In August 2024, the movie adaption of Colleen Hoover’s novel It Ends With Us dropped and took the world by storm. However, controversy surrounded the film when lead actress Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against lead actor/director Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment and emotional damage. The situation escalated further when Baldoni retaliated with his own suit against Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and The New York Times, claiming that Lively carried out a strategic and manipulative campaign against him which was escalated when the Times allegedly left out key information to increase the believability of Lively’s story.

Lively already faced quite a bit of criticism due to her controversial marketing tactics for It Ends With Us. Many were upset over Lively advertising seeing the film as “a fun activity with friends” and using the film as an avenue to promote her new haircare brand when the film has a serious subject matter—the cycle of domestic violence. Because fans were upset, many found it difficult to immediately believe her story about Baldoni, and many attacked her for it. In addition, Baldoni’s work in feminist activism caused many to believe he wasn’t capable of abusing a woman. This leads to yet another problem in popular culture today: many people are so invested in celebrities’ lives that they feel like they know them personally. The truth is, no matter how much you stalk someone’s social media accounts or defend them against criticism, you never truly know a celebrity’s true character, so assumptions shouldn’t be made based on what is seen online.

Traditionally, it has been the common belief that it is better to always believe the person who has come forward about sexual abuse, at least at first. Many also found comfort and belonging in the #MeToo movement, with many well-known celebrities also joining in the movement. However, when Blake Lively came forward about her own experience with an abuser, many immediately dismissed her story as a desperate grab for attention.

I don’t believe that Lively’s role as the “villain” is coincidental. Instead, it is a result of a highly calculated agenda by Baldoni. As rumors of a feud between Lively and Baldoni escalated, Baldoni hired Melissa Nathan, a crisis PR manager. Nathan has successfully been able to control media attention and manipulate narratives to make her clients appear more likable and innocent. She even told Jennifer Abel, a publicist she was working with, that she “can bury anyone.” This happens to be the same woman hired by Johnny Depp during his defamation case against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. Not so coincidentally, Lively is being painted very similarly to Heard: as a crazy, unlikeable woman who is playing the victim for attention.

We won’t know for a long time and may never know whether Lively is telling the truth or not. However, in the meantime, it’s important to believe the victim first. If stories of abuse are immediately dismissed, many women with their own stories will most likely be deterred from speaking out in the future. Although many believe that trusting the victim is already the standard, this scandal has proven that the standard has now become believing the victim first, unless that victim is flawed. Believe the victim first, unless the victim is Blake Lively.