What a PR smear campaign can teach us about human psychology

[@Seevawonderloaf]

Even when Blake was being raked over the coals, I just rolled my eyes. If people clipped things I say on a daily basis, I’d be cancelled to the next century. And I’m sure it’s the same for everyone!

[@heartcatchprecure]

i mean i don’t think either of us has ever done antebellum wedding but whatever. we don’t have to make her out to be a perfect victim and an angel to call out ways she HAS been victimized

[@katybee3891]

@@heartcatchprecurebut people love Ryan Reynolds who also participated in that wedding. Its because of misogyny that she is getting the hate for this.

[@yallcrazy302]

@@heartcatchprecuregrow up. It’s someone else’s wedding. It has nothing to do with you and depicts a fantasy version of a time in American history. Grow up!

[@RJH333x]

@@heartcatchprecureas a black person I think it’s insensitive but I kind of?? Don’t care. Weird to hold one day/mistake against someone lol. It’s not like she’s proudly racist

[@RJH333x]

@@yallcrazy302nah the location’s bad lol

[@ingridc0ld]

I was definitely bamboozled. I projected my childhood trauma of being bullied by mean girls onto her. This is a wake-up call for me to try my best to be aware when I project old emotions onto reality.

[@angiem1704]

Do we have to take one side? Both can be wrong and my question is why now? The movie came out a few months ago. None of them are innocent...

[@annwe6]

@@angiem1704 What makes you say that? How are "none of them innocent"?

[@ingridc0ld]

@angiem1704 I never said I like Blake Lively or think she's completely innocent. The fact of the matter is, what she did isn't illegal, but what Baldoni did is.

[@SusanaXpeace2u]

@@annwe6 BL doesn't have to be ''innocent'' to deserve respect on set. You're falling into the trap here, that a woman has to be the PERFECT VICTIM to be allowed to call out bad behaviour.

[@annwe6]

@@SusanaXpeace2u Actually, I was just asking the other commenter to explain their point. It’s easy to throw around vague statements without backing them up with any real thought process. You’re absolutely right-nobody, including Blake, needs to be a 'perfect victim' to be believed. I didn’t fall into a trap; I was setting one.

[@Julliettwarner]

People hate a mean girl more than an actual abusive man. Its mind boggling

[@scoutlaceharding]

The Anne Hathaway clip just struck me as her setting polite but firm boundaries (she's not going to sing impromptu during an interview, and she's not going to discuss the personal/emotional details of her first crush) and then just honestly answering a kind of weird interview question. At least, it struck me as weird question to ask of someone who's doing a press tour for Les Mis, anyway. Maybe it's just because I feel strongly about either overly romanticizing the human experience of the past, or dismissing it (like when people say that no one in the past got as attached to their children because infant mortality was so much higher).

[@KristinaHuegelOnStage]

Those questions also felt inappropriate for an interview about Les Miserables, tbh. Very fluffy questions for a movie about wealth inequality, death, and desperation in 1800s France lol, felt like she wasn't super well versed in the subject matter

[@catcat9582]

Additionally i thought they were inappropriate because there was huge backlash already about anne not being able to sing and not being able to sing like everyone else ​@@KristinaHuegelOnStage

[@30sGRiD]

Couldn’t agree more. Nothing wrong with boundaries. In fact I think celebrities have to set lots of boundaries because of the amount of people they encounter as part of the job. Just because an interviewer wants her to do something or wants her to answer, does not mean she has too. That’s not rude.

[@Ziriatfalls]

It's a pattern that happens all the time to women in Hollywood. One minute they're America's sweetheart and the next they're villainized for the smallest things. Britney Spears, Jennifer Lawrence, Chappelle Roan come to mind but there have been many.

[@whisperpone]

chapelle roan was a special one because they tried to cancel her because she reminded people that they're not entitled to every minute of her life outside her home

[@Dee_bestest]

very well said. My fiancé had the same prediction & said “i see right through that guy, he’s full of it”. I was manipulated & i hope it doesn’t happen again!

[@pirateunicorn42]

sounds like a keeper!!!

[@jonathancangelosi2439]

It’s very telling how when men get accused of things the public responds with skepticism and “the benefit of the doubt,” but when unsavory rumors about a woman come out she is immediately met with vitriol.

[@bdnnijs192]

Could you think of any exceptions to this?

[@IronBroccoli]

I think the context and details matters. As she mentions in the video sexual assault is a crime being mean isn’t so their is a difference in consequences sometimes. And I think the tabloid news media chooses winners and losers for their own Hollywood / journalism/ corporate media industry reasons sometimes and the public may or may not follow along.

[@rfrancoi]

Wise words, "We DON'T know them."

[@kristinotten8802]

Your video back then was the ONLY one I could find (and I looked) where someone was questioning the narrative. I thought I was losing my mind because I couldn’t find anything that seemed balanced. Thank you for your take!!!

[@katybee3891]

Film Cooper had the same take

[@ranmount]

same, as I am BL fan, I wanted to check both sides of the story but I just couldn't find one which would try to present both sides properly.

[@jdmmg4904]

Ophie Dokie did as well. She wasn't the only one

[@RocKsiJ]

girl, entire summer it felt like i was in twlight zone and your video made me so happy, because it was SO TRANSPARENT what was happening, i couldn't believe you were the only person catching that bs.

[@kristinotten8802]

SAME!

[@unicorn-glasses]

I'm glad I didn't get sucked into this one, I saw a little bit about what she did "wrong" and had a feeling that the internet was just doing its quarterly blow-up over some tiny faux pas that any non-famous person could do and get away with because we're all human. A predatory PR firm being behind it fully makes sense. Maybe we should all just stop flipping out every time we realize that humans are human. Thank you for being honest through this whole thing as always!

[@unrulycrow6299]

Same, I saw the drama and just decided to NOT follow it because it seemed just like... Not worth giving it some of my time and braincells.

[@corneliahanimann2173]

Can't say I really saw through it like that, but I definitely saw a compilation for why she is supposedly the worst and thought to myself "wow I'd easily do that stuff wrong". Fame is just not the glorious life we make it out to be.

[@forTehMemes]

I knew the hate against Blake was overblown. And it turns out I was right

[@talkingtochapri]

Same 💯

[@tacrewgirl]

Same

[@rina-nv5yr]

I think it’s always a good idea to just not jump on an internet hate train

[@rina-nv5yr]

While I’m here: the internet will fall back in love with Rachel Zegler

[@shannonberp]

I was once the victim of a pretty nasty smear campaign in an online game I spent years playing. This was an incredibly traumatic experience for me. I am also on the spectrum so I had no idea what was happening or why it was happening. I'm glad that this awful experience has finally proved itself useful to me. The moment I saw these Blake Lively videos on my feed, I avoided them for a long time. Finally, when I watched one out of curiosity as to what could make a person so hated by the public eye, I found they were very unsubstantiated arguments. Was she maybe unlikeable for behaving a certain way? Sure. But it was nothing enough to garner full blown hatred. I immediately noticed that this felt a lot like my own smear campaign experience. I could spot how wrong everybody was, and how easily manipulated people are. Thank you for your video. I really appreciate the media literacy, which is a muscle that needs to be constantly worked on. The part you mentioned about how "we love to condemn women who bring out our insecurities," helped me realize why I was the victim of the smear campaign in the first place. I didn't do anything wrong, it was their insecurities that were triggered. Thanks for helping me understand what went wrong.

[@limiwa]

I had something similar happen to me on my own social media account by so-called friends over a post they didn't like. Sadly some people have brought the cancel culture mentality to their personal lives. It's definitely a sign of insecurity and immaturity.

[@nanomia]

I admit I defintly fell for this propaganda for a moment then when I heard he hired the same pr firm that smeared Amber Heard my guards were up and I remember thinking "hmm I'd need to wait and see about this it's suspicious" "could justin really be playing a character of the feminist ally when he's a creep?" turned out yes it was all performative also her videos about being mean...weren't that bad...first is that interview where she was pregnant you know how emotional women get during pregnancy yes she was dismissive but she seemed she was annoyed and on edge. But guess what? men in Hollywood do so much worse things and they would never get dragged like this by OTHER men so please let's stop this hate against women celebrities and expecting them to be perfect all the time while the standards for men aren't near this at all.

[@gogogo26993]

Your first video about blake literally predicted this and aged more than well.... the i told u so

[@justinenglish_5750]

When I watched the Anne Hathaway interview, I was surprised to see that people thought she was rude. By the way, A.H. issued an official apology to avoid being cancelled and suffer the same treatment Blake Lively had to endure. As a European point of view (French to be precise), I never thought AH was rude to the interviewer. She could be perceived as uncooperative to some extent. It is clear that the interviewer was expecting more and was excited to do this interview and discuss the movie. She is certainly passionate about her job. However, AH was not rude. And then it clicked for me. Politeness in the USA is being friendly, whereas politeness is about showing respect in Europe/France. It was clear that AH was not in the best mood for this interview and personnally I would be as uncomfortable with the interviewer's questions and requests. I would have said no to sing and would not have elaborated further, as AH did. I also agree with you. The video were edited. I would be curious to watch the full clip without interruptions and cuts. The interviewer became suspicious with her intentions when she released several videos back to back in a short period of time which had the same narrative : her being a victim of many celebrities. They lacked authenticity. Why did she seem to take pleasure or satisfaction to expose celebrities in that way? Why did she seem to villainize certain type of people, mainly women, and glorify others. Something is off with her.

[@Doxygurl]

You are bang on about American ettiquette, especially in those millennial and younger. You can be misconstrued so easily when you’re a woman who’s not bubbly or overtly friendly. You’re meant to hyper engaged and responsive, and down to discuss whatever. Privacy can be seen as snobbishness. I do like the generally upbeat American spirit but oftentimes it can act as a fake veneer. Someone can be utterly cruel to you and as long as they say it in a nice enough voice, if you say anything back people will act as if you started the argument.

[@Doxygurl]

Also must add this very appropriate Sondheim excerpt: “You’re so nice. You’re not good, you’re not bad, you’re just nice. I’m not good, I’m not nice, I’m just right- I’m the Witch!”

[@notlilyspears]

@@Doxygurl That's not my experience of being an American. Maybe it's a regional thing. Bubbly, overly-friendly, and hyper-engaged are definitely not expected or idealized in all parts of the US.

[@Mad_Maximus7]

Speaking of reaction formation, I meant to mention this about doormat mom last video. Same theme… doormat mom tries adamantly to convince us she’s a good mom. Meanwhile, Baldoni tries to convince us he fervently believes in feminism… *Show don’t tell* (agreed)

[@pinkhyacinth]

Thank you so much for making videos like these. You made a video a long time ago where you touched on Amber Heard being unjustfully vilified and it helped me change my mind and understand that situation better. Thank you.

[@Kai-here]

Apparently the mean girl interviews were at a time in Hollywood when actresses were protesting against the questions they were asked in comparison to their male co stars. Like, women would be asked vapid questions about wardrobes and childhood crushes, but men would be asked about the depth and development of their characters.

[@catcat9582]

It's like everyone has amnesia. That response was iconic at the time. The interviewer saying that should would indeed ask men made me roll my eyes at the time

[@stellagomez100]

I watch and comment on a lot of your videos and THIS is the reason why! I really appreciate the fact that you actually say what you genuinely believe in and u dont just blindly accept whatever the popular belief is.

[@madikin]

Honestly from the start I found it so weird that the supposed "good guy" in this not only hired a well known PR firm but also said, "hey, there's this book I read about a horrifically abusive relationship. I wanna make a movie out of this AND I wanna play the abuser." about a Colleen Hoover book who very often romanticises abuse even in her books that aren't supposed to be about DV. It's also extremely ironic that people overlooked the fact that this movie was about supporting women and then immediately grabbed their pitchforks at the first whisper of "bad behaviour". I just keep thinking, if a man was doing all of this the reaction wouldn't be nearly as severe. It's still happening where people are still, even if they believe her, calling her an asshole. FOR WHAT?! Not liking her body being commented on? Having a bad day? I could keep going but I shouldn't let this get to me as much as it does. It's just sad how eager people are to hate on women.

[@roising.3221]

I am glad I saw the same as you. There are so, so celebrities who are abusive and criminal, and i was so confused as to why she was being cancelled for being "mean", like that's a crime and not extremely subjective.

[@ervadaninhalastrar]

I just want to thank you, your videos have been helping me TREMENDOUSLY understanding the human brain better, why and how myself and others act, please never stop making them, they are extremely useful

[@verloren844]

She definitely did some bad things, but this does not justify a coordinated campaign against her. Two things can be true at once.

[@Kintsugi1221]

Exactly.

[@815-n8e]

What did she do?

[@Doxygurl]

Those emails from the PR team are absolutely sickening.

[@erinelizabethmsw5137]

Ana your channel is AMAZING. I’m so glad I found you.

[@spiderfart420]

I really want to thank you for reminding us to think critically and be level headed.

[@ninacael]

obsessed with your energy in this video. sometimes we just need to be read to filth and rethink our internalized misogyny

[@marijanikolic4873]

That whole story was weird from the beginning. I always felt like the cancelling was forced since none of the "crimes" were anything "serious". I also never trust a man who calls himself a feminist so I was kind of afraid that there were things going on and that he's trying to shut her up. So glad it backfired. And once again we have to ask ourselves: "Where do men get the audacity?"

[@lovelylittlegirl3332]

I agree, Justin being an asshole doesn’t negate that Blake is an out of touch asshole. She was rude countless times to people and that doesn’t change. I am so sorry that she was a victim of Justin’s malicious behavior and I hope she wins the case and hands him his shit back. I personally was disappointed by Blake’s approach to promoting the film and her past actions but never really cared for Justin as I also don’t take anything relating to feminism seriously if it’s coming from a male ACTOR. I don’t actually know them so I’m glad I never sent hate towards either of them. My biggest lesson in this is to listen to myself when I scold myself for catching up with internet gossip instead of studying, truly a waste of time.

[@belmoon8711]

The cast was instructed to focus on “resilience” during promotion of the film, not DV. It was in their contract. Damned if you do damned if you don’t…so sad

[@torijeri]

yes!! i felt like i was being gaslit by the world back in august. i saw it so clearly especially because the whole cast was behind her and not him. it just logically didn’t make sense but people love hating on others that they just kept it going and ignored the facts. thank you for this and your last video cus it def made me feel like i wasn’t alone 😭

[@DayaMcCarthy]

It sucks the most when the abuser has a "great charming" personality. Cause some people translate that to being a "good" person or an "angel" and turn a blind eye to the wrong they committed.

[@torijeri]

@@DayaMcCarthy YES!! And most abusers actually DO have a charming personality. that’s why it’s so easy for them. it’s scary!

[@snoozyq9576]

Really? The world? Trust me most of the world don't know or care about this

[@torijeri]

@@snoozyq9576 it’s called a hyperbole…

[@lfrancis8980]

Good video, but re: condemning anyone who hires any/this PR firm, Melissa Nathan also worked for the firm George Floyd's family hired after he was murdered. If we do too much unilateral guilt by association, it will continue to hurt victims, and that tends to hurt the most marginalized more than it hurts the most powerful.

[@Kintsugi1221]

🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@Anna-md5nc]

I felt so hurt and powerless watching Amber Heard go through this same thing. It's honestly chilling how nobody remembers her pain or the things she was made to go through, she's just the punch line of "evil woman" in pop culture now. Johnny Depp did abuse her. He did. He lost the case about it. The second case, the one that blew up, the one he hired this PR firm for, was about whether or not she's allowed to publically discuss the abuse she endured at his hands without mentioning his name, even. Nobody remembers that.

[@waynepolo6193]

13:02 “If a good guy were to receive a false allegation, all he would need to do is just openly present the facts that exonerate him.” There are at least two issues with this. For one thing, the number of people _interested_ in even hearing what the accused has to say is _vanishingly_ small. The facts don’t matter when people don’t want to see them. The election this year proved that. Secondly, the wrongfully accused often face the same hurdle that real victims do: the _absence_ of concrete, corroborating evidence. I agree that the wrongfully accused are ill-served and undermine themselves by going out on the offensive. At the same time, it’s highly naïve, and a bit reductionist, to say, “just openly present the facts […to people who aren’t at all interested in hearing them.]”

[@JZ-mn8wv]

I agree 1000x

[@helens-u6606]

I agree that JB seems performative when talking about feminist topics. And I hope justice is served if he’s found guilty of the allegations. Still, I never cared for BL because of the plantation wedding. But never campaigned against her (cuz I’m ‘nobody) and cuz she’s average white American actress when it turns to being (un)aware of condoning racist tones and undertones.

[@heidithesausage]

Apparently her husband picked the venue. It's telling that only she gets shamed for that but not him. I'm not American but it's very unethical to me that these venues exist for hire at all. Reparations to Black American communities in the form of these plantation properties surely would help with that division & gross inequality.

[@manifest2203]

I was honestly taken in by that dude. I saw that dude’s TeD talk years ago and thought he was genuinely one of the good ones who is making an effort and truly understands women. Goes to show how charming and how evolved the grifters are. A clear case study of mn who are master manipulators.

[@Takeasec]

Those women weren’t even being “mean” in the interview they honestly were speaking what they thought! Not getting the interactions you hoped for isn’t mean necessarily. People are diverse, and if we really cared about female actors, why would interviews where they speak their mind (respectfully) be considered mean? Also it’s a little ironic Baldoni felt the pressure for making this movie because he was a man, so why didn’t just have woman do it who has experience/knowledge to portray it or that could have worked alongside him?

[@Octobris]

The interviewer who posted the Blake and Anne interviews (who I fully supported initially) has proved to be incredibly messy (which I'm glad this video addresses). Even though her demeanor makes one think "oh no she's trying her best why are those celebrities so mean to her", like Ana says, there is an actual, well-documented pattern of posting clickbaity videos and milking those contriversial situations. I am very disappointed in Kjersti, actually. And in myself, too - that I jumped in to defend her when her intentions weren't exactly pure. But you live and learn.

[@V1sual3y3z]

Yeah, I wondered about that myself. I don't know what her (KF) deal is and I'm not particularly interested in her content so I have no read on her overall, which is why I didn't catch the pattern Ana pointed out. I think the interview still speaks to a pattern I have seen in other interviews with BL AND I still feel a bit duped. Both are true for me. The problems I have with BL are documented, so i guess I just allowed myself to be swept up because there were already things about her past decisions that were harmful, tone deaf and problematic, so I figured this was just an extension of that. I wasn't a supporter of JB, but I was fascinated because of the schism and consumed a lot of media about it. I don't know that I will ever know what is happening outside the public eye, but this was a good reminder to at least not let my already established dislike of someone cloud my judgement.

[@Susan13554]

I saw through that interviewer from day one. She’s so ingenious it’s oozing.

[@penina8438]

I was sexually harassed by a man in a position of power and Blake’s initial comments about Justin immediately told me she had experienced the same thing. Sometimes we want to be able to say what someone did to us but for some reason, can’t, so we say something that is minor but still not great. There’s always something more though, and I was so disheartened by how few people recognized this and immediately attacked her.

[@psi.dayanamoore]

First reasonable video I've seen on the matter. Your opinions are nuanced and realistic. Thank you, Ana!

[@KerryHart-wm2xp]

Yooooo the reaction formation stuff makes so much sense now. About three years ago I had this friend when I (20f) became friends with this guy (38m) bc he would give me free green and we had the same taste in shows, anime, youtube content. He would always talk to me about how he used to go to all these protests when he was my age and advocating for all the stuff that's good (women's rights, tr4ns rights, ab0rtion rights, poc rights, etc) and how i was safer with him than any other man in our cr4ckhead town. Months went by and I'd never stayed over in spite of his attempts, nothing bad had actually happened and we just chilled. But he was constantly trying to convince me to sleep over since I'd always be there in the evening. I'd always said no as I have sleeping issues (hence the needing green at night) and wouldn't be able to sleep in the same room he was in. I tried to explain that I have cptsd from those situations and I get random panic attacks throughout the night since I was a child anyway. But he'd say it was all in my head and I just wasn't used to being around someone who cared as much as he did and the discomfort that I felt was me only being comfortable with bad people. But I never believed him and about 5 months in, I called him out. I told him it was weird that he wanted me to stay over so badly and that even though he believed in mental health, he didn't believe mine. I also told him my therapist thought he was a walking red flag, because she did. But what always confused me the most was that I'd been in such bad states around him where I would have been a perfect person to take advantage of. But he never did. But he was constantly talking about injustices and how much women suffer and how lucky he is and that he could never dream of doing those things. But it always gave me slight chills. Clearly not enough for me to stop smoking with him until after we had a big argument but enough for me to not sleep there

[@sch4891]

i dislike her because her husband scabbed during the writers strike and she bragged about it T_T

[@cureforintroversion1262]

According to KZbinr Glitch Poachers, people love to see others brought down and like to see others be redeemed or forgiven to a lesser extent. Which is why cancel culture is so prominent

[@rampaginwalrus]

Crab Mentality

[@MourningDove-bn4dk]

People in general are social climbers. You don't tear down people who are below you. You tear down people who you see as being above you. If they seem uncomfortable looking at you in the eyes, there is a chance that they view themselves as being beneath you. That is not a compliment. That is a sign that this individual does not like you, and they will be there ready to tear you down. If you know somebody that talks badly about everybody, understand that they are talking badly about you too. You do not tell these people anything personal, because they will use it against you. These people are always looking for weaknesses in other people. At the heart of social climbing is envy, and it is a bottomless pit where you have to keep doing things in order to feel good about yourself.

[@happysundaybaby7616]

I have a question: When you started talking about overcompensation, I thought about Prince Andrew and Ashton Kutscher. Both men were actively working against Human Trafficking while being at the very least close Friends with Human trafickers. How can we spot these People without being critical of people with genuine good Intentions? (Sorry for the typos)

[@curatedbylu]

ana, you’re amazing! thank you for this

[@Debashmita-Misc-dd9sz]

I thought of your video on this topic when I got to know about the smear campaign! That's why I was always a little skeptical with the whole Blake Lively hate, even though I wanted to just go with it.

[@CoreenMontagna]

Wasn’t that reporter specifically told Blake didn’t want to discuss her pregnancy?

[@heidithesausage]

That doesn't surprise me at all. It felt very awkward.

[@Lily-ni5po]

I refused to listen to the stories about her when the movie came out. Not because I am attached to this actress, I have never seen her in anything. I never watched Gossip Girl, and that's all I know she was in. I just saw how she was getting pilled on, and I found the whole thing suspicious. I didn't get fooled when it happened to Amber either. Unless a woman said something bigoted, if she gets targeted and her male counterparts gets praised in comparison, something is up in my experience. My life experience tells me to expect that he did something to her, and we are all being played into protecting him.

[@Vanbedda]

I watched one video on the topic and could see a rich and famous celeb like Lively being a bit of an insensitive asshole, but I didn't really care all that much. However, once I learned that the director recruited the same PR company as Johnny Depp I was immediately suspicious of the guy and couldn't take anything he said seriously.

[@PeggyKoneko]

I can't say that I was super emotionally invested in this, but as an internet passerby, I was definitely fooled by the narrative that Blake Lively wasn't taking the movie seriously while Baldoni was, if only because the snippets I saw pointed to this. I'm disgusted by Baldoni but I'm also disgusted by Sony, who wanted to keep the PR around the movie light in the first place.

[@rebekahnewman3876]

Wow, I have to say, I was wrong. I was swayed by the hate train and believed Blake is just a mean girl who personally chose to not handle the IPV content with the gravity it deserved. Thanks for making your channel a place I’m always learning more about not only others and my relationships with others but also learning how to call myself out and become a more accountable person

[@spiderfart420]

Just because the guy is a horrid person doesn't absolve her of her own problematic behavior. She's still no angel considering the plantation thing, but Justin should be held accountable for more than what was led on and not pushed onto Blake. Obviously if she is a victim of SA that is unacceptable of Justin to do to her.

[@Lili-v4c6n]

your videos are so insightful and eye-opening - i really appreciate your content ana.

[@majp6126]

Thank gosh someone is making videos like this, it felt like such a bizarre dogpile that i wondered "who has an agenda against her?"

[@Elemenohpea440]

The whole thing was so weird….my husband knew it was nonsense all along. It reminds me of the smear campaign against the great soprano Kathleen Battle in the 90s.

[@thecloudflower7844]

I'm not a fan of Blake's, but I also didn't hate her when the situation came out. I was just curious what the fuss was about. I found the clips of her interviews off putting, but that's just my opinion. Of course i knew the interviewer chose this precise moment simply because it would garner her more money/views as this was the current hot topic. Her actions aren't particularly innocent, but i also don't think she should be singled out for the bad PR. If there were no substance, then there would be no evidence, even if people wanted to click bait. I thought the interviewer was just a mean girl, too, until i saw she posted other positive videos of celebrities she had interviewed with. So i don't think it's fair for you to just highlight two videos of hers that showcase the unfriendliness of two celebreties. Ya know.. I'm not surprised the tide has turned and now the bad press has turned upon Baldoni. That's the Hollywood mahcine for yall. Don't believe 100% what you hear and see. Use your own judgment. And reminder: we don't know these people. No need to use your energy to talk smack about someone you barely know. *shrugs Also I lump people who excessively hate on Baldoni in the same group as people who excessively hate Blake. They're all sides of the same coin.

[@someball90q]

I had these exact same thoughts during the drama. I even tried watching an "expose" video on her to better understand what people were angry about. In the end I couldn't even finish the thing because I felt like this was gonna be another one of those misogynistic hate campaigns. Not to say she has never done anything wrong, but it all felt so out of proportion and most of it seemed like digging up past shitty or weird things for content dunk points, even things she's apologized for or things with other people involved who never seemed to get the same heat. Just seemed...too fishy and inconsequential to me. Like are we **really** right now, going to focus on her in particular while we have people in Hollywood who've commited actual felonies running free while making movies? Just another a witch hunt instead of an actual call to be better and accountability for misgivings.

[@justwonder1404]

I remember thinking 'wow, this Justin guy really knows all the right things to say', and guess I was a little persuaded but didn't think about it too long to actually label him as the good guy (that PR team hire looked a bit sus, and I'm too radicalized by booktube to like anyone willingly working with CoHo). Still, I was surprised how everyone just turned on Blake. Her answers and behaviour during that press tour felt more awkward than malicious, and people acted like she actually abused someone. I've learned something about how critical I should be about content I see online and I hope more people did, too.

[@Kintsugi1221]

Ngl the ONLY thing i personally found fishy about this situation without knowing anything was how he was.... Too perfect.... That definitely rubbed me the wrong way. Anytime anyone acts too much in ANY way i question it.

[@KourtKim]

I actually gave in and watched your video on this topic last night! I love how thorough you present these facts and your arguments, I hope people could learn to consume media a lot more critically… especially in this political climate 🥹

[@knjparadise]

as soon as i saw that he hired that pr firm i knew something was up

[@nanomia]

you're spot on Anna! 6:00 I'm also wary of men who calls themselves feminists but I also don't like men who dismiss feminism or have no opinion about it I mean justin baldoni have also done actions for feminism ted talks and raising money and all so just actions is not enough to judge a man apparently I feel conflicted on how to judge men who come into my life I usually just don't interact with them but do want a relationship one day. So i'd love it if you can talk more about this!

[@brittneybabeee4031]

Blake has made mistakes & been mean, tone deaf, & inconsiderate in the past. However, I never quite understood the attempt at a complete cancellation of her. Nonetheless, I was fooled into believing she was worse than she may actually be & for that, I apologize to her. This is absolutely terrible & I’m so glad this case is in the light. I hope Blake wins this suit & Justin gets karma.

[@Lendrina22]

I almost believed this campaign. Now I am happy that I stayed quiet. But it got to my head, and that is so sad. Every day I am more and more disappointed by people. It's like negativity, hate, and especially hate for women (by men and women) is all that drives this world. At its core, men do more bad things, but women are hated more and forgiven less. And let's not begin about social media and how it is playing in our heads and putting ideas there that we actually don't need. So sad realy...

[@thecarouselpitch]

Even ignoring the short clips from interviews taken out of context, Blake once released a whole cosplay-reminiscent clothing line under her blog, both of which specifically, proudly, and weirdly romanticized antebellum as a “better time” to be revisited. This was AFTER being forced to release a cookie cutter apology with her husband for holding their wedding on the grounds of a former plantation. I don’t need a smear campaign to know she and her husband aren’t the “treasures” us plebs worship them to be.

[@MsKateC2K]

right, I never liked her anyway. didn't need a smear campaign for that

[@larbot3433]

You don't need to be the perfect person to be a victim though right?

[@SusanaXpeace2u]

@@larbot3433 that's the point so many miss. I thought she was kinda lacking in charisma and a bit saccharine maybe, so , not a massive fan, but I 100% support her right to have an expectation of decency and respect on set. I've been smeared too. I'm not perfect but I didn't deserve to be smeared. So I support her in this law suit.

[@matthewmurray7428]

You are seriously so smart. I am consistently impressed with your videos and learn so much. Thanks!

[@ColoradoMntn1222]

"I hope those five minutes of fame were worth it." Wow. You had me up until that point. It feels a lot more like you're taking a side and calling one bad and the other not bad when I thought the entire point was to view the complexity here. I thought the point was NOT to villainize anyone or kick down anyone, but that villainizes and kicks down another woman. It never ends, I swear.

[@thecloudflower7844]

I felt the same way. I don't subscribe to the interviewer's channel, but I do watch some of her stuff. She has videos that do show the positive side of female celebrities, too. I don't know... normally Ana's videos are very nuanced and fair, but this one didn't feel like it. Oh well. Guess everyone's entitled to their own thoughts.

[@wiseone1013]

This creator is wise and intelligent, I like it.

[@Bamgeutcutiepie]

it's just not our business. that's it . the end :) but the world of the internet keeps making it their business. and so here are my two scents: two things can be true at once. the things in the long list that Blake is suing him for, can all be true. who knows. I personally believe they are true. as I personally feel Justin is the type of man who shouts the loudest about being a good man, and teaching other men to be good, truly just means he as the most skeletons in his closet. He is probably the opposite of what he portrays himself SO HARD to be. on the flip side, we have a woman, Blake, who BY HER OWN ACTIONS, got called out. even IF there was a smear campaign, no one can force her to say and do the things, that were not sitting right with fans about promoting this movie. and the interview with the Norwegian woman and the baby bump... no smear campaign made her do that. people are having a reaction to what they saw. end of story. NOW... did Justin use this to his advantage? probably yes. was it part of the plan. maybe. who knows. Both things can be true. Blake can be unlikeable - hence the hate train - AND justin can be a creep who deserves to get sued either way.... WE normal folks, still do not have the FACTS. I would like to point out the irony of what the itnernet is doing NOW: before it was all about hating Blake, and now, *still without PROOF* we hate Justin, and everyone wants to say "see I told you so!" ..mmkaaay.. if you say so. why don't we just WAIT till everything is proven once and for all.

[@richardbraun4826]

Hello Ana, great content as usual, but I have to criticize something : the "law of polarity" isn't a real thing, at least scientifically. Relying on analogies between north vs south and summer vs winter to argue that "the same exact thing happens with our psyche" makes the argument extremely weak. There is an idea of balance, but it's merely the result of evolution over the chemical and topological nature of our brains, and has nothing to do with a more fundamental "law" which would link that to north and south or whatever.

[@marispereirac]

actions speak louder indeed ❤

[@Kintsugi1221]

@15:55 "I know what its like to put my foot in my mouth and to be socially awkward and to have my social anxiety misinturpreted as coldness" 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@jeanbotha8794]

Love your discussions Ana. I was shocked when I saw the Blake hate (I've always liked her). But the truth of the facts have been revealed and I feel so reassured in my own sense of BS detecting, that Justin is a creep, no ally to women and certainly no role model for any men.

[@swerremdjee2769]

The paying attention to people over doing it is very good advice and 1 of the things i also pay attention 2👍

[@ohdearbri]

I honestly did deduce she was a mean girl but I didn't really partake in the discourse besides acknowledging it. To me she's just someone I side-eye, it's awful she was publicly slandered for dissociating with him. The cast even supported her and people called it cliquey.

[@DayaMcCarthy]

3:44 with my long and exhausting experience with someone close at the time that had covert narcissist traits and being in a cult. I know that it is very possible for someone to be so amazing upfront. They can be funny, nice, charismatic make you feel great whereas they can do vile things to you. And it's so painful and isolating trying to get help because truly in the surface they are a great person especially if they have their way with words. So to get someone to believe you can be hard. Especially if you yourself are not charismatic or have such a great personality like your abuser. It's like you have to be an angel or be perceived as an in order to get help, in order to be believed that you were abused. I'm now not swayed by someone's personality even if it's great. I know that doesn't necessarily translate into them doing great things or being a "good" person.

[@Jessicad9304]

Thank you for this video so much omg. I also didn’t fall for this smear campaign, stood up for Blake Lively, and was attacked in comments. She’s not perfect but no one is, and the “flaws” I’ve seen in her are not all that bad. I could definitely see the hate she was getting was way overblown but I didn’t understand why. Now I do, and I’ll be more privy to this kind of thing in the future.

[@maddyG7414]

It was just way too convenient that all of this evidence of her being terrible suddenly emerged all at once. I’m not a huge fan of her, but I didn’t buy that she was this terrible, problematic person. Just someone with things she’s mishandled, done wrong etc.

[@ranmanfl5597]

Ana i agree people take social media too seriously and assume too much. We need to ask ourselves more questions: Would we like these people as friends? Are famous actresses entitled to be snooty and uncooperative with journalists trying to gift them some cheap publicity? Is the sexual harassment lawsuit starting to look like some sort of relationship break-off with perturbed overtones? And most of all, WHY DO WE CARE SO MUCH? Keep asking Doctor Ana and we'll keep watching, thanks for sharing introspective mind

[@Pastasalada]

I’m mad Blake’s husband was caring about his own career more than his wife situation publicly all this time he remained silent, it’s sad because until what point is your career more important than be by your partner side.

[@Canoby]

I sort of just ignored a lot of this drama this summer simply because I generally don't care about celebrity news stuff unless it's like someone I follow; I only really was aware anything was up just because I'm more of a fan of her husband. I figured you never really know what's real and what's smoke and mirrors with Hollywood anyway, caring about this sort of "news" really feels like a fool's errand to me. Glad you made this video, media literacy and being able to detect and understand propaganda are vital topics to discuss. Glad you've been covering these topics lately, even if it's not the channel's usual niche.

[@cc1k435]

Seems real tricky to put together a sequel now...😮

[@desireco]

Blake is now organizing PR campaign against him because she wants to take right to the sequel away from him... plain and simple. I used to be a big fan, kind of still am, just wish she is better person. She didn't keep discussion light-hearted, it was ridiculous that she is promoting brandy and hair products along with a movie... about abuse.

[@desireco]

Just to clarify, I don't think he is much better... just that she is not a victim

[@mariebourgot4949]

@@desireco People can be bad and a victim at the same time.

[@justinenglish_5750]

We will see in the future if you're right about her wanting to take the sequel for herself. But it doesn't mean that she was not a victim of JB's sexual harrassment and the other allegations or that she falsely accused him to get the rights to the movies. It can be both that the same time. She was not the only one discussing light-hearted subjects during the promotion of the movie. All the cast did including BL, expect Baldoni. Seems like the marketing and promotion strategy was to be light-hearted but Baldoni had a change of mind at the last minute. The fact that the crew was promoting with BL and Baldoni was alone speaks volume to me. He could have be ostracized but still for the promotion the crew would have faked unity because it is better publicity to act like good guys than bullies, for the sake of the promotion, their careers and because Baldoni were their boss. I do agree with you nonetheless about the bad state to promote her brands at the same time as the movie. Awareness was lacking to say the least. Maybe she was following promotion strategy or she was simply stupid. Who knows? Definitively not me.

[@desireco]

@@justinenglish_5750 she said so few times, so yes, that is the main motivation here. As far as her being victim, she has her husband, a whole bunch of celebs to jump to her defense, I really don't buy it at all. I do like her but I think she is just behaving like a spoiled child here. Oh, and I think they probably talked about porn on set and other things, but so what. And with all this, I still like her, I loved her roles in the past.

[@catcat9582]

I think u are justin

[@ijustneedsome-space]

ah, good ol' reaction formation. i remember learning about this in php. i just said to my coworker today that the nicest-seeming customer service workers often harbor a lot of bad feelings towards customers. she agreed, then continued shit-talking certain customers in our drive-thru at work. mine were more impersonal annoyances, but she almost seemed like she knew them and had personal beef with them. then, when the mic turned on, she was cheery as ever. ah, customer service.

[@rina-nv5yr]

Your channel is becoming one of my favourite!

[@Symbolsysteme]

@ 00:18 You are so right and I would add good old jealousy...*)))

[@Sing_A_Rebel_Song]

Just found your channel from the estranged mom video, been binging your videos while I’ve been cleaning today so a new one on a topic I feel very strongly about is a great surprise

[@YamiHoOu]

Man, I'm so glad I just didn't even pay attention to the whole thing when it was going down. Like I don't actually care about celebrities anyway, I'm only watching this for her take on what it means overall haha

[@meta.angel04]

4:11 You didn’t have to wait ten years! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and perspective.

[@DaveE99]

That’s less media literacy (critical thinking about content). It’s more media ecology (understanding of how relationships and structure of power and institutions and incentives of systems create media narratives that we then see). Media ecology is manufactured consent and counter insurgency and public relations. Media literacy is critical thinking and subject matter knowledge.

[@tiyasachowdhury8437]

You have helped me Ana , so so much , thank you for being there as a guiding lighting , I definitely was fooled . Many of us don't bother to recheck the sources where our new is coming from and as result we fall prey to misogynistic rhetoric .The reaction formation you talked about was so eye opening . thank you

[@vickie5152]

Completely unrelated to the video, but I absolutely love your background setup, the shelves, the decor, everything, it’s so dreamy!

[@WhyseWytch]

It truly is incredible how often we relate likeability to correctness. We are so much more likely to turn off the critical thinking part of our brains when we dislike or disagree with the figure in question. Brings me back to Interpersonal Communication class-- we often equate a person to their actions. I.e. Lively acted passive-aggressive and cold, therefore she *is* passive-aggressive and cold. The director is a feminist because he shows up, "open" to criticism and discourse, therefore he is an open and generous person. (These are interpretations that might be gathered, not how I feel about them.) I'd encourage people to think about every side of an argument before jumping to such passionate conclusions.

[@schmumlauf]

Ohhh it's another depp darvo thing

[@zyanyagarcia6841]

I, too, had a feeling there was more to this story. For what it's worth, your videos have helped me in my journey. Thank you.

[@nolaparker9574]

Thank you, have just started watching your videos and thank you for showing me how to think differently.

[@Susan13554]

I saw through that journalist Kirstie from day one. I didn’t care about Justin at all, but the journalist was suss.

[@chiaravc6228]

Thank you for this. I had to get off socials for a hot minute there because I couldn't stand how everyone jumped on the bandwagon to hate someone they'd never met, and how the guy seemed so performative and everyone just ate it up. I thought he was balls deep into 'wokeness' (for lack of better phrasing, i'm not native) and playing it up for the cameras and to gain popularity. It was very disappointing that no one had an ounce of reservations for this guy. Wish I had seen your first video back then

[@Canu16]

There are male feminsts that are totally sincere… don’t beat on allies. When i confront my misogynistic pears defending women and feminist ideas, they try to dismiss my arguments with the same logic you have used here.

[@patriciamurray1184]

I think both things can be true at the same time, they both can be crap people, we do not know them but we saw how they acted and how conduct themselves.