It Ends With Us is the first ever Colleen Hoover novel to be made into a movie and to be put on the big screen. This movie tells the story of Lily Bloom, a woman who overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life in Boston and chase a lifelong dream of opening her own business. She meets a charming neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid, and they immediately feel an intense connection. However as the two fall deeply in love, Lily begins to see sides of Ryle that remind her of her parents’ relationship. When Lily’s first love, Atlas Corrigan, suddenly comes back into her life, her relationship with Ryle is strained, and Lily realizes she must learn to rely on her strength to make an impossible choice for her future.
Actress Blake Lively plays the main character, Lily Bloom. Justin Baldoni directed and produced the film with his production company, Wayfarer, and plays Lily’s love interest, Ryle Kincaid.
Since its 2024 release, It Ends With Us has been controversial, due to reported disputes between Lively and Baldoni on set and social media. Producer Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni are now locked in a legal battle.
In December 2024, Lively took legal action against her director and former co-star, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and of allegedly coordinating a smear campaign to destroy her image, which caused her to experience “grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety.” Baldoni then filed a $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds (Blake Lively’s Husband), and Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane- suing the trio for defamation.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in a statement to People Magazine that her allegations against the actor are “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt,” Freedman also accused Lively of “threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, there were also reports of creative clashes behind the scenes, which allegedly led to two different cuts of the movie emerging. Baldoni claims that his version of scenes and other acting sets tested “significantly higher” than Lively’s, but Lively argues that Colleen Hoover would side with her if hers wasn’t selected.
As stated by TMZ, one scene called for Baldoni to lift Lively. Since he’s had back problems, Baldoni reportedly “went to his on-set trainer and asked how much she weighed and how could he train to protect his back from injury.” Lively, who had recently given birth, found out about Baldoni’s comment and “felt he fat-shamed her.” In another incident, also cited by TMZ, Lively thought Baldoni “lingered” too long during a kissing scene. Other sources, though, say that “some cast members are milking the drama to market the film.”
While attending grouped promotional appearances, Baldoni was notably absent from the New York premiere, where he didn’t pose with his co-stars or introduce the film before the screening. Additionally, Lively, Brandon Sklenar, and author Colleen Hoover don’t appear to follow Baldoni on social media.
Both Hoover and Baldoni publicly stated that it was a joint decision to age up the characters, and one they hoped would make the story of domestic violence more universally accessible to a greater range of women.
While knowing the film was really about domestic violence, many fans wondered why the trailer and advertisements didn’t capitalize on this moment to inform the audience about abuse and why it featured only flowers, pink tones, and floral dresses. Lively is even seen saying “Grab your friends, wear your florals,” as if going to a rom-com instead of a film with a serious message, which has attracted a lot of negative comments from fans. The novel also drew readers’ negative reactions after being marketed and sold as a romance instead of fiction.
The comments on the ‘It Ends With Us’ official Instagram account share the same sentiment.
“Why is the marketing for this film so tone-deaf?” asked a fan.
“Is this movie about flowers and Blake Lively’s outfits or about Domestic Violence?” questioned another. “I came here to remind everyone that this is a movie about DV, which is an extremely hard watch for MANY survivors, and seeing this giggle fest of a promo tour has been baffling for its tone deafness.”
While many people support Justin’s decision not to pose with his co-stars and for speaking with his on-set trainer, others agree with Blake’s feelings of shame and attack both online and on set, making the drama surrounding It Ends With Us seem never-ending.
