You might have some questions about what happened between Abigail Breslin and Aaron Eckhart after the actress referenced their situation and compared it to Blake Lively‘s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.
The 28-year-old actress took to social media over the weekend to share an essay that she wrote about how women are treated as “scapegoats” while men’s bad behavior is excused.
In the essay, she referenced “recent events,” seemingly addressing Blake‘s allegations of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us.
“In my recent career, I’ve brought forward concerns about a male colleague and was deemed ‘hysterical.’ I was told my fears were figments of my imagination. Now, as I’m seeing this pattern pop up more, I realize this is the norm,” she wrote.
This appears to be a reference to Aaron, who Abigail worked with on the 2024 movie Classified.
What happened on set and what was the lawsuit about? Here’s what we know.
Keep reading to find out more…
In November 2023, Abigail was sued by the production companies responsible for Classified. They were seeking $80,000 in damages, which they alleged were accrued because the actress refused to be alone on set with Aaron.
Her allegations were not made public knowledge until the lawsuit was revealed.
According to the lawsuit, Abigail said that she was afraid to be alone on set with her costar in a letter written to SAG-AFTRA. She alleged that he was “aggressive, demeaning and unprofessional” and said that she felt like she was “in peril.”
“In order for the production to continue, among other things. Breslin refused to be alone in several scenes with Eckhart and costly accommodations had to be made by the production to accommodate Breslin’s demands or else Breslin would not continue to perform her contractual obligations,” the lawsuit read.
The producers claim that an investigation on set “found no evidence in support to Breslin’s wild, hysterical, and imaginary allegations against Eckhart.”
Abigail was also accused of demanding additional money before she would sign paperwork allowing the movie to be released.
At the time, a representative for the actress denied knowledge of the lawsuit.
However, she confirmed that the lawsuit existed and was withdrawn in her recent essay.
“When a suit was filed against me by a former employer, (the suit was withdrawn), after making a confidential complaint against a coworker for unprofessional behavior, I had the silly and naive impression they would believe me,” she wrote. “I am not known as a liar in my field of work, no matter how vocal I may be. Hence, why I’ve been working for 25 years.”
The actress continued, adding, “Instead of being believed and protected, a suit was filed against me for having the audacity to speak up. I was publicly shamed and defamed in the process. A reputation I had cultivated for over 2 decades had now been tainted as I became the crazy, paranoid and to quote directly, ‘hysterical and wild’ woman, who apparently just had it in for men.”
“My previous abuse was also brought up as ‘unfounded claims’, and I was made to seem like someone who just goes after men, rather than being seen as someone who has been dealing as a professional in this world, since I was a child, standing up for herself. This was after I had taken all of the recommended, reasonable and appropriate measures of reporting confidentially to my union.”
Aaron does not appear to have commented on the allegations.
