‘I see so many women afraid to speak’: Blake Lively refuses to let ‘fear’ control legal battle with Justin Baldoni

Blake Lively’s ongoing case against Justin Baldoni is starting to take a toll on her. Until now, she had released well-worded and measured statements through her representatives, but that changed when she finally addressed the situation on a talk show.

At this point, everything to be said about the case has already been said. Gag orders, New York Times exposés, reverse countersuits, hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, Candace Owens tirades. Every dirty linen Lively’s orbit has ever had is now hanging on her front step for everyone to see. She’s at a point in her career where, whatever she’s doing, the case simply has to come up.

So when her new movie co-starring Anna Kendrick, Another Simple Favor, finally arrived on Amazon’s Prime Video, it seemed all but certain the case would be brought up. It was a matter of when, not if. Luckily for Lively, she chose the “when” to be on Seth Meyers’ talk show, where the host itted he isn’t quite as familiar with the case as, say, most of our TikTok algorithms.

When Lively and Meyers talked about how raising young children has challenged them throughout the years, Lively mentioned that no matter how intense her year was — she had to go home and be “Disneyland every day for them.” That piqued Meyers’ interest, and he asked for more details on Lively’s intense year. While both acknowledged that it’s still an ongoing case and Lively couldn’t share much, she instead chose to share her feelings on the situation, Variety reports Lively saying:

“What I can say without going too into it is that this year has been full of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in my life. I see so many women around afraid to speak, especially right now, afraid to share their experiences, and fear is by design. It’s what keeps us silent.”

Behind the scenes, however, things are getting more intense. Ryan Reynolds has been trying to get Baldoni’s motion against him specifically dismissed. According to Reynolds’ lawyers, Baldoni’s case hinges on the Marvel actor calling him a predator a couple of times. Reynolds’ team claims that’s not defamation, but rather his opinion. For some fans, the fact that he just wants to be removed — instead of riding the full wave with his wife — is a sign that he’s abandoning Lively in her time of need. The same is being said of her “other dragon,” Taylor Swift, who is reportedly very upset about being dragged into this complicated case.

The specificities of this case are far too voluminous for anyone to have a fully informed opinion. Whether Baldoni or Lively is in the wrong should be left to the court. Lively’s fans might say that’s because Baldoni launched a very effective media blitz against her, but at this point, it’s just her words against his. The accusations are deeply sensitive. There are not only careers but also families on the line — so the stakes could not be higher.

This case is beginning to feel eerily similar to the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard situation, where the main goal seems to have shifted from seeking justice to providing entertainment to the broader culture. At this point, it’s beyond a black-and-white guilty or not guilty — it seems that no matter how it ends, both parties have already lost more than they can begin to describe.