REAL Reason For Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni Feud? Insiders Give 3 Competing Theories...

The drama surrounding This Ends With Us is not ending for them anytime soon!

The cast tried to pretend everything was fine when doing press for the domestic abuse weepy — which is a really big hit btw. But before you could say “Don’t Worry Darling” fans online had figured out something was rotten in the world of florist Lily Bloom.

Blake Lively not only unfollowed co-star/director Justin Baldoni on socials, they also never got within 20 feet of one another doing press. And it wasn’t just her! Author Colleen Hoover unfollowed him, too. He seemed to be persona non grata with the whole cast, who didn’t talk to or about him. He was doing all his promo solo, while they were doing videos and interviews together. Soon enough we started to get drips from production insiders, many of whom said the whole cast hated Justin. We even heard from some saying he made Blake “uncomfortable” and was “borderline abusive” IRL! Most recently sources claimed Blake felt like he spent too much time on the kissing scene. ICK! It looks so bad for him! No wonder he’s hired a crisis PR manager!

But it hasn’t been all one-sided. Some claimed Blake and hubby Ryan Reynolds were throwing their weight around, taking creative control of the movie from him. It was a total coup, and the popularity of the Hollywood power couple made it successful. We’ve heard even the final cut of the film is theirs! Whoa!

A new report from TMZ seems to back the latter narrative. Their insiders tell them it wasn’t the whole cast and crew against Justin, that many thought he was a good guy who really cared about the movie. They’re downplaying the idea he was some kind of villain — instead they say it was Blake who slowly took more and more control from Justin, who was just doing his job. They corroborated the claims Blake hired an editor to make a different cut — and we know Ryan did some rewrites. These insiders say a lot of the cast and crew back Justin, who they think got a raw deal!

So if the root of the problem was all a battle for creative control, what’s with these claims Justin crossed the line? Are these production sources implying it’s all a smear campaign?! That Blake or her supporters would make up stories about her feeling “uncomfortable” or “fat-shamed” just to make him look bad and keep from being seen as the bully? Because that’s a bold freakin’ claim!

Maybe these cast and crew who support Justin just didn’t see the more personal Blake stuff? And she only told those she trusted?

Then again, there is the possibility some of the cast and crew just don’t believe women. Sadly it happens every day. Even in “liberal” Hollywood.

Well, some of TMZ‘s insiders actually have an even more cynical take, if you can believe it. They say a lot of cast and crew are pushing out the more salacious narratives because controversy means headlines. You know, the old “no such thing as bad press” theory? They even pointed to Don’t Worry Darling as an example of a flick that made more money because of the non-stop stories of problems on set. Damn, could they really be putting this stuff out there to sell the movie?? That’s dark!

It is a way to cut through the noise and get your movie talked about in a crowded summer slate. The problem is… Lots of movies do get bad press. Look at The Flash — all the terrible stories from that set didn’t do them any favors at the box office. It just led folks to assume the movie was a big mess! And we don’t know that Don’t Worry Darling did better because of the controversy. Maybe if all the press had been, wow this movie is great, it could have made twice as much! There’s just no way to tell. What we do know is, the taint of these stories follows filmmakers and stars around. Movie jail is a real thing, y’all! And either Blake or Justin could end up in it! Probably Justin tbh…

Damn. What do YOU think of the feud? Is it really all Justin to blame? All Blake? Just manufactured for more press?? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

[Image via Sony Pictures/YouTube.]