So what actually happened with Blake Lively?

Blake Lively went from being an internet darling to the subject of anger. But it is worth it to look at what exactly happened to make this change and why it is a little odd that she is the target of everyone’s ire right now.

Lively recently finished a press tour for the Colleen Hoover adaptation It Ends With Us. The book itself has a complicated history and many were already worried about it being adapted into a film. Where the disconnect has happened with fans is the “cutesy” press tour for a movie about domestic violence and abuse, mixed with rumors of a fight between Lively, the cast, and the creative team against the director (and Lively’s co-star), Justin Baldoni.

Since there haven’t been answers about what went down on the set and why, many online turned to incidents from Lively’s past to spin a narrative about what might have happened. A viral interview moment was shared that didn’t paint the star in the best light, and many people also brought up the issue that she and Ryan Reynolds got married on a former plantation. In more recent news, Lively has also been criticized for the It Ends With Us press tour, primarily for an interview in which she made a joke out of her reply to a question about how she might interact with victims of domestic violence who feel a connection with the movie.

While all of that is worth criticizing, it doesn’t mean she’s to blame for the conflict on the movie’s set. Unfortunately, this is a tale as old as time. A likable woman becomes a bit too popular and people decide that they need to knock her down a few pegs, and fans are pushing back against Lively and blaming her for the It Ends With Us tension while ignoring the few facts known about the Baldoni situation.

There’s been a lot of talk about cast members conspicuously not following Baldoni on social media, and he did a lot of his press for the movie solo, while Lively did press with a lot of the cast and creative team. That doesn’t necessarily prove anything, but it is something that many people noticed and doesn’t exactly make it seem like Lively is the one people had a problem with, and suddenly the hatred towards her feels a little like damage control for someone else.

Her co-stars are pushing back

The person Lively did the most press with was 1923 star Brandon Skelnar, who played Atlas in the film. He saw how people were reacting to Lively and finally took a moment to react to this news and made a post about the situation.

“I wanted to take a minute and address all this stuff swirling online,” Brandon Sklenar wrote on Instagram. “Colleen and the women of this cast stand for hope, perseverance, and for women choosing a better life for themselves. Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about.”

Many are mad about how she’s promoting the movie

Lively, who is in the news because of her movie, has used the promotional tour to talk about her new haircare line. Many online have taken offense to that, since the movie has domestic violence elements to it.

People like Meghan McCain pushed back against how Lively was approaching the press tour. She said on her podcast Citizen McCain that she thought the tour for the movie was setting the wrong tone. “If you’re taking on the responsibility of telling the story about a woman in a domestic violence situation, you have to be respectful that you’re representing victims millions and millions of women and men who are victims of domestic violence. I was very surprised at some of her responses,” McCain said. “I think the tone she’s setting in a lot of the press with this, saying, put on your florals and come together, girls.”

McCain went on to say that she didn’t “want to put florals on and go with my girlfriends and go watch a fun girl movie about domestic violence,” and that it was “very insensitive and, quite frankly, strange.”

It just feels like the early ’00s again

We don’t know what actually happened. It’s all he said, she said, and “this is what the rumors are saying.” One person said Lively had her own cut of the movie, another said that she and Baldoni fought about her weight. The reality is that we do not know what happened between Baldoni and Lively, but what we are all seeing is a woman being criticized for every little thing about herself.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t call out bad behavior. That interview Lively did was not okay, but it was also 8 years ago, and it’s popping back up now as part of a pile-on over a situation we know very little about. What this all feels like right now is the same attack tactics that have been around for years. We’ve seen it happen to Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence, and people are trying to do it to Rachel Zegler.

People see a woman who is likable and relatable, and they get angry at her for existing. So we don’t know what happened, but people turned on Lively, and it feels gross. That doesn’t mean anyone is wrong for taking issue with her actions, but there’s a difference between legitimate criticism and weaponizing that to cast her as a convenient villain in a situation that started with hints about Baldoni causing trouble. That doesn’t feel great to me.