Drama Between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively: Impact on ‘It Ends With Us’ Promo?

The hotly-anticipated movie It Ends With Us is set to hit theaters on Aug. 9, 2024. This film, which fans have eagerly awaited, is based on a much-buzzed-about book by Colleen Hoover and stars Blake Lively as Lily Bloom alongside Justin Baldoni, who plays her abusive lover, Ryle Kincaid.

Interestingly, Justin is also the director of the movie. While excited fans are deeply invested in the characters, reports suggest there might be some turmoil off-screen between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively. Let’s delve into the details of this rumored drama.

According to a Redditor, there is tension between Justin and the rest of the cast, as well as with Colleen Hoover. The Redditor pointed out that Blake Lively no longer follows Justin on Instagram, although she did earlier. Additionally, neither the main cast members nor Colleen Hoover follow Justin, despite Justin following all of them and recently participating in a promotional event with Colleen. Everyone else in the cast follows one another, but not Justin.

Moreover, the Redditor claims that Justin is noticeably absent from Blake’s social media promotions. Blake frequently mentions numerous people in her captions, so skipping over the director and lead actor seems intentional, according to the Redditor.

A glance at Justin’s social media reveals that he was recently hospitalized due to an infection, which could account for his temporary absence from promoting the film heavily over a period.

Currently, Justin is actively promoting the movie on his social media. However, TikTok creator Jenna Redfield noted that Justin has been keeping his distance at press events and shared photos from the New York City premiere to support this claim.

In another TikTok video, Jenna theorized about the possible reasons behind the tension between Justin and Blake. She speculated that Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, who are both producers on this project, may have wanted more creative control, resulting in some resentment.

Another theory is that the rumors of drama between Justin and Blake are simply a PR strategy to generate more interest in the movie. However, this seems unlikely as It Ends With Us is expected to have a substantial opening weekend, with Variety estimating it could earn up to $35 million.

Other theories suggest that Justin may have done something unfavorable that the rest of the team wants to distance themselves from, or that he was difficult to work with, creating bad blood between him and the cast. Nevertheless, given that this isn’t Justin’s first directorial project, the latter theory seems far-fetched.

For now, neither Justin nor Blake has commented on these rumors. Perhaps the truth will surface after the film’s release. Regardless of the off-screen drama, both actors are already receiving positive reviews. The Guardian praised Blake as “a warm and instinctive performer” with “effective chemistry” with Justin.

The movie has been awarded three stars and is considered a worthwhile watch, possibly even more intriguing due to the speculated off-screen dynamics.

Source: Getty Images, Sony and Wayfarer, Reddit, TikTok, The Guardian, Variety