Sydney Sweeney and Blake Lively are being compared since both starred in films exploring domestic violence. In a recent interview, a professor stressed that Sweeney was consistent with her promotional campaign for Christy and told Christy Martin’s actual story of suffering abuse. Simultaneously, she pointed out that Lively misrepresented the reality of domestic violence in It Ends With Us.
Here’s why Sydney Sweeney and Blake Lively are getting compared
Sydney Sweeney and Blake Lively are being compared since both played domestic abuse survivors in films revolving around domestic violence. The former starred in Christy, which explored Christy Martin’s troubled professional and personal life and her husband’s abuse. Meanwhile, the latter headlined It Ends With Us, which explored Lily Bloom’s abusive relationship with her boyfriend Ryle Kincaid.
Sweeney’s marketing of Christy was praised. This is because she never once shied away from highlighting Martin’s abuse in promotions and did not alter her approach for mass appeal. She stressed in numerous interviews that Martin’s story of suffering abuse was as important as the character’s burgeoning boxing career.
In contrast, Lively’s promotion of It Ends With Us was criticized. Fans bashed the film’s marketing, accusing it of being “tone deaf” and “shallow.” They also criticized Lively for prioritizing aesthetics, fashion, and lightheartedness over the story’s core theme of domestic violence.
This comparison became the subject of the Daily Mail‘s interview with Dale Margolin Cecka, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Family Violence Litigation Clinic at Albany Law School. In the interview, Cecka explained the “stark contrast” between Christy and It Ends With Us’ marketing.
Cecka stressed that It Ends With Us’ campaign focused more on “beauty and superficiality” while Christy’s campaign highlighted the “hard, ugly things” Christy Martin went through. “Christy’s promotion could have been framed as ‘beautiful actress transforms herself..’,” she explained. “But instead, Sweeney consistently talked about telling Martin’s actual story.” Cecka praised the Euphoria star’s consistency in promoting Martin’s true story, calling it “refreshing.”
She then highlighted the importance of intimate partner violence and that It Ends With Us misrepresented it both on and off screen. “Domestic violence is not about pretty girls getting occasionally beaten up by men with tempers, which is the story that It Ends with Us told,” she further stated. “It Ends with Us perpetuated the myth that victims can just ‘decide’ one day to leave.”
“That’s not how domestic violence works,” she continued. “Christy’s story is real; It Ends with Us is flowery fiction.”
