The drama between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni continues to intensify as media people get involved in the business. Glamour journalist Stephanie McNeal wrote an article that sparked outrage among content creators who have been actively criticizing the It Ends With Us actress.
Following the onslaught of negative feedback, she posted a video slamming content creators and “mommy sleuths” who publish content about Lively, then deleted it afterward. But this is the Internet, and netizens are quick enough to save a copy of the said clip.
Glamour journalist Stephanie McNeal suffered online criticism after slamming content creators
Stephanie McNeal made an explosive article on Glamour slamming content creators who investigate and post content about Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. The journalist claimed that the alleged hate towards the actress shockingly comes from the female online community, specifically from the so-called mommy sleuths, a term coined by Candace Owens for people who spend their time investigating the actress’ alleged bad behavior on social media.
She talked about how the narrative of the #MeToo movement has changed in just a couple of years. It was an attempt to give women—who claimed to have been abused—a voice and platform without any caveats. Now, the journalist said that the movement had fallen to its death.
McNeal criticized how these content creators, who have built a following online by becoming experts on the Lively-Baldoni issue, grew more emboldened, especially since they make a profit off their videos online.
After she received a lot of hate for her article, McNeal defended herself in a now-deleted video. She slammed content creators for making money off the issue by coming up with theories and stories. “I don’t get paid for this. I’m only doing this because I believe in the truth,” she said (via X).
Glamour Editor Stephanie McNeal deleted her original video, dogging content creators and “mommy sleuths” covering Blake Lively. Saying we’re just doing this for the money vs. her fixed salary. So I figured I’d post it here for reference ☺️ pic.twitter.com/skzqiGMp4o
— Zack Peter (@justplainzack) March 16, 2025
The journalist claimed that she only makes money from her fixed salary in the corporate media whether or not people read her articles. These content creators, on the other hand, allegedly receive more money if the algorithm favors their posts, especially the more dramatic ones.
Moreover, she alleged that even though nothing huge was happening at the moment, these creators had to keep going and come up with content to post because they make money and they need people to come back to their pages.
Content creator Zack Peter claps back at Stephanie McNeal
Podcaster Zack Peter responded to McNeal’s video and said that her claim about these posts from content creators allegedly making more money than her stems from insecurity. “You have this perceived notion that we make more money than you do, and you’re upset about it,” he said, adding that she might have gone to a good school, earned a degree, and been employed under an established company and yet, these “mommy sleuths” who work from home earn more than she does.
OK Steph McNeal, nice try, but this playbook is stale and tired. Maybe if you covered Blake Lively with more integrity, the public wouldn’t have lost faith in you to begin with. The NYT really exposed the media games. And you’re just further perpetuating the circus show… pic.twitter.com/JbpkBrLKyN
— Zack Peter (@justplainzack) March 16, 2025
Peter said that it was never about the profit in the first place. “Why don’t you investigate Blake Lively? Why don’t you actually report honestly and fairly?” he suggested. The podcaster stated that content creators also want the truth.
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