The Underworld actress thanked the It Ends With Us star for showing that this issue is still a problem today and not something from the past.
Blake Lively isn’t the only actress who has faced uncomfortable moments on a movie set. After Lively filed a legal complaint against her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni for alleged mistreatment during filming, Kate Beckinsale shared her own stories on Instagram about being mistreated for speaking up about bad working conditions.
Beckinsale explained that she doesn’t know Lively or Baldoni personally and wasn’t involved in what happened on the set of It Ends With Us. However, Lively’s complaint, which accuses Baldoni of harassment and trying to ruin her reputation in the media, reminded Beckinsale of the unfair treatment women often face in the industry—a pattern she has seen herself.
Advertisement Kate Beckinsale shared on Instagram how the industry reacts when a woman speaks up about something unfair or harmful. She said,
When I worked on one movie, people started calling me horrible names like ‘that c—,’ both to my face and over walkie-talkies. This happened because I mentioned that my co-star was drunk every day. I felt bad for him because he was clearly struggling, but his behavior made the entire crew wait six hours every day for him to learn his lines. Because of this, I couldn’t spend time with my daughter in the evenings throughout the entire shoot.
The studio’s solution wasn’t to fix the problem. Instead, they gave me a bike to ride around the studio lot while I waited. Even then, I was still insulted and called names like ‘c—‘ and ‘b—-.’
She added,
Kate Beckinsale shared stories about unfair treatment she experienced in the film industry but didn’t name any specific movies or directors, except for Harvey Weinstein, a known predator. In one example, she said,
On one movie, I was put on such a strict exercise plan that I completely stopped having my periods. This actually happened to me twice.
Beckinsale has acted in many types of movies since her debut in Much Ado About Nothing in 1993. She’s well-known for action films like Van Helsing and the Underworld series. She also played Ava Gardner in The Aviator and worked with Whit Stillman on The Last Days of Disco and Love & Friendship.
Since the MeToo movement began in 2017 with the New York Times exposing Harvey Weinstein, many people believe Hollywood has improved its treatment of women. However, Kate Beckinsale says that in her 30 years in the industry, the changes aren’t as significant as they seem.
What’s really upsetting, is hearing men claim things are so much better now. They aren’t! If a woman speaks up about something serious, like being touched inappropriately or being called horrible names, she’s the one who suffers. It’s expected that women stay quiet and act like everything is fine. That needs to change.
Beckinsale explained,
Beckinsale thanked Blake Lively for showing that this problem isn’t in the past—it’s still happening. She added that when women speak out, systems often work against them to ruin their careers.
Source: EW