When it comes to public opinion, women face harsher trials than men long before any verdict is reached, writesZayda Dollie.

*CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses rape and sexual assault

THE FEUD BETWEENco-lead and directorJustin Baldoniand Hollywood actressBlake LivelyonIt Ends With Ushas culminated in competinglawsuits. It is afeudbeing fought on the internet in routinised he said/she saidcycles with no end in sight.

Livelysaccusationsof sexual violationwere announced to both Baldoni and the publicin the form of aNew York Timessplash. The decision to make the allegations news before they had been verified has given Baldoni grounds to countersue theNew York Times.

A filmdisputeover who decides what and who gets credit for it is not unique to this industry or any. Aconflictover creativedifferencesand executive rights could have been labelled as such. Theyre called issues weve all got some.

A privateissuedoesnt have to be of public interest, but any conflict will become news when nuanced with sexual intent or misconduct. This is amechanismof news that both serves andfailsits victims. It can be hacked.Sex does more than add a juicy layer to a story sex can qualify a story as news, by turning it into a legal matter.

Whether it be abortion law, birth control rights orsexeducation censorship, the far-right in the U.S. appears hell-benton restricting the basic rights of women, Patrick Drennan writes.

If there were residual effects from the global-reachingMe Toomovement of 2017, then they have all but dissipated in the eight years since it peaked.

At its height, themovementsaw the conviction of Hollywood producer and serial rapistHarvey WeinsteinafterThe New Yorkerpublished theaccountsof 13 women alleging sexual assault. The power in#MeToowas that it flipped the social script by turning victim-shaming into victim-validation.

But the movementhad an expiry date Weinstein's 23-year sentence wasoverturnedand he nowfacesretrial.

Most sexual assault casesnever make it to court in Western societies,accordingto statistics inAustraliaand theUK.The number of women whowithdrawcharges either during the investigation or court proceedings has been rising over the last ten years.

Part of the reason for this was found by aSenate Inquiry:

Women dont tend to come out unscathed in a situation involving sex, whether they were at fault or not.

By all accounts, in the Baldoni vs Lively case, shehad the power in terms of fame, finance,sway and a more commercially successfulcareer. Lively has been in the spotlight for a lot longer than the people she is suing.

And yet her position of power has granted her no immunity. She has not been spared the publicscrutinythat ordinary women fear before facing acourtroom or an interrogation.

It is difficult to see Lively as a victim, the same way it was difficult to seeAmber Heardas one in the much-publicisedHeard vs Depptrial from 2022. Heardwas mostlycriticisedwhen she appearedin court after ex-partner and movieiconJohnny Deppsued her for defamation and Heardcountersued.Incidentally, Baldoni and Deppsharedthe same PR crisis team.

Lively and Heard face the same problem all women face. Women donot survive this process the judgment comes long before the verdict.

For women in the public eye, reputation is a form ofcurrency. It is lucrative but ultimately an unreliable formof security.It will not shield them when shots are fired.Awoman will spend much of herlifetrying toprotecther reputation, rather than being protected by it.

For a man,agood reputation is bulletproof. A man with power and influenceis virtuallyuntouchable.

In the Depp vs Heard trial, the couple's formermarriage counsellortoldthe jury:

And yet in terms of public life and career prospects, Depp lost almost nothing. Heard left Hollywood in 2022 and isrumouredto have rebuilt her life in Spain.Meanwhile, thetrailer forPirates of the Caribbean 6has just dropped.

A woman has more to lose from her interior life beingexposed. She becomes subject to the kind of judgment that impacts her futurecareerand social prospects, if she is left with any. Men and women might be equal in the eyes of the law, but neverin the eyes of the public.

I'm sitting in Rarotonga, the capital of the Cook Islands. A small island nation located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is beautiful.

After Lively declared war, Baldoni's legal teamhitback with the ultimatecountermove, ensuring Lively's defeat, no matter who wins in court.

Baldoni's attorneyBryan Freedmantoldmedia:

While completetransparencymay seem like Baldoni ison the right side of the law, the added scrutiny only succeedsindividinghim from his more famous co-star. Lively is a celebrity she hasspent years cultivating herpublic persona. Full disclosure is not something she can back when sheusesher public image to protect herselffrom the public.The problem is that herimage lies in its hands.

The publicdecides how it sees Lively,not the other way round. There is no way for her to win.

Livelywill bejudgedby the same standards reserved for all women: she will be judged on everything.

By the time she is tried by the public and subjected to its scrutiny, a courtverdictwill become irrelevant.Like most women, Lively willhavelostmore than anything she stands to gain during the process.

Zayda Dollieis an IA assistant editor who believes in the power of stories and in having female voices heard. You can follow her on Instagram@zayda_dollie_hendricks, X@ZaydaDor Bluesky@zaydadollie.

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