Justin Baldoni and the ‘It Ends With Us’ Cast Drama Rumors, Explained

You’ve definitely heard of the upcoming movie It Ends With Us, because Blake Lively has been promoting it nonstop for months. But you know who hasn’t been quite as visible on the press tour? The film’s other star and director, Justin Baldoni. Once the internet noticed this, it sparked a whole host of speculation that there is and/or was some kind of drama happening behind the scenes.

For some context, It Ends With Us is a film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s 2016 best-selling novel. In the book, florist Lily Bloom (Lively) finds herself falling for the devastatingly handsome but abusive and controlling neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni).

We’re going to break down all the It Ends With Us feud rumors here, but be mindful that most of this is very speculative.

No one in the cast seems to be taking pictures with himLooking through photos from the movie’s New York premiere, some creators on TikTok noticed that while the rest of the cast is photographed together, it doesn’t seem like anyone took photos with Baldoni. Instead, Baldoni posed on the carpet with his wife, Emily Baldoni, and some of his friends.

Emily Baldoni and Justin Baldoni attend the It Ends With Us New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on August 6, 2024, in New York City.

Gotham/WireImage

Hugh Jackman, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Tammy Reynolds, and Brandon Sklenar at the It Ends With Us New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on August 6, 2024, in New York City.

John Nacion/Getty Images

“I am convinced him and Blake do not get along. How is there ZERO promo of them together, and there is was no photo at the premiere,” one fan questioned on one of Baldoni’s Instagram posts. That comment section is flooded with similar questions and opinions about the alleged drama.

It looks like Baldoni has been unfollowed by the rest of the castLively, It Ends With Us book author Colleen Hoover, Jenny Slate, and Brandon Sklenar don’t appear to follow Baldoni on Instagram.

Jenny Slate gave this weird interview on the red carpetAsked what it was like having Baldoni as both a scene partner and a director, Slate pivoted and said that it’s a “tough job” to do both things at once, and that she, herself, wouldn’t want to have two jobs at the same time.

Baldoni’s podcast cohost and friend, Liz Plank, wasn’t pictured with him eitherPlank did attend the It Ends With Us premiere, and posted about it to her Instagram Stories. However, she didn’t pose for pictures with Baldoni, and didn’t tag him in any of her posts. What’s more, they haven’t released a new episode of their podcast, Man Enough, since mid-June.

How does Ryan Reynolds play into this?Well, Blake Lively (who is a co-executive producer on the project) recently revealed that Reynolds wrote a pivotal scene of the film. “The iconic rooftop scene, my husband actually wrote it,” Lively told E! News. “Nobody knows that, but you now.” She continued, “He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does. So his wins, his celebrations are mine and mine are his.”

This has led to a lot of fan speculation that Reynolds and Lively may have seized creative control of the film, to Baldoni’s dismay.

“You literally can’t convince me that Ryan Reynolds isn’t the reason for all this Justin Baldoni/It Ends With Us drama, and I feel like Justin doesn’t want anything to do with the drama, and for that reason, has chosen a step back from the PR events leading up to the movie,” pop culture TikToker Arianna Lillie said in one video. “And I’m not saying that Blake Lively has specifically been problematic, but I knew something was up the second I heard that Ryan Reynolds was coming in and rewriting scenes of a movie that Justin Baldoni is not only starring in, but also directing, and is the whole reason this project is happening.”

The TikTok user noted that Reynolds interviewed Lively’s other love interest from the film and claimed he is trying to make Deadpool and It Ends with Us “the next Barbenheimer,” adding, “It seems like Justin is getting pushed out of this whole situation, which is honestly kind of sad because he was most excited about this whole thing from the start.”

In an interview with People back in April, Baldoni said there “wasn’t a part of this production that [Lively] didn’t touch and have influence on,” adding, “everything that she put her hands on and her mind to, she made better.”

Meanwhile, in Lively’s cover interview with Vogue, she paused when asked about her own interest in writing, questioning why the interviewer brought it up. Then, when asked if she would be interested in writing a script from scratch, here’s what she said: “A blank page is not nearly as exciting to me as starting with a script and finding something people have overlooked. Saying no, no, no, there’s something there! To me, it’s a treasure hunt. And so when I can see the treasure, then I get to be an archaeologist. I get to excavate, I get to carve it out and find this thing and show people the value in it. That, to me, is what I love.”

What else are people saying?While many fans are suggesting that Baldoni’s isolation could be a PR strategy aimed to remind viewers that his character is the “villain” of the story, others are not convinced, given that he is also the director of the film and that feels like an odd strategy for Baldoni to agree to.

One TikTok user also described some of Lively and Reynolds’s press tour moments as “tone deaf,” considering the somber themes of the book and film—and this is not the first time It Ends With Us has faced this critique. In January 2023, Hoover and Atria Books were accused of “romanticizing” domestic violence when a coloring book based on the bestseller was announced. Atria ultimately decided not to move forward with that project.

“When are they gonna start talking about emotional and domestic abuse in a relationship and raise awareness for that,” one user commented on a video of female cast members and Colleen Hoover, which was posted to Lively’s Instagram feed. “The clothes are cute but there is a deeper meaning to this movie.” Another added, “Where is Justin on all of this?”

“Am I the only one that is seeing that [Lively is] promoting stuff in her name but not talking about what the book is actually about? 😐,” one user commented on Lively’s Instagram post promoting her beverage company in conjunction with It Ends With Us.

Blake Lively promotes It Ends With Us at Betty Blooms Pop-Up in Chelsea on August 3, 2024, in New York City.Gotham/Getty Images

Meanwhile, many of Baldoni’s interviews are heavily focused on the film’s depiction of abuse. “There were a lot of times where I would have to go privately into a room and just cry or shake it out and try to get him out of me and that energy out of me, because it’s too real,” Baldoni told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on August 7. “There are too many people that are the real-life Lily Blooms of the world that have to deal with that every single day, and I wanted it to be as real as possible and yet it was very hard to shoot those scenes.”

So what’s going on, exactly?

Well, we don’t actually know—but many people are jumping very quickly to Baldoni’s defense. “I am not gonna go see this if they are bullying Justin,” one user commented on Baldoni’s Instagram, while another added, “I’m so heartbroken 💔 to see them all apart. So sad that whatever the issue is it cannot be communicated and fixed behind closed doors for the sake of the movie. I mean he produced it. No one is thanking him.”

It’s possible fans are right about a rift between Baldoni and Lively, but it’s important to note how quickly society tends to turn against women in these situations. Remember what happened with Don’t Worry Darling? Perhaps we should wait for more information before jumping to conclusions.

It will be interesting to see if Lively and Baldoni address these new rumors as the press tour continues. We’ll keep you posted.