After seeing Blake Lively’s friends show of strong support to the Hollywood actress as she trudges ahead with a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, “It Ends With Us” author Colleen Hoover took to social media to do the same.
In a lengthy post, Hoover first admitted to feeling anxious to show her support for Blake. “I had anxiety thinking of putting my post about Blake in my feed and sending myself into a mental spiral from the inevitable comments. They can be vile,” the award-winning author began.
Hoover reflected about her social media behavior over the last couple of years, pulling back from the platforms “to save my sanity” after “it got dark for me.”
“I used to share so much of my life, every single day, but that all changed when I noticed people weren’t necessarily following me out of interest, but rather to tear me down. And not even necessarily my books, but ME as a human and as a mother, without knowing me or my family AT ALL, and assuming a few online tabloid pieces must be gospel,” she wrote.
She admitted that instead of standing up for herself and the truth, she allowed people to judge her “because that’s what we’re told to do. ‘Ignore it. It’s the internet. People are just mean online’,” Hoover said.
Posting a screengrab of the joint statement of support from “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” stars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn, Hooever said “this statement from these women and Blake’s ability to refuse to sit down and ‘be buried’ has been nothing short of inspiring.”
“Seeing these three women stand up for their friend when they know good and well they’re going to be ripped apart by the people who choose to not accept or read receipts is inspiring,” she added.
“I am done being afraid to post in fear of the comment section hurting my reputation,” Hoover continued, saying she doesn’t really care about her “future legacy.”
“I care about the people who are currently in my life, who I love and know and trust. And I care about the readers who have supported me along the way, and who reach out daily to ask where I’ve been and why I haven’t released a book in years.
The answer is simple. We have become a cruel society of judges who expect perfection and have very little grace, and will comment with everything wrong we can find. It’s sad but it’s true and we have all been victims of it. And I don’t know how or when or if it can change, but I know that I can change my attitude toward it. So I will see you tomorrow. And the day after that. Because I like it here and I miss you.”
In her social media post, Hoover boosted her initial show of support for Blake by sharing a screengrab of her Instagram Stories where she wrote, “Blake Lively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
Over the weekend, news of Blake filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin made the rounds on social media.
According to a report from PEOPLE, Blake alleges that Justin’s behavior caused her “severe emotional distress.”
In a statement given to the New York Times newspaper, Blake said: “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.”
Meanwhile, Justin denied the accusations through a statement sent by his lawyer, Bryan Freedman, to The New York Times.
“These claims are completely false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media,” Freedman said.
Blake and Justin starred in the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book of the same title. It’s coming to Netflix later this month.
— Jade Veronique Yap/LA, GMA Integrated News
