The Unseen Side Of Stardom: What Blake Lively's Allegations Tell Us

Hollywood has changed over the past century from being a centre for progressive women pioneers to becoming a field dominated by men. It needs to address gender inequality in light of high-profile cases that have exposed its misogynistic practices. The current system fosters a toxic culture and feeds a cycle of female exclusion.

Blake Lively has filed a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, alleging that the actor-director engaged in improper behaviour and defamatory remarks about their 2024 movie, It Ends With Us. Initially thought to be a public relations strategy to promote the film, it ended up being an 80-page complaint. 

Hollywood needs to address gender inequality in light of high-profile cases that have exposed its misogynistic practices. Hollywood can move past its long history of discrimination and alienation of women by bringing misogynistic individuals to light and elevating women both on and off-screen. 

In addition to Baldoni, Lively's lawsuit also names important members of his production team and those who are allegedly responsible for a smear campaign against her. This includes Steve Sarowitz, a co-owner of Wayfarer, Jamey Heath, the film's principal producer, and several other people. 

According to Entertainment Weekly, Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's attorney, strongly refutes Lively's claims, calling them "false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious." According to Freedman, the actress even skipped the set and caused trouble during production, including "threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release."

These actions, he claims, ultimately contributed to the film's poor performance.  Although the claims in this case have not yet been fully investigated, Hollywood culture is rife with sexism and inequality due to a cycle of men hanging around with other men and using double standards.

The Sexist Double Standards Of Hollywood

Women are often excluded from men's projects or participating on an equal basis. By letting men work together on movies, Hollywood prevents women from being vital contributors to the filmmaking process. Because they cannot get experience if they don't have it and they can't get experience if they aren't hired, this perpetuates inequality. 

This pervasive dark loop prevents women in Hollywood from competing on an equal basis. Another crucial element of this dark trend is the persistent pattern of those in positions of power giving opportunities to young people who remind them of themselves in this vicious cycle. Naturally, the male majority casts more male newcomers in roles because the younger versions are typically of the same sex.

This illustrates how crucial it is to place women in leadership roles to boost the proportion of women in Hollywood. Men in Hollywood have also unfairly benefited from double standards. Since fewer women have achieved success, female players are under more pressure than male players. When men fail, the studio gives them another chance, but when women fail, they are frequently shunned by the public. Women are severely harmed by this double standard and are just as talented as men.

Blake Lively's Allegations 

Baldoni, producer Heath, and Wayfarer Studios are accused in the Gossip Girl star's complaint of "creating a toxic workplace, ignoring harassment complaints, and failing to protect the cast and crew." Among these were a thorough "virginity loss scene and an orgasm scene" that were absent from the first book.

Lively allegedly felt that Baldoni's inappropriate questions about her private sexual experiences with her husband were intrusive and refused to talk about them. According to the lawsuit, he also improvised physical intimacy while filming without any choreography or advance planning. This featured slow dancing and kissing scenes. 

One of the incidents mentioned in the complaint claims that Baldoni "discreetly bit and sucked on Mrs Lively's lower lip during a scene in which he improvised numerous kisses on each take," according to People. Afterwards, he "insisted" on shooting "repeatedly." The complaint also pointed towards intrusive actions. 

Heath and Baldoni also "repeatedly entered Lively's trailer while she was undressing or nursing her child without permission." They put pressure on Lively to act completely nude during a birth scene, even though there was no prior agreement in the script or contract. According to reports, Lively and her assistant were also shown a graphic, completely nude video by Heath.  

Hollywood's Toxic Culture Towards Women 

Many well-known female celebrities admit that when they first started their careers, powerful men would offer them "the casting couch" route, which involves exchanging sexual favours for a role, representation, or any other path to stardom. Gwyneth Paltrow disclosed to Elle Magazine that when she was just starting it was suggested that "a business meeting be finished in the bedroom".

Hollywood's sex-for-play system, in which strong men take advantage of weak women for sex, does not empower women and is often idealized, but the "casting couch" system and unequal representation in positions of authority make this impossible in its standing. Male dominance and the sexualization of women have produced a culture where male casting directors and producers frequently hire women based more on their looks than their abilities.

Producers want men "who are confident, funny, smart, and passionate," but they also want women "who are smoking hot, attractive, fit, and sexy" (Clifton). This is according to research done by writer and actress Victoria Frings on the common descriptors on cast lists that are sent to talent agents. Another harmful Hollywood practice is revealed by this double standard, in which producers evaluate men based on their personality and skill while evaluating women based on their looks. It comes down to morality.

Can The Lively-Baldoni Case Change Hollywood?

By placing more women in leadership roles behind the camera, Hollywood can eliminate this discrimination and deterrence and address inequality. Punishing the men who uphold this toxic culture is the first step towards promoting women off-screen. In Hollywood, women need to challenge men when they can.

However, Hollywood needs to make room for women to reduce inequality because of the industry's poisonous culture. Justin Baldoni has vehemently denied the accusations, calling them unfounded, and promised to vigorously refute them. The case is becoming one of the most contentious in the entertainment sector, with both sides anticipated to provide more evidence.  Even though there is still insufficient evidence to establish guilt in this case, Hollywood could benefit from considering its principles in light of this case.

Hollywood can improve box office returns and catch up to contemporary standards of gender equality by exposing misogyny and promoting equality both on and off-screen. To create a safe space for women, Hollywood needs to undergo significant changes to eradicate sexual harassment and female exclusion from its culture.

Views expressed by the author are their own.