When a movie adaptation of a massively popular book comes out, fans are going to have good and bad opinions. Some will be cool with any changes made, and others will think that their version of the story was better than what ended up on the big screen. But in the case of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us, fans are focused on star Blake Lively, and not through rose-colored glasses.
It Ends With Us was released on Aug. 9th, 2024, and stars Lively as main character Lily Bloom, a florist who is in a disturbing and abusive relationship. But why are fans so upset? Let’s delve into what’s going on with Lively.
Why are fans mad at Blake Lively, and what did people say on TikTok?
While the cast and crew of It Ends With Us probably expected the movie to be a massive box office hit, and for fans to connect with the deep storyline, Lively’s behavior has stolen the show. As Forbes reported, people shared their horror on TikTok that the promotion for the film has been problematic, to say the least.
Whether or not you’ve read Hoover’s novel, you likely expected Lively to handle the subject matter of intimate partner violence with the care it warrants, and to raise awareness of the cycle of abuse, both in promotional interviews and on her social media. TikTok user @modernday_sherlockholmes wasn’t the only one who was baffled at Lively’s response when journalist Jake Hamilton asked her about what she would tell fans who wanted to discuss the domestic violence storyline in the movie with her. Lively quipped, “Maybe asking for, like, my address, or my phone number. Or, like, location share?”
TikTok user @lesleyjayjay commented, “Her sarcasm for such a delicate subject is appalling,” and many others agreed.
Besides Lively’s strange interview answer, there has also been drama between director Justin Baldoni and Lively. According to TMZ, she thought he should have stopped kissing her sooner than he did when they were filming a scene. She also thought he was insulting her weight when he prepared for a scene where he would lift her up and wanted to make sure he didn’t get a back injury in the process. But since Baldoni has hurt his back in the past, it’s possible to say that’s why he was concerned about this.
Fans were also stunned when watching a clip of the interview Kjersti Flaa conducted with Lively and Parker Posey in 2016 for their Woody Allen movie Cafe Society. Lively was rude, which didn’t help the vibe she’s been giving off during the promo for It Ends With Us.
Some might argue that it’s no big deal — that celebs should appear pretty on red carpets and star in fluffy, fun movies, and they shouldn’t have to talk about important issues. But that seems like the wrong position to take, especially given Lively’s Instagram following of a staggering 45.8 million.
From her initial, It Ends With Us– related posts on the platform, no one would have any clue that it isn’t a lovely, bubbly rom-com. The actress posted a Vogue cover, a video interview with Hoover and co-star Jenny Slate, and a humorous chat between her husband Ryan Reynolds and Brandon Sklenar, who plays Lively’s love interest, Atlas Corrigan. She said she was excited about wearing fun shoes for the media tour, and wrote in a caption of one post, “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.”
…What?!
She also keeps talking about Blake Brown, her line of haircare products, and fans have pointed out the awkward timing of that cross-promotion.
Sklenar made matters even worse by believing that people are being sexist toward Lively instead of realizing that fans are upset with the awful marketing.
What’s the latest on the It Ends With Us drama?
So, what’s going to happen next? Will Lively’s massive fanbase, who has stuck by her side since her Gossip Girl days, defend her forever? They’ve stuck with her through other gaffes, such as her plantation wedding, the “Allure of Antebellum” blog post on her short-lived, Goop-aspirant lifestyle website, and her falsely claiming Cherokee ancestry for a L’Oreal commercial, so who knows? Given her place in Hollywood (and her status as one half of a power couple), it’s hard to believe she’ll never work again. But it’s also hard to believe that this scandal won’t have a lasting impact on how people feel about her.
In an interview with Business Insider, branding strategist Desislava Dobreva said she thinks Lively’s reps might tell her to be quiet about what’s going on. Dobreva said it’s “the strategy most Hollywood stars adopt when they believe they won’t be affected long term.”
In many cases, the fast-paced news cycle can be a good thing for celebs involved in scandals, since people tend to forget about one controversy and move on quickly. But it’s not the best idea for Lively to refrain from talking about the serious issues in It Ends With Us. As of now, Lively hasn’t talked about her alleged conflict with Baldoni, or why she hasn’t talked more about the dark subject matter of It Ends With Us. She did post the National Domestic Violence Hotline on her Instagram… but many would say that’s damage control, and that she should have said something weeks ago.
While Lively might not be saying what fans want to hear right now, one can only hope that she’ll change her approach to Lily’s story if she stars in the movie adaptation of Hoover’s sequel, It Starts With Us.