Blake Lively’s civil rights complaint against Justin Baldoni isn’t just dominating headlines. It’s also inspiring other actresses to speak out against the toxic masculinity and on-set harassment they say they’ve experienced themselves.

In separate social media posts this week, Kate Beckinsale and Abigail Breslin shared their own stories about harassment and retaliation, describing them as part of an industrywide problem. And while they didn’t name many names, they both pointed to Lively’s high-profile case as the impetus for speaking up.

“What it has highlighted is this machine that goes into effect when a woman complains about something legitimately offensive, upsetting, harmful, or whatever in this industry,” Beckinsale said in her Instagram video.

Months after the release of Lively’s movie It Ends With Us, she filed a lengthy complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department accusing Baldoni — her co-star and director — of sexually harassing her and violating her physical boundaries, prompting her to raise concerns during filming.

In the complaint, which was published by the New York Times in mid-December, Lively also alleges that Baldoni and his production studio, Wayfarer, then retaliated against her by hiring a crisis publicity firm to smear her reputation during the movie’s promotional cycle this summer.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney for the studio, told NPR that Lively’s claims are “categorically false” and “another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation.” But consequences for Baldoni have been swift: His talent agency dropped him, his podcast co-host publicly quit and a global women-focused nonprofit rescinded a solidarity award it had given him just weeks earlier.

Lively’s complaint — which could be the precursor to a lawsuit — includes thousands of pages of texts and emails between Baldoni and his representatives, which her lawyers say were obtained through a subpoena. She hasn’t spoken publicly beyond the legal filing.

“I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,” Lively told The Times in a statement.

In the days since, a growing number of Hollywood actresses have come forward to thank Lively for doing so — and to lend a hand in lifting that curtain.

Beckinsale says she has “about 47 million” similar stories

Beckinsale posted an Instagram video on Monday detailing examples of poor working conditions on various film sets and the retaliation she said she’s experienced for speaking out about them.

Speaking into the camera, Beckinsale stressed that she doesn’t know Lively or Baldoni personally and wasn’t on the set of It Ends With Us herself — but in her own career has amassed “about 47 million stories similar to this.”

The British actress, who made her on-screen debut in Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, is known for her roles in action films like Van Helsing, Total Recall and the Underworld franchise.

Beckinsale described being “felt up” by a trusted crew member on a film when she was 18, and having her concerns dismissed by both actresses she told — including one who was “known for being a supporter of women.”

She also recalled working on a film set where her co-star was “drunk every day,” which resulted in long hours that kept her from seeing her daughter. She said raising those concerns only ended up hurting her, as people on set referred to her in pejorative terms and the studio dismissively gave her a bike “so I could ride around the studio lot while I was waiting.”

Editor’s note: The following video contains profanity which some viewers may find offensive.

Some of the consequences were physical, she said. She cited two instances where she was put on such a strict diet and exercise regimen for a movie that she lost her period, and spoke of being forced by her own publicist to do a photoshoot while bleeding from a miscarriage.

Beckinsale also said she had been harmed in a “very unsafe fight situation” with two different actors in two different films.

“I was gaslit and made to feel like I was the problem — blamed and ostracized, left out of cast dinners, not spoken to — as soon as I mentioned there was a problem,” she added.

The only individual Beckinsale mentioned by name was disgraced former producer Harvey Weinstein, whose decades of alleged sexual misconduct fueled the global #MeToo movement when they came to light in 2017. Beckinsale says in the video that she was fortunate enough never to have been harassed by Weinstein, but described how he would blacklist actors who turned down his projects.

Beckinsale says she often hears men say the climate has gotten better since over the years — but was quick to dispute that notion.

“I’m grateful to Blake Lively for highlighting the fact that this is not an archaic problem that no one’s facing — this is continuing,” she said. “And then when it does happen, a machine goes into place to absolutely destroy you.”

Breslin breaks her silence on the since-dismissed lawsuit against her  

Abigail Breslin — whose 2006 starring role in Little Miss Sunshine propelled her to fame at age 10 — also took to social media to share her thoughts.

“In light of recent events regarding the attempt to destroy the career and livelihood of a fellow actress and woman, I have felt compelled to write this, as I have unfortunately been subject to the same toxic masculinity throughout my life,” Breslin, now 28, wrote in a Tumblr post that she also shared on Instagram.

Breslin went on to discuss one of those experiences, commenting publicly for the first time on a since-withdrawn lawsuit filed against her last year by producers of her 2024 film Classified.

“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 that they would believe me,” Breslin wrote.

According to Variety and other entertainment news outlets, the producers of Classified sued Breslin after she made accusations against her older male co-star, Aaron Eckhart.

The complaint, obtained by Variety, says production on the film “almost ground to a halt” after Breslin accused Eckhart of “aggressive, demeaning and unprofessional behavior” that “placed her at various times in peril.” The lawsuit says the on-set producer investigated and “found no evidence” to support Breslin’s “wild, hysterical and imaginary allegations” against her co-star. Her refusal to be alone with Eckhart in certain scenes also forced them to spend $80,000 in accommodations, according to court documents cited by Variety.

A representative for Breslin told People at the time that the actress “categorically denies all contended allegations against her and unequivocally stands by her statement, which she confidentially provided to SAG,” referring to the actors’ union.

NPR has reached out to representatives for Eckhart, who has not commented publicly on the lawsuit or the allegations within it. Jeffrey Konvitz, who represented the producers in the lawsuit, confirmed to NPR that the case was settled by the parties and dismissed, but declined to comment further.

“Instead of being believed and protected, a suit was filed against me for having the audacity to speak up,” Breslin wrote. “I was publicly shamed and defamed in the process. A reputation I had cultivated for over 2 decades had now been tainted as I became the crazy, paranoid and, to quote directly, ‘hysterical and wild’ woman, who apparently just had it in for men.”

Breslin expressed her disappointment that the #MeToo movement didn’t lead to more lasting changes as she had hoped. She said she’s realized that experiences like hers have become the norm, and that “behind closed doors — to them — we are still just noisy women.”

“To change the narrative, we do not need more women to scream,” she said. “We just need a lot more men to shut up and listen.”

Other actresses speak up in support of Lively 

A number of other actors have come forward to show their support for Lively in the days since news of her complaint broke.

She’s received public encouragement and thanks from several people involved in It Ends With Us, from book author Colleen Hoover to co-stars Jenny Slate and Brandon Sklenar.

Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera and Amber Tamblyn — friends of Lively’s since they starred together in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants films of the early 2000s — issued a joint statement of solidarity.

“We are struck by the reality that even if a woman is as strong, celebrated and resourced as our friend Blake, she can face forceful retaliation for daring to ask for a safe working environment,” they wrote. “We are inspired by our sister’s courage to stand up for herself and others.”