Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni feud: Everything to know about the It Ends With Us cast drama | Explainer

Unless you have no form of social media or maybe have simply been living under a rock, you’ve surely heard of the cast drama surrounding the new film It Ends With Us.

The movie is an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s popular novel of the same name and stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni .

The story is centered around themes of domestic violence and generational trauma, however the movie seems to have been marketed in some instances as a light romance movie. 

READ MORE: Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco engaged to Tom Pelphrey

As the press tour has gone on, fans have criticised some of the marketing techniques, also picking up on a rift between the two main stars.

Speculation has been rife as fans of the book and movie try to figure out what exactly has gone down between Lively and Baldoni, and while we may not have all the answers, we’ve done our best to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

In order to do that, we need to rewind the clock all the way back to 2019.

In July 2019, Baldoni took to Instagram to share that he had gotten the rights to turn It Ends With Us into a movie with his production company Wayfarer Studios.

“So excited to be working with the brilliant @colleenhoover to try bring #ItEndsWithUs to the big screen,” he wrote alongside an image of he and Hoover smiling with the book.

“I’m so passionate about this this book and so honored she chose me to help bring it to the world.”

He also included a trigger warning for domestic violence and toxic relationships in the post. 

READ MORE: Katie Holmes’ rare comments about her daughter Suri

By December, news had broken that not only would Baldoni be directing the movie, but he would star as the story’s antagonist, Ryle, which he recently told Elle was never his plan.

“I was just planning on directing it,” he said. “But when we were optioning the book, Colleen sent me an email and just said, ‘Have you ever thought about also acting in it, maybe considering Ryle?’

“That got me thinking – if she thought I could do it, then maybe I could.”

It was also announced that Baldoni would be acting opposite Lively, who came onto the project as a producer as well as an actor.

It Ends With Us was the first time the duo had ever worked together, and it seems like it may also be the last.

Fast forward a couple of years and production had started on the movie, there were rumours online that Baldoni and Lively weren’t getting along as multiple outlets reported sources claiming that there was a power-struggle between the pair.

Following the release of the movie, a TikTok user shared a video of the pair seemingly arguing during filming.

READ MORE: Katy Perry in strife over latest music video’s filming location

Jillaferr shared a video taken by her and a friend from inside a café in New Jersey when the movie was being filmed outside. In the clip, Lively (who is in costume) and Baldoni seem to be having a disagreement, both having stern looks on their faces and waving their hands as they talk.

However, rumours of a feud only really kicked off once the press tour had begun as fans noticed one huge absence.

Baldoni was no where to be seen.

When Lively first started interviewing for the movie, many fans noticed that she was supported mainly by Brandon Sklenar who stars in a supporting role, rather than Baldoni as the leading man.

Then, it all came to a head at the film’s premiere, when Lively was photographed alongside her castmates including Sklenar and Jenny Slate, but Baldoni only posed alongside his wife.

Fans started to dig and soon uncovered that not only had Lively unfollowed Baldoni on Instagram, but a number of other key players had too. 

READ MORE: Katie Holmes’ rare comments about her daughter Suri

Despite their smiley selfie in 2019, Hoover has unfollowed the Jane The Virgin Star.

Other names following suit included Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and the film’s supporting stars Sklenar and Slate.

However, Hasan Minhaj, who appeared in the film as Baldoni’s brother-in-law, does still follow him on the social media platform.

During the premiere, Lively also revealed that her husband played a role in the making of the movie.

“The iconic rooftop scene, my husband actually wrote it,” she told E!News.

“We help each other. He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does. So his wins, his celebrations are mine, and mine are his.”

But the news seemed to come as a shock to the film’s credited screenwriter, Christy Hall, as she told People that she found the rooftop scene the “trickiest one to tackle,” adding that she wasn’t aware that Reynolds had contributed.

“There were a couple of little things that I thought had been improvised,” she told the publication.

“There were a few little flourishes that I did not write, but I assumed that they had been improvised on set… and if those flourishes came from Ryan, I think that’s wonderful.”

Following the interaction, fans speculated Reynolds was involved in the feud, with many pointing out his appearance at the premiere alongside his Deadpool & Wolverine castmate, Hugh Jackman, could have been planned as a distraction from Baldoni’s isolated presence. 

READ MORE: Teenage Olympian Arisa Trew’s remarkable act during flight back home

The premiere held in New York City pretty much sealed the deal– the rumours were right, there’s definitely a Don’t Worry Darling-esque feud going on here – but what came next divided the internet.

After fan’s established that there is indeed some bad blood between the film’s stars they began to take sides, and while Lively arguably has the bigger fanbase, Baldoni seems to have come out on top.

Following the film’s release, the duo have both done separate press with Baldoni speaking to publications such as Access Hollywood, Elle, Entertainment Tonight and Good Morning America, while Lively has covered Vogue, Capital FM and CBS Mornings.

While Lively has made several powerful comments on domestic violence during her press tour, she also seems to have skimmed over it on many occasions, promoting it as a sweet romance, even saying, “grab your friends, grab your florals, and head out to see it.”

She’s also used the film as a chance to cross-promote her brands, launching her new haircare range Blake Brown alongside the film’s release and even launching a range of new flavours for her alcohol brand Betty Buzz in honour of her character in the film, naming the range Betty Blooms.

In contrast, Baldoni has been widely praised for the way he has promoted the film, taking the opportunity to speak out against domestic violence, share resources for victims to seek help, and forming a partnership between his production studio and the No More Foundation.

READ MORE: Detail in ‘royal photo’ that will make you look twice

“No, this isn’t my night,” he said when Entertainment Tonight reporter, Rachel Smith, greeted him on the red carpet of the premiere exclaiming, “this is your night mister!”

”This is a night for all the women 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.”

Slate, who plays Baldoni’s sister in the film, also went viral after expertly dodging a question about what it was like working with Baldoni, responding with, ”what an intense job, to have to do so many things.”

Blake leads It Ends With Us premiere in ’00s throwback look

For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.

Despite the rampant rumours, neither Blake nor Baldoni have publicly addressed the feud. However they have both made comments that fans suspect are aimed at one another.

Baldoni seemed to confirmed what many fan’s suspected – that there was a power struggle between Baldoni as director and Lively as producer – when he was asked by Entertainment Tonight if he had plans on directing a sequel.

”I think that there are better people for that one,” he said. “I think Blake Lively’s ready to direct. That’s what I think.”

Lively later hinted at tensions on set when she told Hits Radio UK she was “begged” to remove Lana Del Rey’s Cherry from the film’s score.

”They begged me to take that song out of the movie,” she said, not specifying who “they” were.

“I’m not supposed to be talking about this,” she added. “They felt like it was too charged and heavy.”

Most recently, Baldoni further fueled the flames when he shared it was difficult “navigating personalities” on set.

”It’s very challenging to act and direct, and especially with a project like this,” he told Elle.

“There was a lot of pressure playing such a complex role like Ryle and, of course, as a filmmaker, you’re always navigating personalities.

“There are all these things that happen every day on set, there’s always friction that happens when you make a movie like this,” he continued.

“Then at the end of the day, it’s that friction, I believe, that creates the beautiful art.”

However, despite the breadcrumbs left by Lively, Baldoni and the rest of the cast along with countless sources revealing supposed ‘insider information’, it seems we may never know for sure what really went down behind the scenes on the set of It Ends With Us.

All we can do is try not to get too caught up in the online speculation and cross our fingers and toes that Lively or Baldoni (or both) release a tell-all memoir one day. 

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.