Oscar-Nominated Star: Blake Lively-Type Smear Happened to Me Too

Oscar-nominated actress Abigail Breslin can relate to Blake Lively’s feud with Justin Baldoni, she revealed in a new statement posted in full to Instagram Sunday, in which she writes that she was “subject to the same toxic masculinity” when she “brought forward concerns about a male colleague.”

The Little Miss Sunshine star was one of the youngest actresses ever nominated for an Academy Award in 2007—but that didn’t stop her from having a similar experience to Lively’s, she writes. Breslin explained that she felt “compelled” to share her experience with the lengthy post, “in light of recent events regarding the attempt to destroy the career and livelihood of a fellow actress and woman.”

In the statement, Breslin opened up about the lawsuit filed against her by producers of the film she starred in with Aaron Eckhart, Classified, which was released in September.

After confidentially making a complaint about Eckhart’s alleged “aggressive, demeaning and unprofessional” behavior to the Screen Actors Guild, the film’s producers claimed in the suit that her “hysterical” and “imaginary” allegations nearly derailed the film’s release and made it difficult to distribute.

“In my recent career, I’ve brought forward concerns about a male colleague and was deemed ‘hysterical,’” she wrote in the post. “I was told my fears were figments of my imagination. Now, as I’m seeing this pattern pop up more, I realize this is the norm.”

The Daily Beast has reached out to Aaron Eckhart for comment.

Lively alleges in a lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star that he spearheaded a “smear campaign” against her to win public goodwill in case she went public with revelations about his behavior during filming. According to Lively’s suit, Baldoni subjected her to a pattern of inappropriate behavior, to the point that a production meeting was held to address his actions. Following the film’s release, public sentiment turned against the actress over how she handled interviews during its press run.

Breslin wrote the tide turned against her too, following the lawsuit.

“When a suit was filed against me by a former employer, (the suit was withdrawn), after making a confidential complaint against a coworker for unprofessional behavior, I had the silly and naive impression they would believe me,” Breslin wrote in the statement. “I am not known as a liar in my field of work,” she continued. But, she added, “Instead of being believed and protected, a suit was filed against me for having the audacity to speak up.”

She went on to write that she was “publicly shamed and defamed” by the lawsuit’s claims, which she says “tainted a reputation I had cultivated for over two decades.” Breslin drew another direct comparison to her situation and Lively’s, writing “here we find ourselves again, in a vicious cycle of crucifying another woman for speaking out against a man.”

Actor Kate Beckinsale echoed Breslin’s support of Lively when she shared her own similar experiences via Instagram Sunday night.

“What [Lively’s lawsuit] has highlighted is this machine that goes into effect when a woman complains about something legitimately offensive, upsetting, harmful, or whatever else in this industry,” Beckinsale said in the video posted Monday. She shared that after speaking up about an unnamed male costar’s tardiness and drunkenness on set, “I was referred to over walkie-talkies and to my face as ‘that c---,’” and “‘a b----.’”

Beckinsale added, “I’m grateful to Blake Lively for highlighting the fact that this is not an archaic problem—this is continuing. And then when it does happen, a machine goes into place to absolutely destroy you.”