STATEMENT: ERA-Sponsored Anti-Retaliation Law Central to Blake Lively’s Motion to Dismiss Defamation Suit

April 4. 2025

For Immediate Release
Apr 4, 2025

Media Contact
Nazirah Ahmad
[email protected]

Statement by Jessica Ramey Stender, Policy Director and Deputy Legal Director:

April 4, 2025 – “The recent motion filed by Blake Lively, which cites California Civil Code Section 47.1 (enacted after passage of California Assembly Bill 933) in seeking to dismiss a defamation claim, has brought attention to this important legal protection. When survivors of sexual assault, harassment, and discrimination speak out, they deserve protection from retaliatory lawsuits designed to silence them. This high-profile case shows exactly why Equal Rights Advocates fought so hard to pass AB 933 in 2023–to ensure that those who come forward can do so without fearing the legal intimidation tactics that are often used to keep survivors silent.

“The threat of being forced to engage in years of litigation, relive the personal trauma of abuse in court, and take on the burden of responding to a resource-draining lawsuit further harms survivors and causes a chilling effect that discourages others from coming forward.”

It takes immense courage to speak out about sexual assault, harassment, and discrimination. Far too often, survivors who take this step are hit with retaliatory defamation claims by their abusers. In the wake of #MeToo, frivolous retaliation lawsuits were increasingly used to threaten, silence, intimidate, and dissuade survivors. The threat of being forced to engage in years of litigation, relive the personal trauma of abuse in court, and take on the burden of responding to a resource-draining lawsuit further harms survivors and causes a chilling effect that discourages others from coming forward.

Equal Rights Advocates was proud to cosponsor AB 933 (authored by Assembly Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry) with the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA). This law protects survivors of sexual assault, harassment, and discrimination from retaliatory defamation suits by clarifying that claims made in good faith are a form of protected speech. By providing both protection from these suits and financial consequences for those who file them maliciously, the law ensures that our justice system cannot be weaponized against those who speak out.

We will keep fighting to strengthen legal protections for survivors, advocating for legislation that empowers rather than silences victims, and ensuring our justice system works for those who need it most. Every survivor deserves the right to come forward without fear of retaliation, and we are proud to have supported the passage of this crucial legislation.”

To request an interview with Jessica Ramey Stender, contact Nazirah Ahmad at [email protected] or (704)290-6869.