Justin Baldoni Addresses ‘Friction’ On Set Of It Ends With Us Amid Blake Lively Feud!

Even Justin Baldoni can admit working on It Ends With Us wasn’t always easy! Not just because he was dealing with a heavy subject matter like domestic violence but because of the “friction” on set!

Perezcious readers know by now Blake Lively and the rest of the cast appear to be beefing with their co-star and director. The proof so far? Throughout the press tour, the Gossip Girl alum and Justin have stayed away from each other — taking very different approaches to promoting the film. They then didn’t even pose together at the premiere! In fact, no one from the cast took a photo with him! Things must be pretty bad behind the scenes if everyone is avoiding!

Some insiders placed the blame solely on Justin. They claimed the massive feud started due to his behavior on-set, in which he was “borderline abusive,” made Blake “uncomfortable” about her postpartum body, and created an “extremely difficult” environment for the whole cast at times. Whoa. Meanwhile, others say it all just comes down to “creative differences” between Justin and Blake. The 36-year-old actress — who was also a co-producer — allegedly took over the project, going as far as to make her own version of the film. Whatever happened, it’s reached the point where the cast wants “nothing to do with him” anymore!

Yikes!

If author Colleen Hoover’s sequel It Starts With Us gets made, that will be one very awkward set now! Granted, it sounds like the cast was used to the vibes being off while creating the first film! Justin himself feels there was tension on set! Speaking with Elle UK on Monday, the Jane the Virgin alum shared that one of the biggest challenges he faced in the movie was “navigating personalities,” explaining:

“It’s very challenging to act and direct, and especially with a project like this. There was a lot of pressure playing such a complex role like Ryle and, of course, as a filmmaker, you’re always navigating personalities. There are all these things that happen every day on set, there’s always friction that happens when you make a movie like this.”

Hmm… Is he talking about “friction” with Blake here? If the rumors are true, we would say so! While most wouldn’t want any drama on their sets, Justin, on the other hand, feels that “friction” makes for better art at the end of the day:

“Then at the end of the day, it’s that friction, I believe, that creates the beautiful art. Everything in life needs friction to grow. And look, we created something so beautiful and so magical, and it was hard, and it was worth it at the same time. And I grew so much as both a filmmaker, an actor and as a person throughout this experience.”

It sounds like Justin has zero regrets about the project… even if it potentially led to most of the cast hating him now! Thoughts? Sound off in the comments below!

[Image via Elle UK/Heart/YouTube]