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Dubbed the Don’t Worry Darling of 2024, the rollout of the Blake Lively-produced screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us has been marred by controversy. From rumours of feuding cast members to resurrected interview clips and accusations of mishandling the heavy subject matter, the film’s release has been rocky, to say the least.
Though most of the discourse has revolved around alleged discord between Lively and director Justin Baldoni—who also stars as the film’s leading man, Ryle—their co-star Brandon Sklenar has become the first person involved in the production to address the drama.
In a lengthy statement posted to Instagram, Sklenar, who was part of the cast that collectively unfollowed Baldoni on social media and posed alongside Lively throughout the press tour, took to the actress’ defence amid criticism for her approach to promoting the film.
“Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about,” he wrote. “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.”
“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,” he continued. “This movie is a harsh reality check for the men who need to get their shit together and take responsibility for themselves and their actions.”
The actor tagged the female members of the cast and Hoover, leaving out Baldoni and Alex Neustaedter, who played the younger version of Sklenar’s character, Atlas Corrigan.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, which published initial findings citing anonymous insiders who worked on the production, a rift between Lively and Baldoni began “in the post-production process, wherein two different cuts of the movie emerged.”
Baldoni previously praised Lively to Entertainment Weekly following the film’s premiere.
“Blake was involved in every aspect of the film once she came onto the project, from scenes and dialogue until the end, until now,” he gushed to the outlet. “She’s been involved in all of it, and she’s been a powerhouse of a creative and a wonderful collaborator.”
But from her revolving door of opulent press tour outfits to an untimely promotion of her new haircare line and booze brand to a perceived reluctance to discuss the film’s subject matter in interviews, Lively has faced a wave of backlash from netizens regarding her ‘tone deaf’ treatment of a film about domestic violence.
Critics of the film have also condemned the distracting wardrobe of Lively’s character, Lily, which some viewers felt unnecessarily detracted from the plot’s gravity.
While Sklenar turned off the comments section on his post, we’re sure this isn’t the last we’ll hear of the drama. Neither Lively nor Baldoni have acknowledged the rumours.
