From a favorite to a target of haters. Why viewers of the new drama It Ends with Us criticize the film's star Blake Lively

The long-awaited film adaptation of the bestselling novel It Ends with Us sparked a lot of discussion. In particular, viewers criticized the film's authors for the way they covered the issue of domestic violence.

Blake Lively, 36, played the main character Lily Bloom. Her co-star was 40-year-old Justin Baldoni, who also directed the movie. The plot tells the story of a couple's romance, which initially blossoms and later turns violent, Metro writes. Despite the obvious opportunity to emphasize the acute problem, Lively avoided any mention of it during the press tour, which caused outrage among network users.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg: rumors of a "backstage split" in the film's cast first surfaced when fans noticed the Hollywood star appearing on red carpets without her co-stars, in particular keeping her distance from Baldoni. The actress, who had recently been a favorite of millions, was covered by a wave of hate.

The most popular theory

One of the most prominent online theories about the conflict suggests that Blake, who also produced the film, and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, may have taken creative control after Baldoni struggled to balance his presence as director and protagonist.

The star's revelation that her husband wrote a key scene in the movie took even the film's screenwriter, Christy Hall, by surprise. The news led many to believe that the couple had a greater influence on the movie's direction than was originally announced.

A different message

As fans explored this theory, many began to notice that Lively rarely spoke about the domestic violence at the heart of the story during the preview. In contrast, Baldoni emphasized in numerous interviews the importance of the film's themes and the real-life experiences of victims of domestic violence.

Lively focused on costumes and her husband's participation in the long-awaited movie. She also focused on promoting her own projects. This led some fans to accuse her of sidelining Baldoni and shifting the publicity focus away from the issues raised in the film.

Lively's bad reputation in previous projects

Blake Lively's problematic behavior in the past has surfaced. Fans have found a video from 2016 in which an interviewer claims that an interview with Blake and her Cafe Society co-star Parker Posey made her "want to quit her job."

In the video, Lively seems to be promoting the narrative that only women are asked about costumes. The actress's statement was perceived by many as ironic, given how often she mentioned clothes in the movie Leave Me If You Love.

Why fans think Baldoni and Blake are feuding

To add to the speculation, The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Lively had commissioned her own version of It Ends with Us from Deadpool and Wolverine editor Shane Reed. While multiple versions of a movie are not unusual in post-production, the fact that Blake created her own version was interpreted by some as a sign of creative differences between her and Baldoni.

Amidst these speculations, photos recently surfaced of Baldoni and Lively having a heated discussion while filming in New Jersey in January 2024. For his part, the actor praised his partner's contribution to the film, calling her a "dynamic creator" and even suggesting that she is ready to direct the second part.

In particular, it was reported that Justin had hired a crisis PR manager, Melissa Nathan, who represented Johnny Depp during the Amber Heard trial. This led some to wonder if there might be more to the story behind the scenes.

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