Latest / Mini Scroll / Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni & How The Internet Normalised The Hollywood Smear Campaign

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Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni & How The Internet Normalised The Hollywood Smear Campaign · Mini Scroll

• 0:00
  With summer in full swing, we're in my favorite season of all
• 0:03
  Margarita season. I love a classic, refreshing
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  Margarita on a hot summer's day to enjoy at barbecues, picnics,
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  A big thank you to Jose Cuarvo for continuing to support the
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  pod and helping us produce content for all of you.
• 0:22
  Time to embrace Margarita season with Jose Cuarvo and remember to
• 0:26
  drink responsibly. On August 6th, 2020, 24, Justin
• 0:30
  Baldoni and Blake Lively arrived at the New York City premiere of
• 0:34
  their new film It Ends With Us. The two had Co starred in the
• 0:37
  highly anticipated film based on the best selling novel by
• 0:41
  Colleen Hoover. Following the premiere through
• 0:43
  social media updates at home, fans noticed that the vibes felt
• 0:47
  a bit off amongst the cast on the red carpet.
• 0:50
  Aside from some obviously bizarre elements to the
• 0:53
  premiere, like the shameless plugging of Blake Lively's new
• 0:56
  hair care line and the confusing cross promotion of it Friends
• 1:00
  With Us with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman's film Deadpool and
• 1:03
  Wolverine, one particular thing from the New York City premiere
• 1:07
  stood out to fans far more than the rest Justin Baldoni, the
• 1:12
  leading man and director of the film, was not photographed with
• 1:16
  anyone on the cast, crew, or production at the film's
• 1:20
  premiere, including Colleen Hoover herself.
• 1:23
  Within hours, TikTok, Reddit, and Instagram were alight with
• 1:26
  rumors about what might have happened on set to lead to such
• 1:30
  to divide. And after poring over red carpet
• 1:32
  sound bites from the premiere, fans landed on one main theory.
• 1:37
  Blake Lively had Co opted the film and its premiere for her
• 1:40
  own selfish ambition, and Justin Baldoni was ousted by the entire
• 1:45
  cast, crew, and production in the process.
• 1:48
  This narrative, established through Internet sleuthing and
• 1:51
  speculation, led to a fierce online harassment campaign
• 1:55
  against Blake Lively that consumed the tabloids and our
• 1:59
  social media feeds for weeks on end.
• 2:01
  But the story doesn't stop there.
• 2:03
  Five months later, Blake Lively and her team dropped a bombshell
• 2:07
  lawsuit alleging that this online harassment was
• 2:10
  orchestrated and executed by none other than Justin Baldoni
• 2:14
  and his team in an effort to destroy her reputation.
• 2:18
  This is a breakdown of Blake Lively versus Justin Baldoni,
• 2:22
  from the fiery legal battle over their behavior on set to how we
• 2:26
  as Internet users took the bait once again to help smear the
• 2:30
  name of a woman we find unlikable from Centennial World.
• 2:35
  I'm Lauren Meisner, and this is Infinite Scroll, a podcast about
• 2:38
  Internet culture, the creator economy and how social media is
• 2:42
  shaping Gen. Z Welcome back to Infinite
• 2:45
  Scroll, everyone. Happy 2025.
• 2:48
  So exciting to be sitting here again bringing you guys some
• 2:52
  deep dives into the biggest topics on the Internet and just
• 2:56
  like getting in the nitty gritty of it, you know?
• 2:59
  OK so before I get into this particular topic, I did want to
• 3:03
  say in terms of I guess my opinion on it because I don't
• 3:07
  share a lot of opinion in this particular episode.
• 3:10
  The reason being I don't really know if I have an opinion on
• 3:15
  this topic. I don't feel like I am Team
• 3:17
  Blake, Team Justin. I feel like the truth as you
• 3:21
  know so many things in life is somewhere in the middle.
• 3:24
  I also don't know if we, as you know, fans, followers, Internet
• 3:29
  users will ever fully get the full picture of what happened on
• 3:33
  set and what really happened between them.
• 3:35
  I think presumably this will probably settle out of court and
• 3:39
  this will just kind of go down in what I think to be Internet
• 3:42
  history as one of the biggest quote, UN quote smear campaigns.
• 3:46
  And I know that this particular topic is incredibly divisive, so
• 3:50
  please just listen with open ears, an open heart, an open
• 3:55
  mind, because I am not trying to insert opinion on one side or
• 4:00
  another. This particular episode, what I
• 4:02
  really wanted to do here was dive into the lawsuits on both
• 4:06
  sides so we have the full picture.
• 4:08
  And then wanted to talk about kind of how I think the Internet
• 4:12
  has normalized participating in these smear campaigns and why if
• 4:17
  there was really an orchestrated smear campaign around Blake
• 4:20
  Lively by the publicist and everyone who's around Justin
• 4:23
  Baldoni, that is the truth. Then kind of how we as audience
• 4:28
  members, Internet users were able to get caught up in that
• 4:31
  and they were able to like, quote, UN quote, play us.
• 4:33
  Can you tell that I am nervous to put this episode out.
• 4:38
  I just feel like this topic is so heated right now.
• 4:41
  And so I did just want to like let you guys know, no matter how
• 4:44
  you feel about this episode, just know I don't really have an
• 4:48
  opinion and I'm not trying to push any type of opinion on
• 4:52
  anyone in this case. I'm trying to do this topic
• 4:55
  justice. I'm trying to share both sides
• 4:57
  of the story, essentially what both parties are saying.
• 4:59
  And then bringing it back to obviously what we cover here,
• 5:02
  which is essentially like Internet culture, how pop
• 5:05
  culture and the Internet intersect and how that is really
• 5:08
  shaping society and how we interact with each other online
• 5:11
  and also how that kind of bleeds into everyday life.
• 5:15
  So as always, Please remember to rate, review and subscribe.
• 5:18
  We did hit 500 Spotify reviews on December 31st.
• 5:22
  It was so exciting. I was like, finally that was my
• 5:27
  goal to end the year on 500. So we did.
• 5:29
  So now we have to get to 1000. So please Spotify rate US or
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  Just keep it going. Please follow me on Instagram at
• 5:38
  Lauren Meisner under score and sign up to our newsletter, which
• 5:41
  is called Infinite Scroll. On Fridays, we round up the five
• 5:44
  biggest sling pieces on the Internet from that week.
• 5:52
  From dating exposes on TikTok to blind items and story times,
• 5:56
  much of the digital world is flooded with negative commentary
• 5:59
  about public figures, some of which is fact and some fiction.
• 6:03
  As social media users become accustomed to this kind of
• 6:07
  content, smear campaigns seem increasingly commonplace.
• 6:11
  Before I get into how smear campaigns are being
• 6:13
  operationalized in the digital space, A brief caveat is an
• 6:17
  order What is a smear campaign? How are they typically used, and
• 6:21
  what do those behind the smear campaign actually gain?
• 6:24
  According to watchdog organization Civil Liberties
• 6:27
  Union for Europe, a smear campaign is, quote, an attempt
• 6:30
  by powerful figures to undermine someone's credibility and
• 6:34
  reputation. Such campaigns can be circulated
• 6:37
  in various ways, but at the core, a smear campaign involves
• 6:40
  sharing false or misleading information that does not put
• 6:44
  forth a substantiative critique of a public figure.
• 6:47
  Instead, it is a personal attack on the victim, aiming to
• 6:50
  misrepresent what they do and or stand for.
• 6:54
  Those behind a smear campaign have a lot to gain.
• 6:56
  That is until they are found out by the public.
• 7:00
  Not to veer into conspiratorial territory, but these campaigns
• 7:04
  may be used to divert public attention away from another
• 7:07
  person or issue that is playing out simultaneously.
• 7:11
  In a similar vein, sharing propaganda that seeks to
• 7:14
  undermine someone's character or work may be part of a ploy to
• 7:17
  elevate another person in the same industry.
• 7:20
  While it can be challenging to recognize a smear campaign in
• 7:24
  today's digital space, especially when almost
• 7:26
  everything behind the scenes is hearsay, 1 Internet culture
• 7:30
  event has become associated with such a campaign.
• 7:34
  And that, of course, is the infamous by sister scandal.
• 7:38
  Bet you didn't think I was going to say that.
• 7:40
  We did a deep dive into the saga last year with a focus on beauty
• 7:43
  guru Tati Westbrook, so feel free to check that out if you
• 7:47
  want all the details. But for a brief refresher, it
• 7:50
  all started when Tati posted a video titled By Sister in May
• 7:53
  2019 attempting to take down then 19 year old James Charles.
• 7:58
  It was successful at first, with viewers unfollowing James in
• 8:01
  droves. When James responded to Tati
• 8:04
  with a video titled No More Lies, the narrative shifted
• 8:07
  within a matter of hours. After providing receipts that
• 8:11
  seemingly debunked many of Tati's claims, social media felt
• 8:14
  Tati's video was a smear campaign.
• 8:17
  The Internet turned on Tati for going after a teenager while she
• 8:20
  was in her 30s without providing proof of her claims.
• 8:24
  As a result, James had regained public support.
• 8:27
  Now, a lot has unfolded in the six years since then, with James
• 8:31
  facing sexual misconduct and grooming allegations.
• 8:34
  But the intense exchange between James and Totti is still
• 8:37
  regarded as one of the most impactful smear campaigns of the
• 8:41
  past decade in Internet culture. Historically, however, these
• 8:44
  crusades have been associated with politics as opposed to pop
• 8:48
  culture. As Karen Tamulty notes for the
• 8:50
  Washington Post, smear campaigns go back as far as the early
• 8:53
  1800s in the United States. She goes on to mention how the
• 8:57
  quote first contested presidential race in U.S.
• 9:00
  history saw pamphlets spreading misinformation around John
• 9:04
  Adams, many of which intended to undermine his legitimacy.
• 9:08
  Quote. If the nature of these vile
• 9:09
  tactics is not new, their potency has reached a point
• 9:13
  never seen before. Part of that is the power of
• 9:16
  social media. She continues.
• 9:18
  The intensity of such tactics was evident during the 2008 U.S.
• 9:22
  presidential campaign, prompting Barack Obama's team to launch a
• 9:25
  website titled Fight the Smears to counter ongoing attempts to
• 9:29
  portray him as a dangerous radical.
• 9:31
  With increased political polarization and less stringent
• 9:35
  campaign ethics through the Trump years, smear campaigns
• 9:38
  have only accelerated. Ultimately, with negative
• 9:41
  campaigning coming to define US political culture, it's not
• 9:45
  exactly a surprise that would seep into Hollywood.
• 9:48
  Some of the most prolific smear campaigns and pop culture
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  actually took place in the 1950s, when a host of actors and
• 9:55
  actresses were blacklisted from Hollywood during the quote Red
• 9:58
  Scare. For those unfamiliar with the
• 10:00
  Red Scare, it was a period of widespread moral panic over the
• 10:03
  perceived rise and quote UN quote threat of left-leaning
• 10:07
  ideologies, particularly communism and socialism.
• 10:10
  While this fear spanned several decades, the 1950s were
• 10:14
  especially intense, coinciding with the early days of the Cold
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  War. During this time, anti communist
• 10:20
  sentiment led to the targeting and undermining of celebrities
• 10:23
  and industry professionals suspected of communist
• 10:27
  sympathies. Notably, the Hollywood 10A group
• 10:30
  of screenwriters, actors, and directors were blacklisted and
• 10:33
  banned from working due to their alleged ties to the American
• 10:37
  Communist Party. Many members faced fines and
• 10:40
  served federal prison sentences. Leading this charge was the
• 10:43
  House UN American Activities Committee in the United States
• 10:46
  Congress, whose actions actress Katherine Hepp burn likened to a
• 10:51
  smear campaign quote The artist since the beginning of time has
• 10:55
  always expressed the aspirations and dreams of his people, she
• 10:58
  said in a speech in may 1947. Silence the artist and you have
• 11:03
  silenced the most articulate voice the people have.
• 11:07
  While this example is definitely telling, it's clear that the
• 11:10
  nature of this campaign is of its time.
• 11:13
  Unlike these government LED efforts, today's Hollywood smear
• 11:16
  campaigns tend to be orchestrated by individuals in
• 11:19
  positions of power, particularly when their reputations are at
• 11:22
  stake. A prominent example of this is
• 11:25
  Harvey Weinstein, who, when faced with sexual harassment and
• 11:28
  assault allegations, reportedly launched smear campaigns against
• 11:32
  actresses who spoke out against him, including Ashley Judd and
• 11:36
  Mira Sorvino. Since then, directors like Peter
• 11:38
  Jackson have revealed that they avoided casting certain
• 11:41
  actresses based on Weinstein's influence and advice.
• 11:45
  Despite the rise of social media and the unprecedented access it
• 11:49
  offers to celebrities and the Hollywood PR machine, both the
• 11:52
  industry and consumers remain susceptible to smear campaigns.
• 11:57
  The recent developments involving Blake Lively and
• 11:59
  Justin Baldoni have pushed this issue into the spotlight,
• 12:02
  inspiring this episode's deep dive into the phenomenon of
• 12:05
  spear campaigns. But before we get into that,
• 12:08
  let's take a moment to recap the current situation between Blake
• 12:11
  and Justin. For those who haven't kept up
• 12:13
  with everything unfolding between the 2, Blake Lively and
• 12:16
  Justin Baldoni Co starred in It Ends With Us, a film adaptation
• 12:21
  of the popular book talk novel by Colleen Hoover.
• 12:23
  In addition to his role in the film, Justin Baldoni directed
• 12:26
  the project. When the movie was released in
• 12:28
  August, speculation about tension within the cast began to
• 12:32
  surface online. This was fuelled by the
• 12:34
  noticeable absence of any photos of Justin with the cast or
• 12:38
  Colleen Hoover at the premiere. Additionally, Justin appeared to
• 12:41
  participate in very few interviews alongside his Co
• 12:44
  stars. This perceived divide led to
• 12:46
  various theories circulating online, many of which were
• 12:50
  unfavorable toward Blake Lively. One prominent theory suggested
• 12:53
  that Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, had
• 12:56
  taken control of the marketing strategy for their personal
• 12:59
  gain. Some speculated that they were
• 13:01
  attempting to position It Ends with Us as Blake's Oscar moment
• 13:05
  by creating buzz. Supporters of this theory
• 13:08
  pointed to two key factors. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman
• 13:12
  accompanied Blake Lively on the red carpet to promote Deadpool
• 13:16
  and Wolverine, and Blake seemingly used the premiere to
• 13:19
  promote her new hair care line. Another theory suggested
• 13:22
  disagreements over how to promote the film.
• 13:25
  It Ends With Us portrays heavy themes like domestic violence
• 13:29
  and emotional abuse. Many consumers were upset with
• 13:32
  Blake's approach, which appeared to emulate the Barbie movies
• 13:35
  marketing strategy. A viral quote attributed to
• 13:37
  Blake encouraged audiences to grab your friends, wear your
• 13:41
  florals, and head out to see it, which seemed out of step with
• 13:45
  the film serious subject matter. In contrast, Justin Baldoni
• 13:49
  appeared to focus on raising awareness about domestic
• 13:52
  violence, which resonated more with audiences.
• 13:54
  This disparity in promotional strategies left many siding with
• 13:58
  Justin, believing that Blake wasn't treating the film's
• 14:01
  themes with the gravity that they deserved.
• 14:03
  Ever since then, Blake has fallen out of public favor and
• 14:06
  has somewhat retreated from the public eye.
• 14:08
  That is, until the end of December 2024, when the news
• 14:12
  broke that Blake was suing Justin Baldoni for allegations
• 14:16
  of sexual harassment and what Blake and her team claim was a
• 14:19
  concerted effort to destroy her reputation.
• 14:23
  TMZ and The New York Times were some of the first media outlets
• 14:26
  to report the news. The complaint outlines several
• 14:29
  serious allegations, including sexual harassment, retaliation,
• 14:33
  breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional
• 14:36
  distress, and interference with prospective economic advantage,
• 14:40
  among other claims. It was filed to the California
• 14:43
  Civil Rights Department and is the step taken for a lawsuit.
• 14:46
  The core of the allegations is that Blake Lively raised
• 14:49
  concerns about inappropriate behavior and sexual assault on
• 14:52
  the movie set to Wayfarer Studios LLC, which was also
• 14:56
  founded by Justin Baldoni. According to the legal
• 14:59
  complaint, Blake had voiced concerns about Justin from the
• 15:02
  outset prior to filming. For example, she objected to the
• 15:05
  inclusion of sex scenes that she deemed gratuitous, which he had
• 15:09
  proposed in November 2023. As the cast of It Ends With Us
• 15:13
  prepared to resume production following the writers strike,
• 15:16
  the parties agreed in writing to implement a list of protections
• 15:19
  to improve the onset experience. Later, in an all hands meeting
• 15:23
  with Justin Baldoni and other producers in January 2024, Blake
• 15:28
  expanded on her concerns as outlined in the legal filing.
• 15:31
  She alleged that Justin had engaged in unwanted improvised
• 15:35
  kissing and openly discussed his sex life, including encounters
• 15:39
  where he admitted that consent may not have been clearly given.
• 15:43
  Despite this meeting, the complaint claims that these
• 15:46
  concerns were not adequately addressed by the studio.
• 15:49
  Additionally, the document alleges that Justin Baldoni and
• 15:53
  his associates launched a social media and crisis PR campaign to
• 15:57
  discredit Blake Lively, aiming to undermine her credibility
• 16:00
  should the HR issues become public.
• 16:03
  For instance, the cast was reportedly instructed to follow
• 16:07
  a marketing plan from the Fields distributor Sony, which directed
• 16:10
  them to, quote, focus more on Lily's strength and resilience
• 16:14
  as opposed to describing the the film as a story about domestic
• 16:17
  violence and to, quote, avoid talking about this film that
• 16:20
  makes it feel sad or heavy. It's a story of hope, the
• 16:24
  complaint reads. The document states that Justin
• 16:26
  Baldoni deviated from the marketing plan to distract from
• 16:30
  the fact that many cast and crew members unfollowed him on social
• 16:33
  media and avoided public appearances with him.
• 16:36
  Quote To that end, he and his team used domestic violence
• 16:39
  survivor content to protect his public image, the document
• 16:43
  continues. This narrative fits with
• 16:45
  Justin's public persona, given that he has presented himself as
• 16:49
  an ally to women and in opposition to toxic masculinity
• 16:53
  Co hosting the Man Enough podcast.
• 16:55
  However, with such motivations and ulterior motives, if these
• 16:59
  claims are all true, Justin's actions would likely fit into
• 17:03
  the definition of a smear campaign.
• 17:06
  According to the document, publicist Jennifer Abel
• 17:09
  recommended hiring crisis communications specialist
• 17:12
  Melissa Nathan and the agency group PRLLC.
• 17:15
  Nathan later issued a proposal that included a quote, full
• 17:19
  social account takedown seeking to engage with audiences in the
• 17:23
  quote UN quote right way. Through planting pieces in the
• 17:26
  media and monitoring online fan interaction, an agenda was
• 17:30
  seemingly in place. Nevertheless, it is worth noting
• 17:34
  that it remains unclear how much of the negative publicity was
• 17:37
  seated by Justin and his PR team versus how much they noticed and
• 17:41
  amplified it. Quote that plan was backed by
• 17:44
  Virtually Unlimited. Wayfair's Co founder, Co
• 17:48
  chairman and leading financier is multi billionaire Steve
• 17:51
  Sarowitz, who divulged at the film's New York premiere on
• 17:55
  August 6th, 2024 that he was prepared to spend $100 million
• 18:01
  to ruin the lives of Miss Lively and her family, the complaint
• 18:05
  alleges. On top of this, the document
• 18:08
  also included screenshots of text messages purportedly
• 18:11
  evidencing the campaign against Blake, some of which included
• 18:15
  Crisis PR planning simulations and others celebrating the
• 18:18
  damage to Blake's image through the press tour.
• 18:21
  It is worth adding that some of the messages included Justin,
• 18:24
  where others were among the PR team.
• 18:27
  Quote, Mr. Baldoni wants to feel like Miss Lively can be buried.
• 18:31
  Miss Abel and Miss Nathan agreed that of course they would do
• 18:34
  just that, but could not say so in writing.
• 18:37
  Quote, we can't write it down to him.
• 18:38
  We can't write. We will destroy her.
• 18:40
  Imagine if a document saying all of the things that he wants ends
• 18:44
  up in the wrong hand. Some text messages between the
• 18:47
  PR team read. While the complaint was filed
• 18:49
  Friday, December 20th, the story blew up when it was published by
• 18:53
  The New York Times and TMZ the following day.
• 18:56
  Justin was later dropped by his management WME.
• 18:59
  The response has left consumer shocked, especially because the
• 19:02
  alleged smear campaign seemed to work with much of the Internet
• 19:06
  turning on Blake Lively during the film's press tour.
• 19:08
  In a statement to the media, Blake shared quote.
• 19:11
  I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on
• 19:14
  the sinister tactics to harm people who speak up about
• 19:18
  misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.
• 19:22
  After the story broke, Justin Bell Joni alongside members of
• 19:25
  Wayfarer Studios and the publicity team have filed a
• 19:28
  lawsuit against The New York Times for $250 million for
• 19:33
  libel, false light, invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and
• 19:37
  break of implied in fact contract and offers a rebuttal
• 19:41
  to the narrative laid out in the article.
• 19:43
  With this, Justin's legal team argued that the publication
• 19:46
  quote cherry picked and altered communications, stripped of
• 19:50
  necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead,
• 19:54
  The document continues quote. The time story relied almost
• 19:57
  entirely on Lively's unverified and self-serving narrative,
• 20:01
  lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of
• 20:05
  evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true
• 20:08
  motives. Among the claims include
• 20:11
  accusations that Blake fabricated quote sexual
• 20:14
  harassment allegations. To assert unilateral control
• 20:17
  over every aspect of the production.
• 20:20
  It also alleges that Ryan Reynolds berated Justin for
• 20:24
  quote, UN quote fat shaming Blake.
• 20:26
  The lawsuit goes on to refuse several claims made by Blake's
• 20:29
  complaint. For instance, it challenges the
• 20:31
  allegation that Justin entered her trailer while she was
• 20:34
  breastfeeding and that he would improvise intimate scenes.
• 20:37
  According to the lawsuit, Blake allegedly invited Justin into
• 20:41
  her trailer and refused to meet with the intimacy coordinator.
• 20:44
  At the time of recording, Blake hasn't personally addressed the
• 20:47
  allegations against New York Times.
• 20:49
  However, her lawyers did issue a statement writing quote.
• 20:53
  Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims
• 20:56
  advanced by Miss Lively's California Civil Rights
• 20:59
  Department complaint, nor her federal complaint filed earlier
• 21:02
  today. In response, The New York Times
• 21:05
  has stood by its reporting, defending its coverage and the
• 21:08
  integrity of its journalism. A spokesperson for the
• 21:11
  publication went on to say that, quote, the role of an
• 21:14
  independent news organization is to follow the facts where they
• 21:17
  lead. Our story was meticulously and
• 21:19
  responsibly reported. It was based on a review of
• 21:22
  thousands of pages of original documents, including text
• 21:25
  messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length
• 21:29
  in the article. To date, Wayfarer Studios, Mr.
• 21:32
  Baldoni and other subjects of the article and their
• 21:35
  representatives have not pointed to a single error.
• 21:38
  We published their full statement in response to the
• 21:40
  allegations in the article as well.
• 21:42
  We plan to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.
• 21:46
  Discerning the truth is challenging as Blake and Justin
• 21:49
  remain in ongoing legal battles, and though we may never know
• 21:53
  what actually happened on the set of It ends with Us.
• 21:56
  This situation highlights a key question.
• 21:58
  In the era of social media, where we claim to have
• 22:01
  unprecedented understanding of the Hollywood PR machine, how
• 22:05
  did we become susceptible to this alleged smear campaign?
• 22:09
  The reality is that social media has in many ways normalized the
• 22:13
  smear campaign. While there are likely several
• 22:16
  reasons for this, I wanted to explore one that I personally
• 22:20
  believe is often at the core of this issue as it pertains
• 22:23
  specifically to social media, which is the relentless pursuit
• 22:27
  by brands, celebrities, influencers, and everyday users
• 22:31
  to achieve the perfect gotcha moment that propels them to
• 22:35
  virality. If achieving that moment means
• 22:38
  targeting someone else or stifling their career, many seem
• 22:41
  willing to take that path, largely because of mob mentality
• 22:45
  in the digital space. Now, we've discussed this on the
• 22:48
  podcast before, but mob mentality fosters some of the
• 22:51
  most toxic corners of social media.
• 22:53
  This is partly because social media tends to spread content
• 22:57
  without context, making it easier for mob mentality or
• 23:00
  speculation to take root. But this is also driven by
• 23:03
  algorithms. Platforms like TikTok curate
• 23:06
  content to fit user preferences, creating information bubbles
• 23:10
  where individuals are exposed primarily to opinions that
• 23:13
  mirror and reinforce their own beliefs.
• 23:16
  As Jeanine Croteau writes for Forbes Quote, when mob mentality
• 23:20
  takes place on social media, a misspoken word or poorly
• 23:23
  developed thought can be shared like wildfire.
• 23:26
  Before long, it can feel like you're facing a firing squad.
• 23:30
  This makes launching a successful smear campaign
• 23:33
  alarmingly simple. This dynamic is heightened by
• 23:35
  the rise of armchair detective culture, where sleuthing and
• 23:39
  conspiracy theories have become commonplace across niches
• 23:43
  related to true crime, blind items, or celebrity gossip.
• 23:47
  As a result, the speculation that fuels smear campaigns feels
• 23:51
  increasingly normalized. It's obvious that this
• 23:54
  phenomenon is harmful to all Internet users, but it is
• 23:57
  especially damaging to women. Our inherent misogyny as a
• 24:01
  society at large means that the pursuit of these viral gotcha
• 24:04
  moments are often at the expense of women, partly because we
• 24:08
  ourselves can't always identify our own misogynistic beliefs,
• 24:12
  and partly because we're more likely to achieve that desired
• 24:16
  virality through chastising a woman because of our inherent
• 24:20
  misogyny. See how it all comes full
• 24:22
  circle? Many women have come to fear
• 24:24
  public scrutiny or sharing their personal experiences, knowing
• 24:27
  that they are likely to be vilified by social media.
• 24:30
  We've seen this repeatedly, most notably in the case of Amber
• 24:34
  Heard. During her defamation trial with
• 24:36
  Johnny Depp, she was treated starkly different than he was.
• 24:39
  Social media, particularly TikTok, played a significant
• 24:43
  role in shaping the narrative, with clips from the trial going
• 24:46
  viral and posts favoring Depp overwhelmingly outnumbering
• 24:50
  those supporting Herd. As Caroline Framke wrote for
• 24:53
  Variety quote, once the narrative of Herd bad Depp good
• 24:57
  solidified, so too did the feverish rush to piece together
• 25:01
  the evidence in a way that would support it.
• 25:04
  This pattern is not new, nor is it confined to Herd's case.
• 25:08
  Meghan Markle, for instance, has faced similar treatment.
• 25:11
  But the pressure on women has only intensified on social
• 25:14
  media, with tables like Mean Girls and Not a Girl's Girl
• 25:18
  dominating the online space, further fueling hostility
• 25:22
  towards women. And while it is important to
• 25:24
  call out bad behavior online, the way information spreads in
• 25:28
  the digital space can lead to widespread misuse of such terms
• 25:32
  and general misinformation about public figures.
• 25:35
  Ultimately, this environment has created the perfect conditions
• 25:39
  for brands once holding a neutral or even positive
• 25:42
  presence online to jump on the bandwagon and inadvertently
• 25:46
  legitimize smear campaigns. The backlash against Hailey
• 25:50
  Bieber in 2022 serves as a prime example of how negative
• 25:54
  campaigning can spiral, intensified by both public
• 25:58
  sentiment and corporate engagement.
• 26:01
  For those who forgot, this all started after Selena Gomez
• 26:04
  posted a TikTok saying she wished that she looked like
• 26:07
  Bella Hadid in February of that year.
• 26:10
  In a text overlay of the video, the Rare Beauty founder wrote
• 26:13
  quote. I wish I was as pretty as Bella
• 26:15
  Hadid. Indeed.
• 26:16
  And went on to say that her brows were accidentally over
• 26:18
  laminated, indicating that her severe brow lamination resembled
• 26:22
  the model's signature highbrow line.
• 26:24
  Just hours later, Kylie Jenner posted a screenshot on Instagram
• 26:28
  Stories of a FaceTime call with Hailey Bieber where both women
• 26:31
  zoomed in on their eyebrows. Kylie provided no context for
• 26:35
  her story, but users were quick to jump on social media and
• 26:38
  accuse the stars of mocking Selena's eyebrows.
• 26:41
  Kylie went on to post a selfie on her Instagram stories writing
• 26:45
  this this was an accident over her brushed up eyebrows, and it
• 26:48
  was later revealed that the initial picture was an Easter
• 26:51
  egg for a new mascara that Kylie Cosmetics was launching.
• 26:55
  As Tik Tokers began covering the alleged shade thrown Selena's
• 26:58
  way, Kylie denied the allegations.
• 27:00
  Many users were hesitant to believe her, saying that Kylie
• 27:04
  and Haley have long made digs at Selena.
• 27:06
  As tensions escalated, a series of shady comments began to
• 27:10
  surface alongside videos that fueled the controversy, some of
• 27:14
  which were created by brands at the time that this was all going
• 27:17
  down. Justin Bieber Stan account at
• 27:19
  Sophia Rawls went viral on X for a thread documenting the brands
• 27:24
  that shaded Haley. Amassing 6.1 million views in
• 27:28
  just three days, the thread made waves across the platform.
• 27:32
  She listed numerous brands that made snide comments about the
• 27:36
  drama, starting with a TikTok posted by Duolingo quote.
• 27:39
  I'm not saying she deserves it, but God's timing is always
• 27:42
  right. The text read as Duolingo the
• 27:45
  Owl points to an evidence board that included pictures and
• 27:48
  screenshots of Haley and Selena over the years.
• 27:51
  Facetune was another prominent company among the brands
• 27:54
  featured in Sophia's thread. The photo editing app posted a
• 27:57
  TikTok on February 27th, 2022, using the software's Vanish tool
• 28:02
  to remove Haley from a photo with Selena.
• 28:05
  The TikTok was quickly deleted. While it is important to address
• 28:09
  hate campaigns and cyberbullying, we should
• 28:11
  question the lengths that these companies go to for views,
• 28:15
  especially when their actions contribute to public scrutiny
• 28:18
  and effectively become part of a greater smear campaign.
• 28:21
  Pop culture reporter Kat Tenbarge took to Twitter to
• 28:24
  share this view at the time writing quote.
• 28:26
  The danger of social media marketing, where brands take on
• 28:29
  personalities and comment on the latest trends, is that these
• 28:32
  brands keep instigating and piling on harassment campaigns.
• 28:36
  Tenbarge went on to note how the brands quote predominantly
• 28:39
  targeted at women's insecurities have taken a malicious angle by
• 28:43
  using the Selena Haley drum to market their products, something
• 28:47
  she claimed was quote aimed at sowing division between women.
• 28:51
  For instance, while Amber Heard and Haley were being scrutinized
• 28:54
  online, the men in each scenario got off relatively Scott free.
• 28:59
  Justin, for instance, received far less criticism than his wife
• 29:02
  by Internet users and brands alike.
• 29:05
  With social media making the Justin Haley Selena love
• 29:09
  triangle only about the women involved, this saga served as a
• 29:13
  sobering reminder of pop culture's on female rivalry,
• 29:17
  with many of us eager to smear them.
• 29:19
  As brands pitted these women against each other, they
• 29:22
  stripped Selena and Haley of their accomplishments and goals,
• 29:26
  positioning them as superficial people who only exist to appeal
• 29:30
  to men. This ultimately creates an
• 29:32
  expectation that smearing women is not only acceptable, but
• 29:36
  inevitable. We see this expectation play out
• 29:39
  frequently in discussions online, with users expressing
• 29:42
  concern when women become too overexposed in the public eye,
• 29:46
  knowing it's only a matter of time before we tear them down.
• 29:50
  Now, I recognize that it's reductionist to assume the
• 29:53
  pursuit of virality is always the motivation behind why
• 29:57
  someone might post something online.
• 29:59
  But this theory feels increasingly plausible,
• 30:02
  especially now that TikTok has made virality so easily
• 30:05
  accessible and has enabled misinformation and
• 30:08
  disinformation to be so widely shared.
• 30:10
  This will likely only get worse as other major social media
• 30:14
  platforms like X and Meta scale back their fact checking and
• 30:17
  moderation processes. Unfortunately, while we hope for
• 30:21
  this dynamic to change, one sad truth remains the same.
• 30:25
  Virality fuels smear campaigns whether we realize it or not,
• 30:29
  offering a launchpad for some while leaving many others in its
• 30:33
  wake. And it is possible, despite her
• 30:35
  money, fame and power in Hollywood, that Blake Lively was
• 30:40
  our latest victim. Infinite Scroll is a podcast
• 30:43
  produced, presented and Co written written by me, Lauren
• 30:46
  Meissner for Centennial World. This episode was researched and
• 30:50
  written by Annabelle and David. Editing is by Danny Fennick.
• 30:53
  Thank you so much for listening. I love you guys.
• 30:56
  I'm so excited to be back for 2025 and I will talk to you next
• 30:59
  week. Bye.