The release of the highly anticipated movie adaption of Colleen Hoover’s book “It Ends With Us” has seemingly been tainted amid rumors of a feud between its main stars, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Fans first noticed something was off between the two when they failed to do press for the movie together and even seemingly avoided each other during the premiere on Aug. 6, 2024.
Multiple sources told Page Six at the time that Baldoni and Lively did not get along on set.
An insider first told us that Baldoni, who is also the director of the movie, made Lively feel “uncomfortable” and created an “extremely difficult” atmosphere on set for the cast in general.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, seen here in an “It Ends With Us” scene, sparked feud rumors ahead of the movie’s premiere. AP
The movie premiered on Aug. 9, 2024. AP
The 2024 movie is based on Colleen Hoover’s book of the same name.
And while sources who have worked with Baldoni told us he would never intentionally make anyone uncomfortable, additional insiders claimed it wasn’t just Lively who had issues with him.
“None of the cast enjoyed working with Justin …They certainly didn’t talk to him at the premiere,” one noted.
Read on to learn everything we know about the rumored “It Ends With Us” drama.
Creative differences
There was reportedly a “fracture” between the two, photographed here in January 2023, on set. GC Images
Lively, photographed in 2023, allegedly commissioned her own cut of the movie. GC Images
Part of the reason for Baldoni and Lively’s feud was reportedly because there were deep creative differences on set, according to the Hollywood Reporter. While Baldoni was the director, Lively was also a producer in the film.
“There was a fracture among the filmmakers in the postproduction process, wherein two different cuts of the movie emerged,” the outlet reported.
A source also said Lively commissioned a cut of the movie from editor Shane Reid, who worked on husband Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
Lively, who attended one of the movie’s premieres on Aug. 9, 2024, spoke to Hits Radio UK about one creative difference. via REUTERS
Lively, pictured on Aug. 8, 2024, admitted she wasn’t “supposed to talk” about that. Getty Images for Sony Pictures
Reid previously worked with Lively on Taylor Swift’s “I Bet You Think About Me” music video, which she directed.
The “Gossip Girl” alum highlighted one example of creative differences was using Lana Del Rey’s “Cherry,” which was “too charged and heavy,” in the film.
Rolling her eyes, she told Hits Radio UK, “They begged me to take it out of the movie. … I’m not supposed to be talking about this.”
Ryan Reynolds’ role
“Nobody knows that,” the actress, pictured on Aug. 6, 2024, told the press. GC Images
Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, played a role in one of the movie’s major scenes. Getty Images
Lively and Baldoni’s creative differences could have been further fueled when Reynold seemingly took over the writing for one of the scenes in the movie.
During the movie’s premiere, Lively told E! News, “The iconic rooftop scene, my husband actually wrote it. Nobody knows that, but you now.
“He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does,” she noted at the time.
All hands on deck
Baldoni said that Lively was involved in every detail of the movie’s production. GC Images
“I’m grateful to Blake for just being a powerhouse of a performer and an amazing collaborator and just all the people, the crew,” Baldoni said at the time. TheImageDirect.com
Baldoni also revealed that Lively was “involved in every aspect” of its production.
“[With] every touch, she made [it] better,” he told “Extra.”
“I’m grateful to Blake for just being a powerhouse of a performer and an amazing collaborator and just all the people, the crew,” Baldoni added.
Passing the baton
Baldoni, photographed here on Aug. 6, 20224, not only directed the movie but stars alongside Lively. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
He said Lively was “ready” to direct the sequel instead of him. Elder Ordonez / Shutterstock
After confessions of Reynold and Lively’s involvement, Baldoni suggested that he wouldn’t be returning as a director for the sequel, “It Starts With Us.”
While speaking with “Entertainment Tonight,” he called the actress, who played Lily Blossom Bloom, a “better” option to direct the possible adaption.
He also told Variety that he had yet to commit to the project despite his company, Wayfarer Studios, buying the rights for an “It Starts With Us” movie adaption.
“I haven’t even begun to think that far ahead. I’m trying to stay in the present as much as I can,” he told the outlet in July 2024.
Two separate camps
Lively, photographed on Aug. 8, 2024, and Baldoni did not pose together at the film’s many premieres. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Instead, the actor walked the red carpet on Aug. 7, 2024, with his wife, Emily. GC Images
Baldoni walked the carpet during the movie’s premiere and posed only with his wife, Emily Fuxler.
Meanwhile, Lively posed with Hoover, Brandon Sklenar, who plays Atlas and Jenny Slate, who plays Alyssa.
She also posed with her husband and Hugh Jackman, who stars with Reynolds in “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
It was also reported that Lively and the cast watched the movie in one theater while Baldoni and his wife watched from another. Even when Hoover and Lively introduced the film before the screening, Baldoni was absent.
Absent Baldoni
Lively did press with many of her co-stars, as pictured here with Jenny Slater. TODAY
Baldoni, however, has conducted his interviews solo. CBS News
Most notably, Baldoni has been promoting the movie and sitting for interviews solo.
On the other hand, Lively has done press tours with Sklenar, Isabela Ferrer, who plays a younger version of her character in the movie, and more.
Fans have also pointed their interviews suggest they are promoting two different movies as Baldoni speaks out about the film’s domestic violence theme, while Lively talks about the wardrobe and how abuse doesn’t “define” her character.
After days worth of backlash for “being tone deaf” and not speaking about the domestic violence her character experiences in the movie, Lively tried to fix things by sharing resources for abuse survivors in an August 2024 Instagram Story.
She also re-posted a BBC interview where she explained her character is more than just a “survivor” and a “victim.”
Lively stepped out in numerous floral outfits honoring her florist character. Getty Images for Sony Pictures
Social media users slammed her for not focusing on the movie’s domestic violence depiction. GC Images
Although Lively has yet to address her rumored beef with Baldoni, Slate went viral for completely sidestepping a question about working with Baldono, who was juggling being the director and an actor in the film.
“What an intense job,” the comedian quipped to Deadline. “To have to do so many things.”
Social media shade
Many of Baldoni’s co-stars do not follow him on social media. Dave Allocca / StarPix
He did not introduce the movie alongside Lively and Hoover in New York City on Aug. 6, 2024. Getty Images for Sony Pictures
Many fans have noticed that most of Baldoni’s co-stars do not follow him back on Instagram — and neither does the series’s author, Hoover.
Hoover and Baldoni first connected in 2019 when the latter secured the movie rights to her book.
Throwback footage
Baldoni hired crisis PR as footage surfaced of himself and Lively allegedly arguing on set. AP
TMZ reported that Lively, photographed here in an “It Ends With Us” scene, believes he fat-shamed her and lingered too long in a kissing scene. GC Images
After a social media user shared footage of Lively and Baldoni seemingly arguing on set in 2023, news broke on Aug. 13, 2024, that he hired veteran PR crisis manager Melissa Nathan.
TMZ claimed the following day that Lively, who had recently given birth to 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 No. 4, believed her co-star fat-shamed her on set by asking his trainer how much she weighed and how to avoid injuring his back when picking her up.
The outlet also reported that she felt he lingered too long during one of their kissing scenes.
