The ‘It Ends With Us’ cast drama and controversy, explained

Warning: This story containers spoilers for “It Ends With Us,” both movie and book.

“It Ends With Us” is one of the most popular books in the world. It’s also one of the most divisive.

The movie adaptation that released Aug. 9 revives the controversy surrounding Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel and its approach to domestic abuse — and adds another layer as fans scrutinize possible cast drama.

“It Ends With Us” is the story of Lily Bloom, a florist, who falls for a charming neurosurgeon named Ryle. Soon, the relationship starts to mimic the cycle of violence she grew up in, as her mother stayed with her abusive husband. A chance encounter with a childhood friend, Atlas, shows Lily that she may have other options.

The movie adaptation is directed by Justin Baldoni, who also co-stars opposite Blake Lively. Baldoni executive produced through his production company Wayfarer; Lively is credited as a producer.

Below, we’re unpacking the "It Ends With Us" controversy, plus what the cast has said about it. 

Why fans believe there’s drama between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively

Online, the volume of a single question surrounding the “It Ends With Us” rollout has gone steadily up in the week leading up to the release: Why hasn’t star and director Baldoni been pictured with the rest of the cast?

People on social media have dissected cast appearances and events. At the New York movie premiere Aug. 6, Lively was photographed with an ensemble, including her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and his “Deadpool & Wolverine” co-star Hugh Jackman. She also posed with “It Ends With Us” co-stars Brandon Sklenar and Jenny Slate. Baldoni appeared only with his wife, Emily Baldoni, or alone.

Fans also noticed that Lively and Hoover do not follow Baldoni on Instagram, but they follow each other and other cast members like Sklenar and Slate.

Since then, fans have began to speculate about possible tension between Baldoni and Lively. Baldoni did not partake in many group engagements with the cast to promote the film, often doing interviews solo, while Lively was paired with one or more other cast members. Fans on TikTok and YouTube were quick to note Baldoni’s noticeable absence from Vanity Fair’s interview with Lively and five other central actors in the film.

This is part of a trend of fans close-reading press tours by analyzing interviews, red carpet interactions, body language and more for insight into cast dynamics. “The Color Purple” press tour in 2023, for example, was clouded by rumors of a rift between star Taraji P. Henson and executive producer Oprah Winfrey, which they both denied. “Don’t Worry Darling,” from 2022, was similarly overshadowed by a rumored feud between the cast and the relationship between a star (Harry Styles) and director (Olivia Wilde).

What have ‘It Ends With Us’ cast members said about an alleged feud?

On Aug. 20, Sklenar became the first cast member to address any perceived iciness.

“Colleen and the women of this cast stand for hope, perseverance, and for women choosing a better life for themselves,” he wrote on Instagram in part. “Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strong in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about. It is, in fact, the opposite of the point. What may or may not have happened behind the scenes does not and hopefully should not detract from what our intentions were in making this film. It’s been disheartening to see the amount of negativity being projected online.”

Lively and Baldoni have not commented, though Baldoni has spoken highly about Lively and the contributions she made on the film.

During a TODAY appearance Aug. 8, Baldoni said of the movie star: “I don’t know if you know how smart and creative she really is. I think she’s best known as an actress and of course she’s a fashion icon, but she’s so much more than that. She’s dynamic, creative. She had her hands in every part of this production and everything she touched, she made better.” 

In an interview with TODAY.com that took place after his broadcast appearance, Baldoni spoke to the extent of Lively impact on the movie, along with her husband’s.

“You can’t summarize Blake’s contribution in a sentence, because her energy and imprint is all over the movie and really, really made the film better, and from beginning to end,” he said. “Ryan (Reynolds) was so generous ... he’s a creative genius, that guy. So, you know, his gift is levity, and her gift is levity.”

Baldoni had also suggested Lively direct the sequel to “It Ends With Us.”

“I think there are better people for that one,” Baldoni told “Entertainment Tonight” when asked if he’d be interested in heading the next movie. “I think Blake Lively is ready to direct. That’s what I think.”

As for Lively, she has not mentioned Baldoni in interviews, though she has been open about her creative touches seen in “It Ends With Us.” In an interview with Hits Radio UK on Aug. 11, said she and people involved in the film disagreed over featuring Lana Del Ray’s song “Cherry.” Lively was strongly for it, while others were against it — though she added, “I’m not supposed to be talking about this.”

Lively on TODAY said she sourced her character Lily’s clothes from her own wardrobe, as well from her friend Gigi Hadid’s and Reynolds’. And in an interview with E! News on the red carpet, Lively revealed her husband wrote the rooftop scene, where Ryle and Lily first meet.

Does ‘It Ends With Us’ romanticize abuse?

While current chatter around “It Ends With Us” surrounds the cast, the story itself has generated controversy. Previously, discourse revolved around its delivery of a heavy subject matter.

Hoover has shared publicly that the story was inspired by her mom, who left her abusive husband (and Hoover’s biological father) when Hoover was 2.

A common criticism of the book was that it romanticized abuse. An op-ed published to a domestic shelters non-profit said the BookTok favorite “feeds into the very structures of toxic masculinity that it purports to combat” by “romanticizing red flags” and glorifies a “charismatic-but-dangerous man.”

Speaking to TODAY.com, Baldoni said he and screenwriter Christy Hall made a concerted effort to take criticism into account “from the very beginning.”

“We talked about the criticism. We talked about why that happened. We talked about what we can do to protect the movie from that criticism, and how we can make sure that we inject as much truth into it, so that people can be seen and never feel like their stories are being exploited,” he said.

He also said he “completely understands” the criticism.

“I want to validate and support anybody and everybody who’s come out against the book, because the last thing we need is to romanticize something that is such a real experience for so many people”

Baldoni took input from the domestic violence organization No More while making the film and also attended a support group for perpetrators to try to better understand their psychology.

As a result of their effort, the movie changes one of the most controversial plot points from the book: the end of Lily and Ryle’s relationship.

In the book, although Lily leaves Ryle, he stays part of their daughter’s life and watches her unsupervised for days on end. In the movie, Ryle isn’t seen on screen after their daughter is born at the hospital.

Baldoni told The Wrap the script’s original draft had a scene that involved Ryle dropping off their child and having a short conversation with Lily.

“It was written in a way that showed that they’ve overcome a lot over the last two years. And I wasn’t fully comfortable with it.”

Does the movie’s marketing match its tone?

Some are saying the movie’s packaging is discordant with its subject matter.

“If you just watch the trailer for this movie … it looks like a romance,” as pop culture TikToker Jess Spoll said.

The poster sees Lily smiling and surrounded by flowers. The original cover art for the movie took on a different tone. In it, Lily and Ryle stand close together in an embrace. Lily’s face is in focus and she appears to wear an ambiguous impression.

Readers of the book often experienced a similar surprise, like this TikTok points to: “Reading ‘It Ends with Us’ thinking it is a cute romance,” the text reads — before things change, and the true nature of Lily and Ryle’s relationship emerges.

Since the film's release, people started taking issue with Lively’s promotion of the film.

“Justin is promoting the movie as it is, which is about DV (domestic violence), it’s a very heavy topic, it’s what the book focuses on,” Meredith Mansfield says in a now-viral TikTok video. “Whereas Blake and everybody else are promoting it like a rom-com and that’s rubbing a lot of people the wrong way.”

Mansfield cited an interview with Lively where she suggested people “grab your friends, wear your florals and head out to see” the film.

In another viral video, TikToker Ashley Paige, who goes by @livingsingle and says she’s a survivor of domestic abuse, addressed Lively in a 5-minute-long video.

“In this video, you represented us... it’s your job, right?” she said, going on to cite domestic violence statistics in the United States.

“And you have the audacity to show up to the premiere and tell your audience and have influencers promote it like it’s the sequel to ‘Barbie,’” Paige said. “You could’ve gone about this so differently, in such a respectful, tactful, gentle, understanding, advocacy-bringing awareness manner.”

Paige seemed to be responding, at least in part, to an Aug. 9 interview Lively did with the BBC where she said that “what’s important about the film” is that her character Lily is “not just a victim.”

“While those are huge things to be, she’s not defined by something that someone else did to her or an event that happened to her, even if it’s multiple events,” Lively said. “She defines herself and I think that’s deeply empowering to remind people that no one else can define you. No experience can define you, you define you.”

How have cast members reacted to marketing criticism?

Sklenar also addressed criticism surrounding promotion of the movie in his Aug. 20 Instagram post:

“Trust me when I tell you, there isn’t a single person involved in the making of this film that was not aware of the responsibility we had in making this. A responsibility to all the women who have experienced generational trauma — domestic abuse — or struggle with looking in the mirror and loving who they see. This movie is a harsh reality check for the men who need to get their s— together and take responsibility for themselves and their actions.”

Lively nor Baldoni have spoken out directly, though Lively on her Instagram story Aug. 13 thanked viewers for seeing the movie and “getting a message so important out there to the masses.”

In a second post on her Instagram story that same day, she shared the link and phone number to the National Domestic Violence Hotline with the following caption:

“1 in 4 women aged 18 and older in the US alone have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Intimate partner violence affects all genders, including more than 12 million people every year in the United States.”

What happened with the coloring book?

In 2023, Hoover announced “It Ends With Us” was becoming a coloring book, a move that was immediately criticized by fans who said the medium didn’t fit the tone. A day later, plans for the book were canceled, and Hoover acknowledged fan feedback.

“The coloring book was developed with Lily’s strength in mind, but I can absolutely see how this was tone-deaf,” Hoover wrote in part.

Merch related to the book has continued, however. In April 2024, Hoover released a line of long-lasting nail polish and press-ons with Olive and June. Colors are named after the book’s characters, as well as other books of hers (though there isn’t a Ryle nail polish).

Lively also launched in tandem with the movie’s release a new product: her hair care line at Target.

The characters’ ages

When the casting was announced in 2023, fans of the book immediately took issue with Lively and Baldoni portraying the main characters.

At 36, Lively is older than the book’s version of Lily, who is written to be 23. Ryle is about 30.

Hoover told TODAY’s Jenna Bush Hager in 2023 that she made a “mistake” with the characters’ ages in the book and that both should be older, especially given Ryle is a neurosurgeon.

“As an author, we make mistakes,” she explained in her interview. “There’s no 28-year-old neurosurgeons, you know? You go to school for 15 years. And so to make corrections to what I messed up in the book, we aged the characters up somewhat.”