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Blake Lively’s wardrobe of floral outfits and tone-deaf red carpet comments aren’t the only element of the It Ends With Us press tour that have been making headlines. Rumours of a feud between Blake Lively and co-star and director Justin Baldoni have been rife for weeks, and now they’ve seemingly been confirmed by both parties.
It Ends With Us is based on Colleen Hoover’s popular 2016 novel of the same name. The novel was a blockbuster, selling more copies than The Bible in 2022, and the film has been similarly successful grossing $50 million USD on its opening weekend.
However, the promotional tour has risked outshining both the film’s success and its important themes. It’s become mired in drama so messy it has drawn comparisons with the rollout of Olivia Wilde’s 2022 project Don’t Worry Darling, which was swamped with rumours of in-fighting on set.
Below, find Lively and Baldoni’s recent comments, as well as a deep dive into the truly wild It Ends With Us cast drama to date.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Seem To Have Alluded To It Ends With Us Cast Drama
@hitsradiouk The power of Lana 🍒 #lanadelrey #cherry #blakelively #itendswithus ♬ original sound – Hits Radio UK
While the internet has been full of sources alleging cast dramas on the It Ends With Us set, both Lively and Baldoni have been zipped on the issue. Recently, however, both have made comments that seemingly acknowledged conflict. In an interview with ELLE UK, Baldoni acknowledged one of the most difficult components of creating the film was on-set friction.
While he was complimentary of Lively’s performance, describing her as “a Ferrari of an actor” he said “navigating personalities” was a challenge on set. “There are all these things that happen every day on set,” he explained, “there’s always friction that happens when you make a movie like this.” Ultimately he said he felt that friction was positive for the film.
Meanwhile, Lively seemed to acknowledge the PR crisis around the film while describing disagreements around song choices in production in a conversation with Hits Radio, UK.
Complimented on the inclusion of Lana Del Rey’s song “Cherry”, Lively exclaimed, “They begged me to take that song out of the movie!” pressed further, she rolled her eyes. Asked why she muttered, “I’m not supposed to be talking about this”, before explaining creative disputes around the song choice and passionately defending the choice.
While both parties are yet to explicitly address the rumours both comments have been interpreted as acknowledgements of the intense media scrutiny their relationship is currently subject to.
Below is everything we know about the rumoured feud to date.
When Did Rumours Of The Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Drama Start?
The feud rumours began when fans noticed that Justin Baldoni, who not only directed the film but plays Lively’s love interest, Ryle, was absent from the much of the film’s promotional events in the lead up to the premiere.
When the premiere came around, Baldoni still didn’t appear in any pictures with Lively, who cosied up to the rest of the cast. Instead, Baldoni chose to pose with his wife or alone.
Lively, on the other hand, was captured posing with her husband Ryan Reynolds and her co-stars, Jenny Slate, Brandon Sklenar, and Isabela Ferra.
Considering Lively and Baldoni play love interests in the film, it was surprising that they neither posed together or sat for interviews.
From there, fans started digging and found that Lively, Reynolds, Hoover, and the rest of the cast no longer follow Baldoni on Instagram.
Different Approaches On The Press Tour
Since the film’s release, fans have noticed the different approaches Lively and Baldoni have been taking to the press tour.
Blake Lively has been heavily criticised for taking a seemingly glib approach to the film’s serious themes of domestic violence. She chose to launch a haircare line while on the press tour, promote her beverage brand, and has been perceived to be dismissive of questions about survivor’s responses to the film’s themes.
Meanwhile, Baldoni has been focused on the film’s message using interviews and the majority of the press tour to talk about intimate partner violence and his personal attachment to the book (Baldoni’s sister is a survivor of intimate partner violence)/ been using media attention to bring light to domestic violence issues (which the film is about), Lively has been criticised for focusing on statement outfits and choosing to launch a haircare line instead of choosing to speak about the issues referenced in the film.
Lively and Baldoni’s Creative Differences On Set
A continual theme in the rumoured rift between Lively and Baldoni has been a difference in creative direction and power struggles. As well as being the lead actor, Blake Lively was a producer on the film. Meanwhile, Baldoni was not only the director and star but also owns the production company behind the film, Wayfarer Studios.
On August 6th Lively shared in an interview with E! News that her husband, Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds, rewrote a key scene in the film. Lively said that Reynolds rewrote the rooftop scene without the knowledge of the director or scriptwriter. “The iconic rooftop scene, my husband actually wrote it. Nobody knows but you,” she said.
The film’s screenwriter Christy Hall told People that she found the scene “tricky to tackle” and that watching it back she assumed variations in dialogue were improvisations from Lively, but that she liked them. “When I saw the cut I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cute. That must have been a cute improvised thing.’ So if I’m being told that Ryan wrote that, then great, how wonderful.”
In an interview with ET, he was asked if he would return to direct an It Ends With Us sequel, which would be based on Hoover’s 2022 follow-up novel It Starts With Us. He said, “I think there are better people for that one; I think Blake Lively is ready to direct.” While the comment wasn’t directly critical, it was interpreted by those looking for signs as a feud as a nod to Lively’s strong and potentially conflicting views on set.
An On-Set Argument Between Blake Lively And Justin Baldoni
A number of TikTok videos have shared footage showing what could be interpreted to be tense conversations between the two co-stars on set.
Fans believe that the footage points to more than just “”productive tension” on set.
A source spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, on August 8th claiming that there was “a fracture among the filmmakers in the postproduction process, wherein two different cuts of the movie emerged.”
According to the sources, Lively ordered a separate cut from Shane Reid, who cut her friend Taylor Swift’s “I Bet You Think About Me” video. The video was directed by Blake, and Reynold’s Deadpool & Wolverine.
Justin Baldoni’s On-Set Behaviour
For those who have been critical of Lively’s behaviour on the press tour, Baldoni has emerged as a hero continually speaking to the film’s themes of domestic violence. As reported by Variety, Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer, is partnering with the No More nonprofit foundation that provides resources for survivors of abuse.
However, claims about Baldoni’s problematic on-set behaviour have also emerged.
The Daily Mail published a report alleging that Baldoni was “chauvinistic” and “borderline abusive” during the filming, only focusing on the “abusive male viewpoint” and “failing to consider Blake’s character’s perspective.”
Page Six also reported that Baldoni also created an “extremely difficult” atmosphere on set and made Lively “uncomfortable.”
Finally, sources close to Lively told TMZ that Lively felt Baldoni fat shamed her.
According to TMZ Justin, who has a history of back problems, was required to lift Lively in one of the scenes. He reportedly asked his on-set trainer how much Lively weighed and how he could train to prevent back injury. Allegedly, when Lively, who gave birth to her fourth child in February last year, found out about the question, she felt he was fat-shaming her.
As with everything in this situation, these specific comments are open to interpretation.
Baldoni has also made what some feel is an unusual move given the circumstances: according to The Hollywood Reporter he has hired Melissa Nathan, a crisis manager who worked with Johnny Depp. Of course, Johnny Depp was involved in a lengthy defamation trial with ex-wife Amber Heard in 2022. The case involved allegations of domestic abuse, making Baldoni’s alignment with Depp’s public relations manager an unusual choice.
What The It Ends With Us Cast Are Saying
It’s notable that while Lively has received plenty of negative attention, the women involved in the film seem to have distanced themselves from Baldoni. Neither author Colleen Hoover or Isabela Ferrer who plays a young Lily Bloom have weighed in, but neither of the women follow Baldonin on Instagram.
One of People’s sources shared that the rest of the cast also have bad blood with the director.
“All is not what it seems,” an anonymous source claimed.
“There is much more to this story. The principal cast and Colleen Hoover will have nothing to do with him.”
While none of the main It Ends With Us cast have commented on the rumours, a TikTok user (@itgirlkailyn) who claims to have been an extra on the film, says he was “literally the nicest person ever.”
What Justin Baldoni’s Former Co-Stars Are Saying
Former co-stars of Baldoni’s have stepped forward to support the director. Tiffany and Caleb Remington (@ustheremingtons) shared their experience with the director on TikTok.
“I don’t know the behind-the-scenes so I can’t make comment to that, but what I do have an opinion on is the person that Justin Baldoni is. That is, he truly is the caring man that you perceive him to be,” Tiffany said.
“We have first-hand experience of watching him direct on set. In the film Five Feet Apart he invited us [on set] for a reshoot with Cole Sprouse. Why? Because my husband has cystic fibrosis and he wanted to make sure whatever they were shooting in the hospital room was a true depiction of what it looks like for my husband and other patients.”
The couple also commented on Blake Lively and Ryan Reynold’s marketing of the film, drawing parallels to their approach versus Baloni’s.
“I do feel some type of way seeing how the marketing and the press junket on Blake and Ryan’s side… they’re forcing it to be something that it’s not like a light, airy rom-com, Eras Tour, grab your girls… this isn’t the type of subject that is being talked in the book or the movie. So if there [were] creative differences, I believe it is that,” Tiffany added.
The It Ends With Us drama has no clear winners thus far, but with the film topping the box office, we’re sure conversation about the film’s stars won’t end here.
Stay tuned.
What Is The It Ends With Us Plot?
@mikkzazon #itendswithus #itendswithusmovie #itendswithusbook #dvsurvivor #mentalhealthmatters ♬ original sound – Mik Zazon
The It Ends With Us storyline follows protagonist Lily Bloom, a florist who meets her love interest, neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid, on a rooftop. The pair start dating and fall in love. At first, it’s a picture-perfect relationship, but soon Bloom starts to see troubling sides of Ryle’s personality that remind her of her parent’s abusive relationship. Bloom stays with Kincaid as things gradually get worse, holding out hope his behaviour will change. When her first love, Atlas, appears in her life, she’s confronted with the reality of her situation and forced to choose.
Both the film and the novel it’s based on have been criticised by survivors of intimate partner violence for failing to make the subject of the storyline immediately obvious. However, many survivors of abuse have embraced the story, calling it an accurate depiction of the way a partner that seems ideal can slowly become abusive, making it harder for the victim to leave.
Related Stories:
- Why Is Everyone Mad At Blake Lively?
- Everything You Need To Know About The Highly Anticipated ‘It Ends With Us’ Movie Adaptation
- Every Time Blake Lively’s Wardrobe Paid Tribute To Her ‘It Ends With Us’ Character, Lily Bloom
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