The public is obsessed with Lively vs. Baldoni because it’s a modern-day David and Goliath: ‘No Filter’ host
“I feel like culturally, we love a takedown story, right?” podcast host Zack Peter says
The court battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has been making headlines for months, and “No Filter” podcast host Zack Peter says that’s because the story could be of biblical proportions.
The drama between the “It Ends with Us” co-stars began shortly after the release of the film last summer, which is based on the book of the same name by Colleen Hoover. The story portrays a powerful message about a woman walking away from an abusive relationship. Before the film was released, fans were concerned that Lively seemed to be losing sight of the film’s message about domestic violence by frequently talking about fashion and hair products.
Then came the rumors of a feud between the film’s stars. Lively made the first move, filing a complaint against Baldoni with the California Department of Civil Rights, accusing him of harassment and retaliation. Baldoni countered that Lively “wrongly” accused him in an effort to repair her reputation after they were accused of controlling the film. Baldoni filed a lawsuit against Lively on January 16, suing the actress and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, for $400 million in a civil defamation and extortion complaint, among other charges. A more detailed timeline of their bitter feud can be found here.
According to Peter, the public appears to have taken sides.
“I think there are so many elements to the Blake and Baldoni story that, I mean, one, I feel like culturally we love a takedown story, right?” Peter recently told Fox News Digital. “If someone is big and on top of a pedestal, we want to see them come down. That’s just part of the culture. But I think what we’re seeing, despite people being tired of Hollywood in general, is that we’re seeing two very powerful players in Hollywood, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, clearly taking advantage of someone who they see as much lower on the totem pole.”
He describes their battle as a modern-day David and Goliath. Lively and Ryan Reynolds are Hollywood’s “it” power couple, up against the lesser-known and less-connected actor, Baldoni.
“And so I think we’re in this David and Goliath story, and the public is rooting for Justin Baldoni because they see that he’s David against the big machine that used to have control, right?” Peter mused. “I think there’s an element of knockdown. We want to see Hollywood fall. We want to see these elite, powerful celebrities humbled and know that their tricks aren’t working anymore. And then I think we’re also tired of media manipulation, right? Like Hollywood PR tactics and the mainstream media, I feel like those two things are finally starting to get people to see behind the curtain.”
“We’ve met Oz, and now, at this point, we don’t want to be lied to anymore, or we don’t want to be influenced to believe one thing or another,” he continued. “And now we really want to see these people held accountable and stop using their power to take advantage of people who are more vulnerable.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Lively and Baldoni for comment.
Lively and Baldoni’s back-and-forth legal battle appears to be endless. After both filed their respective lawsuits against the other, neither has shown any signs of settling out of court.
A trial date is set for March 2026.
