Everything You Need To Know About The It Ends With Us Drama

Sony Pictures Ireland

The long-awaited adaptation of the BookTok favourite, It Ends With Us, finally landed in Irish cinemas last Friday, August 9… and there’s been plenty of drama too.

The book was released by best-selling author Colleen Hoover in 2016 and was adapted and directed by actor and filmmaker Justin Baldoni. Baldoni, who is best known for his role of Rafael Solano in the telenovela-styled American drama Jane the Virgin, and Gossip Girl alum Blake Lively play the film’s central characters, Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid.

The book and film adaptation follows protagonist Lily as she falls in love with charming neurosurgeon, Ryle as she continues to navigate life after the death of her abusive father. The film features the issue of domestic abuse as college graduate Lily unwittingly falls into the same vicious cycle as her mother once did.

But the drama seems to have followed the cast off the screen following numerous reports of a feud between co-stars Baldoni and Lively.

 

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Reports of a rift erupted when Baldoni and Lively were not pictured together during the press tour promoting the film or at the New York premiere on August 6. Lively chose to take pictures and conduct interviews with other cast members, her husband, and author Hoover, while co-star Baldoni opted to be pictured with his wife Emily and other family and friends.

Eagle eye TikTok fans even spotted that whilst Baldoni follows both Hoover and Lively on Instagram, the pair do not follow him back. Lively also dropped a huge bombshell at the New York premier when she revealed to E! News that her husband, Ryan Reynolds, wrote the film’s iconic rooftop scene.

The Hollywood Reporter mentions that “creative controls” between director and executive producer Baldoni, and producer Lively, may have been a contending factor in the seemingly bad blood that has emerged between the co-stars.

The rumour mill was sent into overdrive once again when actress Jenny Slate, who plays Baldoni’s on-screen sister, refused to answer a question about working with the director. She remarked that the job of a director is an “intense job” and finished with, “I’m good with just acting.”

@deadline #JennySlate on working with #JustinBaldoni, who served as both scene partner and director to the actress in #ItEndsWithUsMovie ♬ original sound – Deadline

Lively has since been criticised online for her lighthearted approach to the film’s promotion. The star has been donning floral dresses and even encouraged cinema-goers to “grab your friends and wear your florals” in a promo on Instagram.

This didn’t land too well with some fans who felt the film was failing to shine on the very real issue of domestic violence.

Lively later addressed concerns an interview with BBC, she said: “She (Lily) is not defined by what someone else did to her”. She goes on to say that “I really feel like we have delivered a story that’s emotional and it’s fun, and it’s funny, painful, scary, tragic and it’s inspiring”.

 

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Blake also posted an Instagram Story on August 13 saying: “It Ends With Us is a story of the female experience. All the highest highs and the lowest lows”.

Some would say Baldoni has taken a much more low-key stance in the promotion of the box office hit. During an interview with Entertainment Tonight the director attributed the film to all the women who have suffered domestic abuse.

When asked if he would be eager to be part of a sequel in the future, he said that “there are better people for that one” before adding “Blake Lively is ready to direct, that’s what I think”.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Baldoni has since hired crisis PR manager Melissa Nathan (who recently worked with Johnny Depp) in light of the negative press he has been receiving.

Reports that Baldoni asked about Lively’s weight while filming due to a back injury he had previously sustained are now abound, while the Gossip Girl star was seemingly uncomfortable with a specific kiss scene in the movie.

• Blake Lively
• It Ends With Us
• Justin Baldoni