\n<\/p>\n
What\u2019s going on between Blake Lively<\/b><\/a> and <\/span>Justin Baldoni<\/b>? Rumors of a rift began swirling when fans noticed that the <\/span>It Ends With Us<\/span><\/i><\/a> costars were promoting the film separately. Blake, 37, along with several other cast members, also doesn\u2019t follow Justin, 40, on Instagram.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s talk that Blake took over creative control of the movie very early on, eclipsing Justin\u2019s role as director,\u201d a source exclusively tells Life & Style<\/em> about the speculated feud. \u201cWord is, her husband, Ryan [Reynolds,<\/strong> 47], rewrote a key scene in the movie, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Justin hinted at having to navigate \u201ccomplex personalities\u201d while filming the Colleen Hoover<\/strong> adaptation<\/a>, and even suggested that Blake direct the sequel, It Starts With Us<\/em>. \u201cMany took that as a jab,\u201d says the source. \u201cClearly, there were strong voices on that set telling Justin what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n The film \u2013 which debuted in theaters on August 9 \u2014 has been a financial success, earning a jaw-dropping $50 million domestically and $80 million worldwide against a $25 million budget. News of such an epic success for the project, its movie studio, Sony, and the film\u2019s stars and producers, Blake and Justin, should have dominated headlines. But instead of basking in great press, the movie\u2019s main players and their camps have been doing damage control.<\/p>\n Whispers of a feud between the costars have been growing for weeks. First the two raised eyebrows by failing to promote the movie, about an abusive relationship, together, attending different screenings and events.. The distracting scandal eventually went mainstream when the pair didn\u2019t pose together for a single shot at the August 6 premiere, where costars like comedian Jenny Slate<\/strong> as well as the book\u2019s author curiously danced around questions about Justin in red carpet interviews.<\/p>\n Since then, \u201cit\u2019s become a real war of words,\u201d an additional source tells Life & Style<\/em>. \u201cFingers are being pointed from both camps with all kinds of nasty accusations being thrown around.\u201d<\/p>\n From the start, Blake, an exec producer of the flick, seemed to be undercutting Justin\u2019s role as a director, telling E! News that she called Ryan to rewrite dialogue for \u201cthe iconic rooftop scene.\u201d (That was news to the film\u2019s screenwriter, Christy Hall<\/strong>, who said she\u2019d believed it had been improvised.) After footage surfaced of her and Justin having a heated conversation on set, a report appeared that he had \u201cfat-shamed\u201d her, who\u2019d recently given birth to her fourth child, humiliating her by asking about her weight before a scene in which he had to lift her. The narrative, that he was controlling and possibly dangerous, was furthered by her August 10 comments to Digital Spy<\/em> that \u201cit\u2019s critical to have an intimacy coordinator \u2026 for everyone\u2019s safety.\u201d<\/p>\n Things looked so bad for Justin that he hired a crisis PR manager \u2014 the same one who represented Johnny Depp<\/strong> during the actor\u2019s defamation trial with ex-wife Amber Heard<\/strong>. Positive headlines soon emerged, including one about how Justin\u2019s production company, Wayfarer Studios, was partnering with a domestic violence support organization to provide resources and information to abuse survivors.<\/p>\n Stories defending the dad of two also made the rounds, with one insisting he was \u201cactually viewed quite favorably by a lot of the crew, as he was generally a nice guy to work with\u201d and that despite the appearance that the main cast has sided with Blake, others on set \u201cfeel like Justin got screwed.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, a source tells Life & Style<\/em> the Jane the Virgin<\/em> star was not, in fact, body-shaming his leading lady, pointing out that Justin and Blake had the same on-set trainer, so it would be surprising that Blake would have considered talk about a physical scene inappropriate considering the actor-director has back problems and had recently undergone treatment for a disc injury before being hospitalized in June for a related infection.<\/p>\n Publicly, however, Justin has praised the Gossip Girl<\/em> alum, calling her a\u201cpowerhouse.\u201d He told the Today show, \u201cShe is a dynamic creative. She had her hands in every part of this production, and everything she touched she made better.\u201d He\u2019s also acknowledged the movie wasn\u2019t smooth sailing, telling ELLE U.K.<\/em>, \u201cThere\u2019s always friction that happens when you make a movie like this. Then at the end of the day, it\u2019s that friction, I believe, that creates the beautiful art. Everything in life needs friction to grow.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Yet the tide began turning against Blake. She faced intense backlash on social media, where users branded her a \u201cmean girl,\u201d \u201cfake\u201d and \u201ca villain\u201d as they dissected the feud drama. Amid praise for Justin for discussing the movie\u2019s serious themes, like intimate partner violence, in his interviews, Blake \u2014 who showed up on the red carpet in a series of flirty floral frocks \u2014 was accused of using the movie\u2019s media events to boost her own brands. \u201cGrab your friends, wear your florals, and head out to see it,\u201d the actress said in a promo for the movie on Instagram. One commenter on X summed up the disconnect, writing, \u201cBlake Lively spending the entire press run for her new film, which is about domestic violence and abuse, acting like it\u2019s a fun gals night out \u2026 and promoting her businesses at the same time is INSANE behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n Past troubling conduct also resurfaced. On August 11, reporter Kjersti Flaa<\/strong> posted a clip on YouTube titled, \u201cThe Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job.\u201d In the sit-down for the 2016 film Caf\u00e9 Society, Blake mocked the L.A.-based Norwegian journalist for congratulating her on her \u201clittle bump\u201d \u2014 Blake had recently announced her second pregnancy \u2014 then chided the reporter for inquiring about the movie\u2019s beautiful period costumes. Blake wondered if Kjersti would \u201cask the men about the clothes.\u201d (Taken aback, the reporter The pushback put the actress on the defensive. Reframing her \u201cgirls\u2019 night\u201d attitude, she said of her character, \u201cShe\u2019s not just a survivor, and she\u2019s not just a victim, and while those are huge things to be, they are not her identity,\u201d insisting women contain multitudes aren\u2019t defined by their abuse.<\/p>\n What it may all boil down to is control. A source says Blake and Ryan, hoping to seal their picture-perfect image as a Hollywood power couple, stealthily took over the film. In addition to rewriting scenes, Blake reportedly hired her own editor \u2014 the same one who crafted Ryan\u2019s summer blockbuster, Deadpool & Wolverine<\/em><\/a> \u2014 to make an alternate cut of It Ends With Us<\/em>. \u201cShe had a vision for how the story should be told and wanted to put out the best movie possible,\u201d explains the insider, noting there\u2019s also speculation \u201cthat had the movie bombed, Blake would have downplayed her creative contributions.\u201d<\/p>\n The next fight may be over the sequel. Justin\u2019s production company owns the film rights to the next book in the series, It Starts With U<\/em>s<\/a>. \u201cBut making a sequel is the last thing on his mind right now,\u201d says the insider. \u201cMaybe he\u2019ll sit on the project for years and refuse to sell and make Blake suffer. Certainly, she and Ryan would scoop up the rights in a minute if they were available.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nTaking a Hit<\/h2>\n
insisted that she would.)<\/p>\nCreative Differences<\/h2>\n