebrity. Yet, the damage to Lively’s reputation had already been done. Few saw the dismissal, and even fewer questioned the initial claims.
Supporters of Heard and Lively have accused Depp and Baldoni of employing a tactic known as DARVO—short for "Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender." Coined by trauma psychologist Jennifer Freyd in 1997, DARVO describes how abusers deflect blame onto their victims. Freyd noted that this strategy can be amplified when multiple individuals, including fans, collectively participate in DARVO against a target.
The widespread assault on Heard’s credibility from numerous corners of the internet exemplified collective DARVO, a rhetoric that has since influenced public discourse around abuse allegations, including those involving Lively.
Increasingly, social media’s power to discredit accusers in celebrity cases is extending to lesser-known individuals. Men without public platforms are recording vulnerable moments of women—such as emotional breakdowns—and sharing these unflattering clips online, where they can quickly go viral. These videos often fuel content by so-called men’s rights activists attacking famous women and private individuals alike, accusing them of dishonesty and even abusive behavior.
This hostile environment is fueled by a significant backlash against the progress achieved by the #MeToo movement, which emphasized believing women who publicly spoke about sexual violence. The counter-reactions reinforce existing power structures by portraying accused men as the true victims. Women who echo narratives excusing potential male violence receive praise and positive attention online, while those who challenge such rhetoric become targets for internet mobs. The resulting media landscape is so skewed that many women find it safer to remain silent than risk becoming the next public spectacle.
The fear of being targeted by these self-appointed internet detectives often causes women to reconsider reporting abuse. While it has always been a harsh reality that victims might not be believed and could be vilified within their communities, today’s witch hunts can become viral, subjecting accusers to the kind of "total global humiliation" once feared only by high-profile figures, as one celebrity texted in 2016.
Nearly a decade later, Melissa Nathan, the crisis management expert for Depp and Baldoni—accused in Lively’s lawsuit of helping orchestrate media attacks against the actress—remarked on how swiftly social media turned against Lively, lamenting, "It’s truly sad because it shows there are people who genuinely want to hate women."
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