He argued that the department was following a similar playbook from past scandals: protect senior-level officials “while vilifying lower-ranking employees, and then move on.”

He vilifies a ruthless, pleasure-hungry society and wonders if there can be piety without the loss of desire and sexual satisfaction, questioning whether that cultural paradigm was gone before we ever knew it was lost.

Actor Brandon Sklenar, who plays Atlas in the film, defended Lively and said in a post on Instagram that people had been "vilifying" the women involved in the film online.

By its very nature, it cannot be noble; it depends on lies that vilify an entire population and maintaining an inherently oppressive status quo.

Librarians are harassed, teachers vilified, election workers threatened.