Uhhh… Do we have another Don’t Worry Darling scandal on our hands?!?
You may have noticed Blake Lively‘s been everywhere lately promoting her new film It Ends With Us, which comes out tomorrow. The complicated love story was based on Colleen Hoover‘s book of the same name and stars Justin Baldoni as her neurosurgeon boyfriend with a dark side. Justin also helped produce the film, and he’s the director. So, you’d think he’d be everywhere too! But ummm… he hasn’t been in ANY promo projects with his cast mates!
WTF?!
Related: Blake Feels ‘Guilty’ For Working Instead Of Spending Time With Family!
First off, here’s a look at the trailer so you can get a sense of just why it’s so odd that the two key leads aren’t appearing anywhere together:
Fans first started to notice something strange was going on earlier this week as the cast kicked their promo into high gear. Blake’s been at several press events and sitting for interviews with her other romantic lead, Brandon Sklenar (who plays Atlas). Heck, she even got her hubby Ryan Reynolds, his mother Tammy Reynolds, and his Deadpool & Wolverine co-star Hugh Jackman to do a big flashy promo video with Brandon! She’s also been doing interviews with her on-screen bestie Jenny Slate. And, of course, she’s been seen around with the book’s author, too. And yet… she’s done NOTHING with Justin!
Things then got stranger when eagle-eyed fans noticed pretty much the entire cast unfollowed the Jane the Virgin alum on Instagram, including Blake, Jenny, Brandon, plus Ryan and Colleen. What?? Justin still follows them, so it seems to be the cast who has an issue with him and not the other way around.
Hmm…
And then there was the premiere. The group gathered in New York on Tuesday for the film premiere — and while Justin was there, he didn’t pose for ANY photos with the cast. The actor also didn’t mention or feature them in a post after the event.
Something that REALLY turned heads was a quick interview Jenny (who plays his on-screen sister) did on the red carpet. She was asked what it was like to work with Justin as a director and scene partner – and she totally ignored the question!! Instead, she told Deadline:
“I mean what an intense job like to have to do so many things. I just found myself being like, ‘Wow. I really just wanna have one job at once.’ And in fact, I’ve often felt that way. Like, I really like writing and I like it so much and it’s special to be able to be a writer, but like, yeah, I was looking around being like, ‘I’m good with just acting.’ I really, I love it. I just wanna do it. I feel like I’ve only begun.”
i just found out about the whole 'it ends with us' cast drama and omg they asked her what it was like to work with justin and she completely ignored the question ???? pic.twitter.com/2DdlmvxS4x
— leah doesn't do cocaine (@camis_unicorn) August 7, 2024
LOLz!!! She dodged that question so expertly!!
Meanwhile, now that Justin is doing some solo promo, he hasn’t hesitated to gush about his colleagues. Just look:
The difference is astounding! WOW.
But back to the premiere. There was one more thing that sparked feud speculation. It’s customary for the movie’s leads and director to speak at a screening, but it appears only Colleen and Blake addressed the audience. Odd! Also, Blake made headlines for wearing one of Britney Spears‘ iconic dresses and she posed for photos with Ryan and Hugh. It seemed like a sweet show of support, especially since they have a competing movie out right now. But was it all just a distraction from the REAL drama playing out?? Maybe!
BTW, when promoting the film once again on the ‘gram on Thursday, Blake posted a video with the author and several other women in the movie, calling them “the best thing to come out of” the production for her. A little subtle dig to Justin?? Seems possible!
All over social media, fans have been wondering what’s going on, too! See what some have written (below):
“What happened that Justin is being excluded from promoting the film? In addition to being the director of the film, he is one of the main actors. What an ugly thing to do. Be professional. We love Justin.”
“Why hasn’t he posed for photos with the rest of the cast?”
“Where’s Justin? Why Justin hasn’t been involved in the promotion of the movie (not as much as the others)?”
“I kinda thought it was bc justin plays the villian but he’s ALSO the director… like what”
“close enough welcome back don’t worry darling”
“I wonder if it’s because they don’t want to romanticize his character and wants to focus more on atlas?”
On the one hand, we could understand them not wanting to romanticize Blake and Justin’s characters since their relationship does turn abusive. But posing for a photo or sitting for an interview doesn’t mean it would automatically get romanticized. They could get together to have serious convos about the complexities of this film, ya know?!
Plus, it’s not like Justin hasn’t been doing any press. While he wasn’t doing much at first, he has started to step out by himself earlier this week. Some fans claim his initial absence was due to being sick, by the way. But that doesn’t account for his continued separation. If there wasn’t anything going on BTS, he’d be with them on the group press tour now that he’s feeling better… right??
All this distance just seems so deliberate! But could that be the point? Some fans think this could be a twisted PR tactic, speculating:
“We’re supposed to FEEL him as the villain…”
“me thinks it’s marketing to drum up convo”
“It’s such a statement that they all unfollowed him before the movie even premiered. That makes me wonder if it’s some weird PR move. I can’t wrap my head around it”
“Either something is very wrong or this is VERY good marketing since his character is the villain”
That would be a wild PR move!! Here’s where things continue to get odd, though. This beef seems to be extending to people beyond the immediate cast. Liz Plank, the co-host of Justin’s podcast We Are Man Enough, went to the premiere and gushed about the movie — except she only tagged and spoke directly about Blake. Huh? Why not praise her longtime friend, too? Something doesn’t seem right here!
Catch up on all the latest evidence of this feud (below):
@clairenotdanes #greenscreen like what in the world is going on?? #blakelively #itendswithus #colleenhoover #booktok #justinbaldoni #film #entertainment #coho #blake #lively #ryanreynolds
There are literally so many layers to this drama. It’ll be interesting to see if, once the movie comes out, any of the leads will acknowledge Justin in any way. But so far it seems doubtful! Which really makes you wonder: WTF happened on that set?! So far, it’s hard to tell what could have happened — or if this is just some very complicated and deeply planned PR stunt — but the evidence of a feud is piling up! Thoughts? Sound OFF (below)!
[Image via MEGA/WENN/Phil Lewis & Sony Pictures Entertainment/YouTube]
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