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1 month ago
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"Blake lively forgetting her character is a victim of domestic abuse."
Warning: Discussion of abuse.
As rumors swirl about the cast and crew of It Ends With Us having a potential rift, it's worth noting how differently its stars — Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni — have promoted the controversial project.
Sony Pictures Releasing /Courtesy Everett Collection
The movie is based on a Colleen Hoover novel of the same name and follows flower shop Lily Bloom (played by Blake) as she navigates an abusive relationship with Ryle Kincaid (played by Justin). It's a story about the generational cycle of domestic violence, and the extent of which both the book and the movie succeed in tackling this subject has been brought under scrutiny.
Sony Pictures Releasing /Courtesy Everett Collection
Rumors of a feud between Blake and Justin, who also directed the movie, emerged after TikTok and Reddit users noted that much of the movie's stars, including Blake and Colleen, do not follow Justin on Instagram.
Sony Pictures Releasing /Courtesy Everett Collection
Justin also did not appear with his cast members on the premiere red carpet or in other promotional material, which he explained: "This isn't my night — this is a night for all the women who we made this movie for. This is a night for Blake, this is a night for Colleen. I'm just so grateful that we're here, five years in the making."
Sony Pictures Releasing /Courtesy Everett Collection
Sources then told the Hollywood Reporter that Blake commissioned her own cut of the movie, but it's not entirely clear whether or not this would have led to a falling out. When asked about directing a sequel, Justin said, “I think there are better people for that one. I think Blake Lively’s ready to direct. That’s what I think."
Sony Pictures Releasing /Courtesy Everett Collection
What we do have concrete evidence for is how Blake and Justin have respectively promoted the project, which warrants discussion. Starting with Blake, the most obvious part of her press tour has been her floral looks, which evoke her character's name and profession.
NILS MEILVANG/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Image
Blake also wore florals for her crossover event with her drinks company, Betty Buzz, which she tied into the movie with a "Betty Blooms" theme. "When your company throws a florist themed party for your movie," she wrote on Instagram. Blake also launched her own haircare line amid promotion of the movie.
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Another key part of Blake's press for It Ends With Us has been discussing her husband, Ryan Reynolds, alongside his release of Deadpool and Wolverine. Ryan worked on the movie, though Blake appeared to somewhat inflate his writing contributions. Ryan also appeared in a skit where he jokingly interviewed Blake's other love interest in the movie, played by Brandon Sklenar, which Blake also shared on her Instagram.
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Elsewhere on Blake's Instagram is a promotional video with Brandon where they make the hot chocolate cookies from the movie. She also shared a lighthearted "girl talk" video from her apartment with other female creatives on the movie, adding in the caption, "I’m gonna be sad when marketing is over and I don’t have excuses to sit on my couch dressed up with you ladies."
John Nacion / Variety via Getty Images
Blake has alluded to the movie's darker themes at times."I didn't have any hesitations [with taking the role]," she told Extra. "She had a lot of life experience and was still susceptible to not seeing something that she should see, given her past...I just fell in love with Lily and I really wanted to tell her story, and to be able to tell it in a way where I was able to have such authorship was really important to me."
Jeff Spicer / Getty Images for Sony Pictures
Let's contrast this with the tone with which Justin has approached the movie, which has been decidedly more serious. His Instagram bio directly links to No More, an anti-domestic abuse nonprofit that was the "charitable partner" of the movie. Justin worked with them in his depiction of violence in the movie, and he has sported their pin alongside tagging them in numerous other posts.
Indeed, speaking about abuse has been the focus of Justin's press. "The message is the most important thing. That’s why [Colleen] wrote the book," he told Today. "I was always thinking about the outcome and the why, and the one woman I was making this for who would sit in that theater and maybe not go back to her abusive relationship."
John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images
"The question that's always asked is, 'Why did she stay?' That's the wrong question. What we need to be asking ourselves is, 'Why do men harm?'" Justin said in an interview with CBS that he shared on his Instagram, adding in the caption, "This was not an easy story to tell, and yet it was profoundly important. I’ve learned so much."
The difference in approach between Blake and Justin has not gone unnoticed. Take a cursory glance through Blake's Instagram:
There has been further backlash across social media:
Whatever is going on with the It Ends With Us drama, it is extremely weird for Blake Lively to turn the promotional tour of a domestic violence drama into a platform for her to strengthen her fashion plate status & her and Ryan Reynolds' power couple clout.
— Kayleigh Donaldson (@Ceilidhann) August 9, 2024blake lively forgetting her character is a victim of domestic abuse and instead trying to give the entire press run a silly goofy barbie moment while justin baldoni is using his press time to talk about the importance of stopping the cycle of abuse is why I’m always on his side
— kelsey (@kel485) August 8, 2024
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