Is it Don’t Worry Darling all over again? Fans of the movie It Ends With Us are noticing that one cast member is getting the cold shoulder.
It Ends With Us stars Blake Lively, Brandon Sklenar, Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, and Justin Baldoni, who also directed the movie. The story is about Lily Bloom (Lively) moves to Boston, where she meets handsome neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni), and reconnects with her old boyfriend and first love, Atlas Corrigan (Sklenar). The movie is based on Colleen Hoover’s wildly popular book which became famous on BookTok.
Related: It Ends With Us Cast Has Fans Divided—See The Full List Here
The movie is set to become one of the most popular movies of summer 2024, with Variety reporting that it’s projected to earn $35 million at the domestic box office during its opening weekend. However, there might be some cast drama that might affect the performance of the film.
What happened with Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni?
IT ENDS WITH US, from left: Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively, 2024. ph: Nicole Rivelli /© Sony Pictures Releasing /Courtesy Everett Collection
Blake Lively, Colleen Hoover, and Jenny Slate don’t follow Justin Baldoni on Instagram which sparked rumors that they were feuding. Blake and Justin seem to be doing separate press opportunities for the movie, and the cast is taking separate pictures without Justin.
“Where’s Justin? Why Justin hasn’t been involved in the promotion of the movie (not as much as the others),” a fan wrote on Blake’s Instagram post. “Why Justin Baldoni is not in any of the promos they have been doing?? They don’t even follow on Instagram,” another wrote.
TikTok user Jenna Redfield deconstructed fan theories that the cast had animosity towards the director of the movie. Some theories include Blake wanting more creative control over the movie since she’s listed as a producer and a lack of budget. Another theory is that this feud was a PR stunt where “Justin is a villain” like the Don’t Worry Darling drama. Jenna said that the likely theory was that something else happened with Justin and that people don’t want to be affiliated with him before it breaks, like an affair.
Other people on Reddit seem to agree with the theory that something probably happened behind the scenes. One fan who is a big fan of Justin Baldoni wrote on the website, “My best guess would be creative differences or tension over budget constraints (between Justin and Blake that maybe led to other cast mates feeling like they needed to “pick sides”) EXCEPT that any strictly film-related drama wouldn’t affect Liz Plank (Justin’s longtime podcast co-host and friend). She seemed to have a falling out with Justin around the same time Colleen, Blake, and the other cast mates did. That is so weird! It makes me think he did something to really upset people even outside of the film-making process.”
As the press run continues for one of the biggest movies for the summer, many fans have noticed the cast’s behavior when they were asked about the director/actor. During a red carpet interview with Deadline, Jenny Slate was asked what it was like to work with Justin. One fan noticed that “she completely ignored the question.”
Though some fans are hopeful that there isn’t much beef withing the cast. Because the subject matter of the book and movie is very heavy, there’s a reason why Justin is doing press by himself. “imo this is a strategy for ryle not to be romanticized,” one fan wrote on X. “justin baldoni has always been so aware and conscious of social issues and also what women face, this is such a him move. i dont fw this book but if this is what they’re doing, respect.”
