It Ends With Us, In Court

Even if you haven’t been to the theaters recently, you may be familiar with the hit film, It Ends With Us. Based on Colleen Hoover’s novel, the movie made headlines after its release in theaters in August 2024. The film made history with its domestic violence survival storyline, emotionally impacting audiences.  Director and co-star of the movie, Justin Baldoni, plays alongside A-list actress, Blake Lively. The two’s on-screen love story revealed the truth of domestic violence and gave a voice to survivors of this kind of abuse. 

The Lively Lawsuits

After the film premiered, fans noticed tension between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Because of an uproar online, I discovered that Lively came out with harassment complaints against Baldoni and filed a lawsuit against him. This included allegations that Baldoni entered her dressing room without permission and added explicit scenes in the film without her consent. The internet was quick to initially side with Lively considering the severity of the allegations. The internet spiraled in confusion as Baldoni denied these claims. It unfolded that Blake Lively’s fellow famous actor husband, Ryan Reynolds, played a role in Lively’s sudden claims. Based on a report from an inside source, it’s speculated that Reynolds was feeling “insecure” and tried to involve himself in the film's production out of fear that the on-screen romance would transpire into something real. The internet believes that Blake Lively would have been scared not to stand behind her husband, which in turn made Baldoni look like the bad guy. 

How PR is Shaping the Narrative

The attention this case is bringing to these celebrities isn’t the best PR look. It’s giving Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds a bad reputation from the public interest as the internet senses holes in their storyline. I recommend a strong PR professional with expertise in crises to take the initiative to help mend this reputable damage. 

Aside from the public scrutiny that this scandal has brought upon the movie stars, Blake Lively claimed that Justin Baldoni’s PR and crisis team spoke about how they can “bury anyone,” alleging that Baldoni’s team was conducting a smear campaign in an attempt to ruin her public image after she made her case about him. After the dust settled, the internet quickly switched sides, as it often does in situations like this. Many are speculating that Baldoni may be the actual “victim” in this situation, considering that Lively’s husband seems to be the true instigator. Although it’s been months since this began to unfold, this still seems to be a hot topic.

Disclaimer

Now, I’m not here to dismiss the harassment claims as fraudulent by any means. I’m just here to state the facts, or the information provided online, at least. This story seems to be constantly evolving, with more details being shared almost every day. I also feel like it’s important to add that most of these claims, besides those in the lawsuit, are all alleged. So, please don’t sue me Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, or Justin Baldoni.

About Kendall

Kendall is a Senior majoring in Advertising and Public Relations with a minor in Digital studies. Outside of GrandPR, she sits as GVPRSSA's VP of Programming for the 2024-25 school year. She is also a Digital Media Content Creator for GVSU Seidman College of Business. She has previously interned at Lambert by LLYC as a Public Relations Intern. After graduation, she hopes to work in social media or influencer marketing in-house.