Abigail Breslin Felt ‘Compelled’ to Respond to Blake Lively’s Lawsuit Against Justin Baldoni

After It Ends With Us star Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against her co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment and a smear campaign, actress Abigail Breslin felt the need to speak up in support. Breslin, known for films like Little Miss Sunshine, Zombieland, and No Reservations, took to Tumblr to share a heartfelt essay about her own experiences in the industry.

She started her post by saying that recent events made her feel compelled to write about the issue, especially because she has also dealt with toxic masculinity throughout her life. Breslin revealed that when she called out inappropriate behavior from a male colleague in the past, she was dismissed as being “hysterical” and told that she was imagining things. But seeing Lively’s lawsuit made her realize that this isn’t just a one-off experience—it’s a pattern. “I realize this is the norm,” she wrote.

To add context, Breslin herself took legal action last year against the producers of her movie Classified, alleging that one of her co-stars, who was also a producer, repeatedly acted in an aggressive, demeaning, and unprofessional way, even putting her in dangerous situations.

In her essay, she shared how that situation played out—her claims were eventually dismissed, and instead of being taken seriously, she was met with backlash. “After making a confidential complaint against a coworker for unprofessional behavior, I had the silly and naive impression they would believe me,” she wrote. But rather than addressing her concerns, the producers hit back with a counter-lawsuit, accusing her of making up “hysterical” and imaginary allegations.

Breslin described the fallout as the price she paid for daring to speak up. “I was publicly shamed and defamed in the process,” she recalled. Despite years of hard work building her career, she was suddenly painted as some kind of troublemaker. “I became the crazy, paranoid, and, to quote directly, ‘hysterical and wild’ woman, who apparently just had it in for men,” she added.

She didn’t stop there. In her post, Breslin also called out the double standards in how society treats these situations. She questioned why people seem to enjoy watching a woman’s downfall while men often get a free pass for their behavior. “For men, it is always innocent until proven guilty. For women, it is the opposite,” she wrote.

Her message was clear—women who speak up about mistreatment are still being dismissed, labeled as dramatic, or even punished for daring to challenge the status quo. And until that changes, these patterns will just keep repeating

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