Kate Beckinsale has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Blake Lively’s recent civil rights complaint against It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni, using the situation to highlight what she describes as systemic issues faced by women in the entertainment industry.
While Beckinsale clarified that she has never met Lively or Baldoni, she took to social media to share her perspective, stating that Lively’s allegations underscore the way complaints made by women in Hollywood can trigger a harmful backlash.
“This machine goes into effect when a woman complains about something legitimately offensive, upsetting, harmful, whatever, in this industry,” Beckinsale said in a caption accompanying her video post.
She shared her own experience, recounting how she was referred to as “that c**t” on a movie set after voicing her frustration with a co-star’s unprofessional behavior. “My co-star’s drunk every day… I have full sympathy for that, but I’m also waiting, as is the whole crew, six hours a day for him to learn his lines. It means I’m not getting to see my daughter in the evenings for the whole movie,” Beckinsale said.
Earlier this month, Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni, alleging sexual harassment and a deliberate campaign to damage her reputation. Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, has denied the claims, calling them “completely false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt” Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios.
Beckinsale emphasized the challenges women face in Hollywood, particularly younger actresses navigating the dual pressures of workplace harassment and the pervasive scrutiny of social media. “I don’t want our younger generation of actresses to be facing all the same things we all do and did. They have it even worse because of social media and how that can be weaponized to a literally nuclear level,” she said.
The actress noted that her own complaints on set were often met with dismissive responses, such as being given a bike to ride around during extended delays. She described instances of being “gaslit and made to feel like I was the problem” on productions.
In her post, Beckinsale called for greater accountability and support for individuals speaking out about mistreatment, urging industries to stop punishing victims. “Everyone in EVERY industry should be taken seriously and not punished when something egregious happens to them at work,” she said.
Beckinsale’s reflections echo the broader challenges highlighted by Lively’s case, underscoring the difficulties women face when advocating for themselves in the public sphere.
