Victoria Burke, who wrote California’s survivor-protection law, says Blake Lively’s legal strategy in her dispute with Justin Baldoni is using the statute in ways it was never meant to serve—arguing the law was designed to protect survivors, not shut down defa
Blake Lively’s court fight with Justin Baldoni has pulled in an unlikely critic: the California survivor-protection law’s own author.
Victoria Burke says the legal strategy she’s seeing goes beyond what the legislation was built for, calling it a missed point in the way the law is being used. Burke joined “The Megyn Kelly Show” on Tuesday, laying out why she believes the statute was never intended to block every defamation claim.
Burke’s position is personal and hard-earned. She says she wrote the law after learning she could be sued for defamation if she spoke publicly about her own sexual assault. She then spent more than a year researching lawsuits involving survivors before taking the proposal to lawmakers.
In Burke’s telling, the statute was designed to protect people who come forward with allegations of sexual assault, harassment, and discrimination. She argues it was never meant to eliminate access to the courts for those who claim they’ve been falsely accused.
Burke also points to how the bill was shaped. She says it was refined with input from advocacy groups and the ACLU to strike a balance—one that protects survivors without closing the courthouse doors for defamation cases. As an example. she cites the Johnny Depp–Amber Heard case. saying it’s the kind of defamation claim she believes could still have succeeded under the law.
Now Burke says she’s surprised to see the legislation invoked in the “bitter Lively-Baldoni legal war,” insisting the original intent is getting lost as the fight plays out.
Her criticism lands with extra weight because it’s coming from the woman who authored the law at the center of the dispute.
Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Victoria Burke California survivor-protection law survivor law defamation ACLU Johnny Depp Amber Heard legal battle sexual assault allegations