Outlets are both-sidings the Lively vs. Baldoni trial and….where have we seen this before?

The situation between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has continued to get dark. Now, trade publications are trying to talk about it by making comments about “both sides” and that’s a dangerous path to go down.

The Hollywood Reporter posted a piece on the Lively and Baldoni lawsuits with the headline “These People Are Exhausting: Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively’s Struggle for Control.” This is frankly a weird choice of headline given what Lively has accused Baldoni of. But this is far from the first time that a case between a man and a woman who are in the public eye ended up with a “both sides suck” spin.

The last major example of this was the legal battles between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp. The narrative started with Heard as a victim and then slowly shifted to Depp being a victim until the entire situation was that they both were toxic until it was pro-Depp and anti-Heard. Despite how you personally feel about that particularly relationship, it is a similar breakdown of what is going on with the back and forth of Baldoni and Lively.

In the piece, the argument is that the public is the real winner because they love a “feud.” While sure, that’s one take, the other part of their “argument” is about the controlling of the narrative happening. The narrative in question was anti-Lively until she released her own lawsuit against Baldoni’s team for defamation. Baldoni responded and has continued to double down, Lively hasn’t really post the bombshell reveal back in December.

And yet what we see with things like this piece from The Hollywood Reporter is a “both of them” narrative. All because they read “both” lawsuits.

I’m just exhausted for women

The piece itself even references what happened with Heard and the entire situation just makes me feel gross. While it might forever be a his side, her side situation, what I don’t love is that it has so easily gone from Lively sharing her experience to this idea that they’re both exhausting. Yes, I know that Lively is a huge star with multiple business adventures but I also don’t see how that excuses the weird things Baldoni was accused of.

Are we supposed to think it is fine that he allegedly brought up her dead dad? Even this voice memo that Baldoni HIMSELF posted is, in my opinoin, creepy. But we’re still supposed to say “wow they’re both weird”? That just feels like a sexist take to me.

I understand that people do not like Lively and that’s fine. But the idea that this back and forth between them makes them both exhausting IS what is exhausting about this situation. People will hear a woman out one time and the minute a man responds, suddenly it is all too much? Okay.

Whatever ends up happening between Baldoni and Lively, I just think that saying they’re both too much when we’re not even near their court date is already setting us up for a sexist and frustrating situation down the line.