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Kate Beckinsale says she was assaulted on set at 18, details more industry abuse


Blake Lively's allegations against Justin Baldoni have inspired Kate Beckinsale to come forward with her own stories of alleged abuse in Hollywood.

In an Instagram video on Sunday, the "Underworld" star, 51, said Lively's complaint against her "It Ends With Us" co-star has highlighted "this machine that goes into effect when a woman complains about something legitimately offensive, upsetting, harmful, whatever, in this industry."

She then provided several examples of abuse she has experienced in the entertainment industry while telling fans she has "47 million" similar stories to share.

In one case, she said she worked on a movie where she was referred to using offensive terms after she complained about her co-star being "drunk every day" and causing delays on set.

Kate Beckinsale attends Variety's 2024 Power of Women: Los Angeles event on Oct. 24, 2024.

On set of two films, Beckinsale said she was put in a "very unsafe fight situation," and on one of these productions, she was "gaslit and made to feel like I was the problem" after being harmed during a fight sequence.

"There's a certain kind of actor who gets kind of a thrill out of legally being able to harm a woman during a fight sequence," she said.

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Justin Baldoni lost award, podcast co-host: The swift impact of sexual harassment claims

In another instance, Beckinsale said she was "forced by a publicist that I was employing to do a photoshoot the day after I'd had a miscarriage" and was threatened with a lawsuit if she didn't do so.

On two occasions, she said was put on "such a strict diet and exercise" program that she lost her period.

When she was 18, Beckinsale said she was "felt up by somebody that I really trusted on a crew." She said she went to the lead actress, who is "known for being a supporter of women," but the actress told her it "didn't happen." Beckinsale then went to another actress and said that she had been assaulted, but this person allegedly told her, "No, you haven't been."

Blake Lively files legal complaint against 'It Ends With Us' co-star for sexual harassment

Lively has alleged that Baldoni sexually harassed her on the set of their movie "It Ends With Us" and then carried out a smear campaign to ruin her reputation after she complained about his behavior. Baldoni has denied the allegations.

Kate Beckinsale attends the Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 7, 2024.

Beckinsale said that in her experience, women who complain about bad behavior in Hollywood do not receive support when they come forward.

"That has to stop," she said in the video. "And 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, and then when it does happen, a machine goes into place to absolutely destroy you."

She expanded on this in the caption of the clip, writing, "Complaining about abuse should not beget more abuse, particularly at work where there should be inviolable safeguarding in place, and it should not be expected of women who have been harmed, insulted, hurt, shamed or in any other way abused (mostly with at least 100 witnesses) to have to be 'one of the boys' and take it on the chin or face retribution for having been abused in the first place."

Lively's allegations similarly inspired Abigail Breslin to pen an essay on misconduct in the workplace. In a Tumblr post on Saturday, the "Little Miss Sunshine" star said she was deemed "hysterical" after raising "concerns about a male colleague" on a recent project.

"I often wonder why are we always so excited to see the takedown of a woman? Why are we always so quick to defend a man after he is accused of bad behavior, but if a woman speaks out… she's clearly a liar?" Breslin wrote. "I'd like to think it's because we are supremely afraid to believe the truth that these things actually happen. I'd like to believe it's some form of indoctrinated denial."

Contributing: Edward Segarra

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kate Beckinsale shares stories of abuse in Hollywood

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