The It Ends With Us controversy is not a good look for Blake Lively's cutesy legacy: Here's why
The days following the much-anticipated release of Justin Baldoni's It Ends With Us, has put Blake Lively in an unassuming spot, one she continues to ignore
TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains multiple mentions of domestic violence.
"Grab your friends, wear your florals, head out to see it!" — nothing more, nothing less, this is exactly how Blake Lively has been marketing her latest release, It Ends With Us, across the extensive bouts of media interactions she has been leading.
Over the past few weeks, Blake has made headlines multiple times, owing to, well, florals. She plays a florist by the name of Lily Bloom in the Justin Baldoni directorial and has thoroughly committed to decking herself out in florals every time she steps out, a sartorial strategy which has kept conversation around the film going strong. The release of It Ends With Us however, has left audiences and fans of the actor dumbfounded in what now feels like a deliberate attempt to blindside them about what the movie is actually about.
It Ends with Us is not a film about flowers and girl power
It's about domestic violence. And what is appalling is that in today's day and age absolutely no attempt was made to sensitise the audience about what they were heading in for. The film is an official adaptation of Colleen Hoover's 2016 novel of the same name so those acquainted with the read already knew what they were going in for. In defense of the film's team as well as director Justin, who incidentally also stars alongside Blake here, the trailer was not all pretty and posh and definitely hinted at DV as a theme.
The pressing problem here is that DV is not just a subplot, its the entire premise. The even bigger problem? Blake's continued refusal to acknowledge it.
The internet is deeply unhappy with Blake
Blake established her on-screen legacy with her long-standing portrayal of Serena van der Woodsen on the cult series Gossip Girl (2007-2012) seamlessly making her transition to the movies around the same time. Over the years, Blake has emerged as an absolute fan favourite owing to her candid persona, warm demeanour and seemingly picture-perfect relationship with husband and fellow actor Ryan Reynolds. This near-flawless public image however, now stands seriously threatened.
Blake's interviews have covered all bases both related and unrelated to the film ranging from zodiac signs, to wearing her own clothes in some scenes, to being such a girl's girl and dressing up her co-star for a red carpet event. While all of this can be put down to a glaring lack of emotional intelligence, Blake is now being accused of intentionally side-stepping questions about the DV theme in the film. Exhibit A — when pointedly asked what she would say to fans who would like to reach out to her in relation to the "sensitive themes" in the film, Blake cracks a misplaced joke about how she should simply just share her address and location, immediately jumping into a filler about her being a Virgo.
What has also left fans miffed are the incessant plug-ins for her own newly launched hair care brand, often singularly discussed at the cost of mentioning the elephant in the room which Blake for some unknown reason, just won't talk about.
The internet never disappoints when it comes to meme-coding controversies and Blake, for better or for worse, has a whole trend dedicated to her these days. Several creators have been sharing reels, posing as Blake, with quippy one-liners describing down-right tear-jerkers or emotionally sensitive films with the most tone-deaf, misleading versions of their plots.
Exaggerated caricatures of Blake from the creator community, too have been flooding social media platforms.
What has Ryan Reynolds got to do with all of this?
Wherever there's Blake, you can bet Ryan Reynolds is just around the corner and vice versa. Now while this has been the couple's USP over the years, this time around it seems to be their biggest undoing considering the controversy at hand. A the New York premiere of the film earlier this month, Blake blushed as she shared how Ryan had a big role to play in how the film shaped up, also having reportedly "written" the keynote rooftop scene. While Blake was anticipating spinning an 'aww' moment for her hubby and she, it has actually backfired.
The film's actual screenwriter, Christy Hall, had no idea about Ryan having contributed to the script. Whatever bits she could not identify in the final cut as her own words, was put off by her as potential on-the-scene improvisation. "So I recognize the scene and I'm proud of the scene. And if those flourishes came from Ryan, I think that's wonderful", said Christy in a byte to The Hollywood Reporter, while asserting the core writing was still very much hers.
The bigger issue at hand here however, is Ryan potentially having 'crossed the picket line'. The Hollywood twin strikes, one half of which was the Writers Strike lasted between May and September of 2023. It Ends With Us began filming around this time. As per the rules, filming during such a situation can only commence if the script is locked. If Ryan actually went back in to rewrite the rooftop scene, it essentially means he went against the WAG and what they were standing for at the time.
There's something fishy about the Blake vs Justin drama
There has been a stark difference in how Blake and Justin have gone about promoting their film. While Blake has been all about having a girl's night out with your besties, Justin's interviews and responses have been more measured, gaited and geared towards actual advocacy and ally-ship.
That being said, in the earlier stretch of promotions, the tension between Justin and Blake was evident. Reports have also shared how Blake has allegedly recounted being fat-shamed by him alongside being made to feel uncomfortable when he lingered on longer than he should have for an on-screen intimate scene. Not just this, Justin also appears to be at odds with the rest of the film's cast, having walked the red carpet for the NY premiere with just his wife.
The internet remains divided over Justin. Amid the drama which has clearly superseded the actual film, the actor-director has now hired veteran PR crisis manager Melissa Nathan, who has names like Johnny Depp on her clientele list.
Blake is yet to address or acknowledge the unraveling fiasco.
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