Denton, Gamergate and now Blake Lively

[RethinkingLife]

This article is a decent overview of not only how straightforward it is to destroy reputations, but how trivially easy it is to undermine women and feminism even or especially among those who consider themselves media savvy.

I grieve for how easy it is to operate from this playbook and it seems to consolidate tactics that have been all too successful.

“You know we can bury anyone,” crisis management expert Melissa Nathan wrote to PR executive Jennifer Abel, one of thousands of messages subpoenaed by Lively…
In a subsequent message, Nathan told Abel that Baldoni didn’t realise how lucky he was given the allegations they had heard about his on-set conduct…
In response to the social media response “really ramping up” in terms of criticism of Lively, Nathan texted Abel: “It’s actually sad because it just shows you have people really want to hate on women.” A “scenario planning” document by Nathan’s firm, TAG PR, said it could “explore planting stories about the weaponisation of feminism and how people in [Lively’s] circle like Taylor Swift have been accused of utilising these tactics to ‘bully’ into getting what they want.”…
… the idea of the Hollywood and PR machines perverting that concept to discredit a woman apparently intent on ensuring the safety of herself and others – on the chaotic set of a film about ending cycles of domestic abuse – is a level of 4D chess that is terrifying in its imperceptibility, effectiveness and potential prevalence.
There is a chilling disconnect in the way the crisis and publicity parties rejoice in their apparent PR victory – “So much mixed messaging It’s actually really funny if you think about it,” Nathan texted Abel – and the covert warfare they allegedly used to manipulate the tabloid media into parroting their narrative. “This went so well I am fucking dying … We have the four majors standing down on HR complaint,” Nathan told Abel. When MailOnline published a piece in August asking “Is Blake Lively set to be CANCELLED?” Abel texted Nathan: “You really outdid yourself with this piece.” These methods are deadly, acutely attuned to how to form and nurture media and social media sentiment against a woman. As Taylor Lorenz writes in her newsletter User Mag, it takes its cues directly from the Gamergate playbook.
How many women has this happened to? How many smear campaigns have seduced our most base and ungenerous instincts into swallowing their line?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/24/blake-lively-allegations-actor-it-ends-with-us-justin-baldoni

Fuck me, that is chilling. And that it’s two women orchestrating it (and covering up sexual abuse) is just the shitty cherry on the piss-soaked cake.

Yes!

And the fact that they acknowledge the rich seam of misogyny into which they're tapping: “It’s actually sad because it just shows you have people really want to hate on women.”

I know they're disparate but Pélicot and the shamelessness of this uncover how unsafe the world is for so many women even in parts of the world that are not subject to Taliban-level restrictions.

I would also add my lack of surprise that a guardian music journalist turns out to be misogynistic. Despite being a woman. That department has been particularly pernicious on women's rights when they are being undermined by trans activists.

I guess it's petty and uncharitable of me to bring this up, and I'm sorry if it detracts from the spirit of the article, but is it the same Laura Snapes who described Roisin Murphy's album as having an 'ugly stain' and has she said she's ashamed of that too?'

www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/07/roisin-murphy-hit-parade-review

Yes, the bit at the end about women who’ve been the victim of smear campaigns, often by those waving their “feminist ally” credentials resonates. I expect the parallel between this and the endless numbers of women who’ve been vilified for pro-women views went over the author’s head.

Farking hell.

Direct link to Blake Lively's legal submission to which the article in the OP links:

static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/1629cc34e562e325/4410b1d9-full.pdf

BLAKE LIVELY, an individual, Plaintiff,
V.
WAYFARER STUDIOS LLC, a California Limited Liability Company, JUSTIN BALDONI, an individual, JAMEY HEATH, an individual, STEVE SAROWITZ, an individual, MELISSA NATHAN, an individual , THE AGENCY GROUP PR LLC , a Delaware Limited Liability Company, JENNIFER ABEL, an individual, RWA COMMUNICATIONS, LLC, a California Limited Liability Company, JED WALLACE, an individual, STREET RELATIONS INC., a California Corporation, and DOES 1-100, Defendants

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES FOR:
(1) SEXUAL HARASSMENT (CAL. GOV. CODE, § 12940/TITLE VII OF THE
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 ("TITLE VII")) ;
(2) RETALIATION(CAL. GOV. CODE, §12940/TITLE VII);
(3) FAILURE TO INVESTIGATE, PREVENT, AND/OR REMEDY HARASSMENT (CAL. GOV. CODE, § 12940);
(4) RETALIATION(CAL. LABOR CODE, § 1102.5);
(5) AIDING AND ABETTING HARASSMENT AND RETALIATION (CAL. GOV. CODE, § 12940) ;
(6) BREACH OF CONTRACT; (7) INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS;
(8) NEGLIGENCE;
(9) FALSE LIGHT INVASION OF PRIVACY (CAL. CONST., ART. I, § 1 ) ;
(10) INTERFERENCE WITH PROSPECTIVE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE

https://archive.ph/Q8VNQ

https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/celebrity/article/justin-baldoni-blake-lively-andrew-billen-vrdsqb569

This is an interesting article I read this morning, by Andrew Billen of The Times. He interviewed Baldoni back in 2021about "his woker-than-woke memoir Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity". I think it's fair to say Billen thinks Baldoni is a hypocrite and a creep.

I'm sensing a MASSIVE backfiring of their attempt to smear Blake Lively. Baldoni has now been dropped by his agent, and I don't think 'crisis management expert' Melissa Nathan or 'PR executive' Jennifer Abel will find work particularly easy to come by, given neither the 'crisis' nor the public relations were handled at all well.

But yes, as per your OP - it's sickening how easy it is to attack and undermine women .

https://archive.ph/y4y8w

https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/blake-livelys-co-star-dropped-by-agent-after-sexual-harassment-claim-r0kx52vhm

Baldoni dropped by his agent.

I haven't read it all, but even the first few pages are eye-watering.

On page 2 begins Lively's list of conduct which Baldoni and others must cease, for the welfare of everyone else on set. She INBU. The only remotely unreasonable thing about the list is that anyone had to make a list saying don't do these obviously inappropriate things.

Page 5:
9. On July 31 , 2024, following the recommendation of their publicist, Jennifer Abel, Wayfarer, and Mr. Baldoni retained a crisis communications specialist named Melissa Nathan, and her company The Agency Group PR LLC (“ TAG”). Ms. Nathan delivered a proposal to Mr. Baldoni, which included “[a] website (to discuss) , full reddit, full social account take downs, full social crisis team on
hand for anything – engage with audiences in the right way, start threads of theories ( discuss) this is the way to be fully 100% protected. " Ms. Nathan also proposed the “creation of social fan engagement to go back and forth with any negative accounts, helping to change [sic] narrative and stay on track." Per Ms. Nathan, "All of this will be most importantly untraceable." As Ms. Abel described it, the plan was to engage in “social media mitigation and proactive fan posting to counter the negative” as well as "socia| manipulation."

It's a valid story and I hope Lively gets the result she deserves. However, my eye was caught by The Guardian inserting Taylor Lorenz into the story, a toxic individual who is in urgent need of rehabilitation and it looks like friends of hers at The Guardian are happy to oblige.

Lorenz is no stranger to doxxing others and she was recently booted out of the Washington Post for lying about a story and then lying to editorial and then more recently got the boot again by celebrating the assassination of healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on social media.

I don't follow a lot of sleb stuff, but I am interested in the use of propaganda and information warfare.

That paragraph describes very well behaviours I've seen on MN involving other slebs. Very involved, thread after thread being started about the same people.

Maybe she'll think on and make the connection that in each case she fell for propaganda.

You're right @CrossPurposes and also a better person than I am - I wish I hadn't brought it up now

Maybe the guardian will think on and realise that the guardian fell for propertranda

Page 9:
18. The retaliation campaign relied on more than just publicists and crisis managers spinning stories. They also retained subcontractors, including a Texas-based contractor named Jed Wallace, who weaponized a digital army around the country from New York to Los Angeles to create, seed, and promote content that appeared to be authentic on social media platforms and internet chat forums. The Baldoni-Wayfarer team would then feed pieces of this manufactured content to unwitting reporters, making content go viral in order to influence public opinion and thereby cause an organic pile-on. To safeguard against the risk of Ms. Lively ever revealing the truth about Mr. Baldoni, the Baldoni-Wayfarer team created, planted, amplified, and boosted content designed to eviscerate Ms. Lively's credibility. They engaged in the same techniques to bolster Mr. Baldoni's credibility and suppress any negative content about him.

19. On August 10, the day after release of the Film, Ms. Nathan's team reported that they had “started to see shift on social, due largely to Jed and his team's efforts to shift the narrative" against Ms. Lively.

[edited to fix C&P fail]

You beat me to it! I was going to post that I'm still waiting for an apology when the Cass report vindicated Róisín's concerns about puberty blockers, not just from Laura Snapes but yeah, how about it, Laura?

Pages 11–12:

23. On August 16, Ms. Nathan circulated a Daily Mail article entitled "String of hard to watch' videos that have surfacedfollowing 'tone deaf' Q&A to promote It Ends With Us could tarnish 3 36-year-old star's golden Hollywood imagefor good,” to which Ms. Abel responded: "Wow. You really outdid yourself with this piece," and Ms. Nathan replied: “That's why you hired me right? I'm the best."

[shots of Daily Mail article & messages]

24. As their own words reveal, the purpose ofthis "social manipulation” plan was two-fold: it aimed to both (a) conceal the pattern of harassment and other misconduct by Mr. Baldoni , Mr. Heath, and Wayfarer, and (b) retaliate against Ms. Lively by battering her image, harming her businesses, and causing her and her family severe emotional harm. Millions of people (including many reporters and influencers) who saw these planted stories, social media posts, and other online content had no idea they were unwitting consumers of a crisis PR, astroturfing, and digital retaliation campaign created and funded by Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer to hurt Ms. Lively. That is precisely the goal of an astroturfing campaign— to light the fire and continue to stoke conversations secretly, blurring the line between authentic and manufactured content, and creating viral public takedowns.

It's so depressing. Two women working to 'destroy' and 'bury' another on behalf of a man, for the crime of asking for safeguards and to not be sexually harassed at work.

She signed the Suzanne Moore letter. Not much of a critical thinker.

Has anyone got a share token for this article, please:

https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/celebrity/article/poor-blake-lively-never-trust-a-man-who-calls-himself-a-feminist-ally-xvwhzmlx0

We’ve been saying for years on these boards that self-identifying as a feminist ally is a red flag; that finally seems to be gaining wider traction.

The women congratulating each other on the success of their misdirection away from Lively's entirely justifiable safeguarding complaints reminded me so much of the women in the Centre for Global Development in the case of Maya Forstater. The roles of Amanda Glassman and Ellen Mackenzie come to mind.

And when CGD hired the consultancy (Sarah Grausz and Farah Mahesri of Quantum Impact aka QI?) who thought that they would investigate Maya and highlight her ignorance but were taken aback to discover how knowledgeable she was and how much consideration underpinned her position. Their advice? Effectively, "Don't engage her or let her talk because she knows her stuff". What they did? They wrote 2 reports, one for internal consumption with that sort of 'advice' and an external, fluffy report that said almost nothing.

Maya Forstater Tribunal March 2022- Thread 3
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womensrights/4507443-Maya-Forstater-Tribunal-March-2022-Thread-3?reply=115944905

I did it very deliberately because I recommend against getting into a discussion with Maya on topics such as “is saying that trans women aren’t women offensive” because she knows the whole context of the discussion really really well and I recommend in being really cautious about not getting pulled into that debate”

https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Forstater-JR-AG.pdf

I think we also need to be clear why he wanted to ruin her.
It ends with us is a film about domestic violence in which Baldoni played the abusive husband and Lively the wife.
The 'rift on set' happened when she gave them the below list of demands in order to keep filming.
Note how often 'No more' is mentioned. It is absolutely chilling.

1. No more showing nude videos or images of women, including producer’s wife, to Blake Lively and/or her employees.
2. No more mention of Justin Baldoni or James Heath’s ‘pornography addiction’ or Blake Lively’s lack of pornography consumption to Blake Lively or to other crew members.
3. No more discussions to Blake Lively and/or her employees about personal experiences with sex, including as it relates to spouses or others.
4. No more mention to Blake Lively or her employees of personal times that physical consent was not given in sexual acts, as either the abuser or the abused.
5. No more descriptions of their own genitalia to Blake Lively.
6. No more jokes or disparaging comments to be made to Blake Lively and/or her employees about HR complaints Wayfarer has already received on set or about ‘missing the HR meeting’.
7. No more inquiries by Justin Baldoni to Blake Lively’s trainer without her knowledge or consent to disclose her weight.
8. No more mention by Justin Baldoni of him ‘speaking to’ Blake Lively’s dead father.
9. No more pressing by Justin Baldoni for Blake Lively to discloser her religious beliefs, or unsolicited sharing of his.

10. If Blake Lively and/or her infant is exposed to COVID again, Blake Lively must be provided with immediate notice as soon as Wayfarer or any other producers become aware of such exposure, without her needing to uncover days later herself.

11. An intimacy coordinator must be present at all times when Blake Lively is on set in scenes with Justin Baldoni.

12. No more personal, physical touching, or sexual comments by Justin Baldoni or James Heath to be tolerated by Blake Lively and/or any of her employees, as well as any female cast or crew without their express consent.

13. No more improvising of kissing. All intimate touch must be choreographed in advance with Blake Lively and an intimacy coordinator. No biting or sucking of lip without Blake Lively’s consent. All intimate on camera touch and conversation must be ‘in character’, not spoken from Justin Baldoni to Blake Lively personally.

14. Blake Lively to have representative on set at all times and with a monitor during scenes involving nudity, sexual activity, or violence with Justin Baldoni.

15. All actors participating with Blake Lively in intimate scenes involving her being in any state of nudity or simulated nudity must be classified as active, working actors, not "friends" of the director or producers, and must be pre-approved by Blake Lively.

16. No more filming of any Blake Lively nudity without a fully-executed, SAG-compliant nudity rider in place. Any such footage already shot without this rider in place and indirect violation of SAG requirements may not be used without Blake Lively’s and her legal representatives prior, written consent.

17. Any scene by Blake Lively, or another performer depicting the character of "Lily", that involves nudity or simulated sex must be conducted strictly in accordance with the above-referenced nudity rider and must adhere to the Blake Lively-approved script.

18. An intimacy coordinator must be on set for all scenes involving nudity and/or simulated sex and must have a monitor to ensure compliance.

19. No monitors to be viewed or accessible on set, or remotely, during closed set scenes except by Blake Lively-approved essential crew and personnel.

20. No more entering, attempting to enter, interrupting, pressuring or asking Blake Lively to enter her trailer or the makeup trailer by James Heath or Justin Baldoni while she is nude, for any reason.

21. No more private, multi hour meetings in Blake Lively’s trailer, with Justin Baldoni crying, with no outside Blake Lively appointed representative to monitor.

22. No more pressing by Justin Baldoni to sage any of Blake Lively’s employees.

23. Producer Alex Saks to be given standard rights, inclusion, and authority per her job description and as represented to Blake Lively when signing on.

24. Sony must have an active, daily role in overseeing physical production for the remainder of the film to monitor safety for cast and crew, schedule, logistics, problem solving and creative.

25. Engagement of an experienced producer to supervise the safety of the cast and crew, schedule, logistics, problem solving and creative for the remainder of the shoot. (examples: Todd Lieberman, Elizabeth Cantillon, Miri Yoon, Lynette Howell).

26. Engagement of a Blake Lively-approved, A-list stunt double to perform Lily in scenes with Justin Baldoni involving rape and/or violence. Blake Lively to perform only close- up work or work from a Blake Lively pre-approved shot list in scenes with Justin Baldoni involving sexual violence.

27. No more adding of sex scenes, oral sex, or on camera climaxing by Blake Lively outside the scope of the script Blake Lively approved when signing on to the project.

28. No more asking or pressuring Blake Lively to cross physical picket lines.

29. No more retaliatory or abusive behaviour to Blake Lively for raising concerns or requesting safeguards

30. An in-person meeting before production resumes with Justin Baldoni, James Heath, Alex Saks, the Sony representative, the new producer, Blake Lively, and Blake Lively's spouse Ryan Reynolds to confirm and approve a plan for implementation of the above that will be adhered to for the physical and emotional safety of Blake Lively, her employees and all the cast and crew moving forward.

Lively is famous and her husband is even more. I can only hope that this shines a very bright light on how easily bad actors can manipulate social media.

https://archive.ph/rXhrB

You know we can bury anyone

Chilling words