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Colleen Hoover is taking a break from Instagram amid the growing legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

If you were unaware, the It Ends With Us stars have been involved in a heavily publicized feud, with the 37-year-old actress accusing her costar and director of sexual harassment and more in a December 2024 lawsuit. Justin responded to many of her allegations and sued her for defamation in a newly filed lawsuit.

While Colleen, who wrote It Ends With Us, initially issued a statement in support of Blake, she has largely stayed out of the conflict.

On Wednesday (January 22), she took it a step further by deactivating social media.

Keep reading to find out more…

Colleen‘s Instagram account appears to currently be inactive. She has not yet issued a statement on her decision to leave social media.

In a post on her Instagram story last month she said that...

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are taking legal action against Justin Baldoni‘s lawyer amid the battle between the former It Ends With Us co-stars.

The actors have both filed lawsuits against each other, both claiming that they engaged in smear campaigns to ruin their reputations after issues that happened on set.

Justin‘s lawyer released nearly 10-minutes of raw footage from set in an effort to prove that Blake made false allegations of harassment, though her lawyers think the video proves that her claims are valid.

Now, Blake and her husband Ryan have filed legal documents due to the release of the video, claiming that Justin‘s lawyer is conducting himself improperly by releasing evidence to the media.

Keep reading to find out more…

They have requested a protective order against lawyer Bryan Freedman in hopes of preventing him from making more statements to the press that could prejudice a jury.

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Blake Lively believes that Justin Baldoni just dug his own grave.

As most celebrity gossip followers know at this point, Blake Lively recently accused the actor of sexual harassment on the set It Ends With Us… alleging her co-star created a toxic work environment and also took part in a smear campaign against his colleague after the film’s release.

In response, Baldoni denied the allegations.

Then, lawyers for the the 40-year old filed a $400 million lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on January 16 on behalf of Baldoni, producer Jamey Heath, publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis publicist Melissa Nathan.

Blake Lively attends the 2024 Cfda Awards at American Museum of Natural History on October 28, 2024 in New York City. ((Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images))

Baldoni previously said Lively was “consistently unable to take direction” throughout the shooting of the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book.

The director of this film,...

The Justin Baldoni-Blake Lively feud continues over exactly what transpired on the set of It Ends With Us, the blockbuster movie starring the duo and produced by Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studio.

On Tuesday, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman and his expert public relations team provided the Daily Mail with behind-the-scenes footage they say disproves several key allegations brought against Baldoni by Lively. The footage involved a scene of Lively and Baldoni’s characters slow-dancing in a bar early on in the movie as their romance grows, but the audience cannot hear what they are saying by deliberate design.

Lively filed her action earlier this month in federal court in the Southern District of New York against Baldoni, Wayfarer CEO Jamie Heath, publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis PR consultant Melissa Nathan. Baldoni both directed and starred in the film, which is based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel. Sony...

Once again, Blake Lively and her team have made it very clear they understand that timing is a big part of everything in Hollywood, on and off camera, and especially when lawyers are involved.

Very quickly after Justin Baldoni dropped footage today from the filming of It Ends With Us to counter his co-star’s claims of sexual harassment on the movie, Lively came back to both chastise and mock the director of the flick based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 domestic abuse novel.

“Justin Baldoni and his lawyer may hope that this latest stunt will get ahead of the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is damning,” said Lively’s Manatt, Phelps & Phillips attorneys and Willkie Farr & Gallagher legal team to Deadline Tuesday.

The release of the obviously edited footage (which you can see here) comes as Baldoni has taken Lively, Ryan Reynolds and others to court...

Blake Lively‘s legal team has released a lengthy response to the new video that was leaked to the media by Justin Baldoni‘s lawyers.

Justin‘s team released a nearly 10-minute video featuring raw footage from the set of It Ends With Us in an attempt to show that he didn’t harass her while filming a romantic scene.

His team said in a statement, shown at the beginning of the video, “Ms. Lively’s complaint alleges that during a scene Mr. Baldoni and Ms. Lively were filming for a slow dance montage, Mr. Baldoni was behaving inappropriately. The following videos captured on May 23, 2023, clearly refute Ms. Lively’s characterization of his behavior. The scene in question was designed to show the two characters falling in love and longing to be close to one another. Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism.

The already very public confrontation between It Ends With Us stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni is now taking things behind the scenes as the latter attempts to counter the former’s claims of sexual harassment during the making of the big screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s 2016 domestic violence novel.

As lawyers spar in. and out of court, the Iewu director’s team Tuesday dropped footage of a particular scene from the flick in the hopes of shutting some of Lively’s claims and her credibility down.

Baldoni has sued Lively, Ryan Reynolds and others in a $400 million defamation and extortion action and goes after the New York Times for $250 million in recent weeks as his career burns following the actress’ allegation of inappropriate behavior during production and a subsequent Crisis PR fueled “astroturfing” smear campaign. Even with rumors that all was not well on Iewu, this all went...

Justin Baldoni‘s legal team has released raw footage from the set of It Ends With Us, which includes the moment where Blake Lively made comments about his nose.

While Blake alleged that she was fat shamed by Justin, his lawsuit describes an alleged incident of her body shaming him and implying that he needed to have a nose job.

The video, posted on DailyMail.com, shows that the two actors were clearly joking in the moment and it reveals what Blake actually said.

Keep reading to find out more…

Justin‘s lawsuit alleged, “Lively took them out of character again and began to joke about Baldoni’s nose, which he laughed off and joked in turn, even as Lively joked that he should get plastic surgery.”

The lawsuit added, “While on the one hand Lively accuses Baldoni of making comments about her appearance, on the other she made derogatory comments about Baldoni’s appearance,...

Ryan Reynolds is calling it like it is, and in a particularly riveting speech about the importance of the creative story behind Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s ‘Wicked,’ he took time to tackle the standards society has set for women.

Ryan Reynolds Says ‘Wicked’ Centers On “Two Powerful Women” In Speech Praising It

‘Wicked’ has continued to thrill countless audiences in its two decades. If you want proof just look to the massive audience reception to the Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo screen adaptation, and you’ll know the story continues to resonate with many to this very day.

In a speech at the National Board of Review Awards Jan. 7 in New York, Reynolds took a feminist stance as he shared the box office success of ‘Wicked.’

“It dares to center on two powerful women,” Reynolds, 48, said. “It examines a nuanced, complex relationship which has resonated with people for over two decades on stage.

Content Warning: this article contains discussions of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's film "It Ends With Us," based on the bestselling 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover, became an enormous box office sensation when it hit theaters in August 2024. It's also been the source of some serious drama behind the scenes that has seemingly spiraled out of control (and resulted in a few lawsuits), but I'll circle back to that later. For the uninitiated, what is "It Ends With Us" about? Is it appropriate for young audiences? (No, it's not; I'll also circle back to that shortly.)

The story focuses on Lily Blossom Bloom (Lively), a particularly aptly-named young woman who dreams of opening a flower shop in Boston and meets hot-tempered neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid one night while she's loitering on a random rooftop in the Massachusetts capital. Despite Lily's initial hesitance, she and Ryle hit...

When production for the adaptation of the Colleen Hoover Novel It Ends With Us started back up in January 2024, after a long hiatus brought about by the Writer’s Guild and Screen Actors Guild strikes, what followed were rumors of contention and conflict on-set and especially in post-production. It initially seemed like mere creative differences, with star Blake Lively clashing with co-star and director Justin Baldoni over how to best embody the intentions of the wildly popular novel. It has since blossomed into a feud that has been in the celebrity news cycle for a year straight.

Baldoni, for his part, has claimed that Lively used her status to strong-arm creative aspects of the production, sneaking in dialogue written by her husband Ryan Reynolds and even commissioning a re-edit of the film. It’s unclear if a cut of the movie edited by Shane Reid, who Reynolds leveraged for Deadpool...

Exclusive: With yet another week of more lawsuits in the ever increasing obloquy fray between It Ends With Us stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, the court of public opinion has proved as much of a field of operations as the state and federal dockets.

A front that Bryan Freedman is willing to concede to no rival.

“After my clients filed a comprehensive lawsuit packed with almost 200 pages of undeniable facts and documentary evidence which crushed their false allegations of a smear campaign by providing doctored communications to the New York Times, Blake and her legal team have just one heinous pivot left, and that is to double down on the revoltingly false sexual allegations against Mr. Baldoni,” the hard hitting and media savvy attorney told Deadline.

The Liner Freedman Taitelman + Cooley Llp co-founder was responding Saturday to the January 16 response from Lively’s Manatt, Phelps & Phillips attorneys and...

The director and star of hit summer romance It Ends With Us are facing off with lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and defamation

It Ends With Us should have been a success story. The long-awaited film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, a tale of cyclical domestic violence, premiered in August to decent reviews and wide audience interest; it grossed $350m, against a $25m budget, despite a tide of press and social media speculation over an alleged rift between its director, Justin Baldoni, and its star, Blake Lively. Most of the ire was trained on Lively – for glossing over the subject of domestic violence with florals, for simultaneously promoting her haircare and alcohol lines, for being gruff with reporters in the past, while Baldoni, who played the abuser in the film, championed abuse survivors. But the movie was a hit, demonstrating the viability of female-led, mid-budget melodramas at the box office.

Blake Lively costarred with Justin Baldoni in the 2024 romantic drama It Ends With Us, based on the popular novel by Colleen Hoover. Baldoni also directed the movie. The film came out in August, but people have been talking about it more than ever over the past few months thanks to a heated public back and forth between Lively and Baldoni. I doubted whether we'd ever talk about this whole situation on this website, but now there's a Game of Thrones angle, so we're going in.

First, let's quickly summarize the drama up to this point: during the press tour for It Ends With Us, Blake Lively got a lot of flack for being awkward and kind of tone-deaf on the press trail, and a narrative started to form about her being unpleasant and difficult to work with. The winds shifted when Lively filed a complaint in the California Civil Rights...

Blake Lively‘s legal team has issued a thorough response to the actor’s $400 million lawsuit that he filed against the actress and her husband Ryan Reynolds.

Justin and his production company, Wayfarer Studios filed the lawsuit on Thursday (January 16), accusing Blake and her publicist of orchestrating a smear campaign against him. They allege Blake tried to take control of their film It Ends With Us.

We’ve already recapped all of the major takeaways from Justin‘s allegations and all of the text messages that were released in the lawsuit.

Now, it’s time for Blake‘s team to share their response.

Keep reading to find out more…

“This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook. This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim.

Exclusive: Hours after Justin Baldoni filed a $400 million defamation and extortion lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, the It Ends With Us star and her legal team have clapped back — hard.

“This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook,” said Lively’s Manatt, Phelps & Phillips attorneys and Willkie Farr & Gallagher Llp on Thursday evening in a statement provided to Deadline.

“This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim,” they said. “This is what experts call Darvo. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender.”

“Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it’s her fault,” the lawyers add of Baldoni and gang’s federal filing in New York this morning.

“Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing,...

Justin Baldoni has shared photos that he snapped with his family and friends while being held in the “basement” at the premiere of his movie It Ends With Us. The photos have been included in his lawsuit that he filed against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.

The actor and director has accused Blake and her publicist of orchestrating a smear campaign against himself to take control of his movie It Ends With Us. He and others involved with the lawsuit are seeking at least $400,000,000 in damages and are requesting a trial.

While the rest of the cast posed for photos together at the premiere, Justin posed solo on the carpet and didn’t interact with the cast.

In a leaked voicemail, Justin said, “On what could have been one of the most beautiful nights of my life career-wise, I literally was sent to the basement with all my friends and...

Justin Baldoni is revealing early emails with Colleen Hoover, the author of It Ends With Us.

In the legal docs filed on Thursday (January 16) against co-star Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Justin lays out screenshots of exchanges with the author, who ultimately came forward in support of Blake after the actress filed her legal complaint against Justin.

“In 2019 Wayfarer acquired the film rights to It Ends With Us, a Colleen Hoover novel published in 2016. Though positioned as a romance novel, the book explores themes of domestic violence and generational patterns of abuse, and these messages resonated deeply with readers and drew a passionate fanbase,” the suit reads.

“In 2021, the novel exploded in popularity thanks to the social media phenomenon ‘BookTok.’ Many fans expressed how important the book was to them as survivors of domestic violence and intimate partner abuse,” the suit continues.

“When It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover...

"The Age of Adaline" — directed by Lee Toland Krieger and released in 2015 — is, put simply, a movie centered around the idea that Blake Lively is an inhumanly beautiful creature. This makes it hard to imagine that anyone else could have played Adaline Bowman, a woman unstuck in time who's incapable of aging. What you may not know, though, is that "Grey's Anatomy" veteran Katherine Heigl was originally supposed to play the titular role but ended up dropping out ... so what happened here?

Heigl, who originated the role of Dr. Izzie Stevens on the long-running ABC medical drama — and left the series partway through its 6th season — was initially cast in the film against Angela Lansbury, who was supposed to play Adaline's much older daughter, Flemming. Long before the movie came out, Heigl exited the project in 2010, according to a report in Deadline; at first, the outlet said that Heigl's departure was due to on-set strife.

Despite the (ongoing) drama surrounding "It Ends With Us" — and, in particular, its two stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, the latter of whom also directed the film — the adaptation of Colleen Hoover's best-selling 2016 novel of the same name earned an abundance of cash at the box office when it came out in the summer of 2024. Why do I bring up the movie's financial success amidst the apparent, alleged strife between Baldoni and Lively? Because studio executives very likely watched "It Ends With Us" crush the summer box office and thought, "What other Colleen Hoover books can we possibly adapt?"

As for Hoover herself, she worked closely with the team on "It Ends With Us" to create the film — she was quite present during the press tour — and told The Hollywood Reporter that she loved seeing her work adapted for the screen. "It's very surreal," Hoover said in August...

Having been dropped by WME and sued by Blake Lively for sexual harassment and an alleged online smear campaign, Justin Baldoni has now made it clear he never ever wants to work on a Disney project.

That’s certainly the tone and likely immediate impact of a January 7 letter sent to CEO Bob Iger and Marvel boss Kevin Feige from the It Ends With Us co-star/director’s team demanding Disney “preserve evidence” related to last year’s massive hit Deadpool & Wolverine.

The correspondence was sent in anticipation of the expected “commencement of litigation against” the Merc with a Mouth himself Ryan Reynolds and Lively, it says.

This isn’t the first time Reynolds has been mentioned in filings or conversations around the increasingly bitter dispute between Lively and Baldoni over what went on during and after the making of It Ends With Us, the film about domestic abuse...

Last year, none other than Deadpool's own wife booted "Deadpool & Wolverine" out of the box office number one spot. That is to say, at a time when "Deadpool & Wolverine" was seemingly unbeatable at the box office, star Ryan Reynolds' wife Blake Lively hit number one with her adaptation of Colleen Hoover's 2016 novel "It Ends with Us." The movie might well be mired in controversy following accusations of sexual harassment on-set, but the "It Ends with Us" behind-the-scenes drama can't take away from the movie's success.

The romantic drama stars Lively as Lily Bloom, a woman confronting the reality of her abusive relationship, with the "Gossip Girl" alum delivering a solid performance in a film that otherwise failed to wow critics. But that surely doesn't matter to Lively, as her $25 million movie not only managed to dethrone her husband's superhero blockbuster, but also grossed $350 million worldwide.

Now, while...

Brandon Sklenar gained a lot of attention for his role as Spencer Dutton in 1923. Known for his impressive acting and natural screen presence, many fans have begun comparing him to Harrison Ford, especially in relation to the Indiana Jones franchise. While it may seem like a bold comparison, his performance and his own personal connection to the legacy of Indiana Jones reveal some strong reasons why he could one day take up the iconic role.

Brandon Sklenar in a still from 1923 | Credits: Paramount Network

With 1923, it’s clear that Sklenar is carving out his own space in Hollywood, and there’s a growing sense that he could one day take up the mantle of Ford’s Indiana Jones.

Is Brandon Sklenar the future of the Indiana Jones franchise?

Brandon Sklenar, who plays Spencer Dutton in 1923, has caught people’s attention not just for his acting, but also because of his...

Things went from bad to worse ever since Blake Lively blew open the behind-the-scenes issues on the set of It Ends With Us. Lively accused co-star Justin Baldoni of creating a hostile work environment in a civil rights complaint filed on December 20. Baldoni has responded with a lawsuit against The New York Times, which published an article siding with Lively.

Blake Lively as Lily Bloom in It Ends With Us | Credits: Sony Pictures Releasing

In his lawsuit, Baldoni raises several accusations against Lively including her bullying behavior. He also accused her husband Ryan Reynolds of humiliating him on set over a misunderstanding. As things get more difficult for Lively, political commentator Candace Owens reveals a damaging claim about the actress.

Candace Owens makes things even more difficult for Blake Lively amidst Justin Baldoni’s suit Candace Owens on her podcast | Credits: @candaceowens/YouTube

After Blake Lively broke her silence on...

Although It Ends with Us proved to be a massive hit at the box office, unfortunately, the themes of Colleen Hoover’s novel have been overshadowed by the hoopla surrounding its leads, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

Despite an impressive collection of $345M from a budget of $25M, the main focus surrounding the movie has been the ongoing tussle between Lively and Baldoni, which has taken a massive toll on the former emotionally.

It Ends With Us | Credit: Wayfarer Studios

But before Lively alleged that Baldoni was directly responsible for the apparent smear campaign against her, the actress took to her Ig to share appreciation over being called a crown straightener.

Blake Lively rejoiced at being called a Crown straightener Blake Lively in It Ends With Us | Credit: Wayfarer Studios

While on paper, a crown straightener might not exactly resemble a compliment, to Blake Lively, it was probably “the best compliment of my life.

Prime Video’s Red One and Netflix’s Carry-On both had big opening weeks in streaming, with Red One coming out on top in Nielsen’s charts.

Christmas-themed action comedy Red One, which the Amazon streamer touted as its biggest worldwide premiere to date, racked up 2.1 billion minutes of viewing in the United States for the week of Dec. 9-15. (The movie, starring Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson, also had a short theatrical run, making about $186 million worldwide at the box office.)

Carry-On, meanwhile, scored 1.69 billion minutes of viewing for Netflix for the week, albeit with one fewer day: It premiered on Dec. 13, while Red One began streaming Dec. 12 on Prime Video. The thriller starring Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman is currently in Netflix’s top five English-language films to date (as measured over the first 91 days of release).

Netflix also had a strong streaming premiere for It Ends With Us,...

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It’s looking like Amazon’s bet on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Chris Evans paid off. Prime Video’s “Red One” secured 2.1 billion minutes in the second week of December, topping Nielsen’s list of the Top 10 overall most streamed shows and movies. “Red One” is now the most-watched Prime Video movie to place on Nielsen’s Top 10.

Adults aged 35-to-64 accounted for 54% of viewing for the title during the week that ran from Dec. 9 to Dec. 15. The Christmas action flick also stands as the second Prime Video title to surpass 2 billion minutes behind “Fallout.” The apocalyptic dramedy starring Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins saw 2.9 billion and 2.6 billion minutes in consecutive weeks last April.

The Christmas movie was followed by two Netflix titles: “Carry-On” and “Black Doves.” The...

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s collaboration in It Ends with Us was supposed to be a hallmark moment, but instead, it’s a huge mess of allegations, lawsuits, and controversies. People were excited to see them bring Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel to life, but their feud overshadowed everything.

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively in It Ends with Us | Sony Entertainment

From unsettling accusations to narratives that have spiraled far beyond control, it seems like Lively and Baldoni have become each other’s sworn enemies. The actress’ claim that her co-star sexually harassed her has brought a storm in the media world. We’ll let the court make a proper judgment on the matter, but let’s look at the track record of both the parties involved.

Justin Baldoni’s impressive rapport with previous co-stars Justin Baldoni in It Ends with Us | Sony Entertainment

Justin Baldoni has a well-regarded image in the industry,...

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal battle has left people divided. While some flank with the actress, who embodied the role of Lily Bloom in the 2024 romantic drama It Ends With Us, others’ opinions align with the counterclaims of her co-star in his lawsuit against The New York Times.

It Ends With Us | Credit: Sony Pictures

With their legal battle being the latest hot topic in Tinseltown, Candace Owens also discussed the legal drama in her latest YouTube live. And the political commentator appeared to have made her stance very clear by offering her critiques for Lively and pointing out the manipulative claims and “red flags” in her lawsuit against Baldoni.

Candace Owens critiques Blake Lively’s “manipulative” claims against Justin Baldoni

Candace Owens did not hold back as she recently discussed Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s feud in her latest YouTube live. The political commentator, who has...

It Ends with Us was one of the most highly anticipated film adaptations, starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in the leads. The film indeed led to the end of their professional relationship and any personal ties before it was even released. Fans were looking forward to a powerful on-screen partnership, but the reality was far from what they wished for.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in It Ends with Us | Sony Pictures

Instead, the two spiraled into a web of controversies, and it only got worse after the film’s release. From lawsuits to unsettling allegations, creative disputes, and behind-the-scenes turmoil, there’s more drama between Baldoni and Lively than the actual movie.

Justin Baldoni’s attorney speaks about Blake Lively’s conduct Justin Baldoni in It Ends with Us | Sony Pictures

In an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show, Justin Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman spoke about the...

With all the tabloid-worthy drama revolving around the beef between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, has anyone even bothered to ask the It Ends with Us director and star if he identifies as a feminist?

Right now, every gossip writer in Hollywood is furiously poring through the many passive-aggressive public statements and legal motions put forth by the massive teams of both Lively and Baldoni ever since Lively lit the fire of the feud by filing a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department that claimed Baldoni harassed her by “entering her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed,” body shamed her and pushed her to lose weight just four months after she gave birth and orchestrated a PR campaign that was “designed to ‘destroy’ Ms. Lively’s reputation.”

Deadpool and Wolverine had a less dysfunctional relationship than the two leads of It Ends with Us, and they tried to...

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni‘s behind-the-scenes drama seems to have been referenced in another hit film from 2024.

The This Ends with Us director and co-star’s attorney Bryan Freedman accused Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds of taking a jab at his client with the Deadpool & Wolverine character Nicepool, which audiences have speculated was inspired by Baldoni’s apparent pseudo-nice guy persona.

“What I make of that, is that if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of Justin Baldoni,” said Freedman on The Megyn Kelly Show. “There’s no question it relates to Justin. I mean, anybody that watched that hair bun — if somebody is seriously sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of it. It’s a serious issue.”

His comment came after Kelly showed a clip from the MCU movie, in which Reynolds plays an alternate version of his titular character named Nicepool. Living...

While presenting at the National Board of Review Gala, Ryan Reynolds highlighted a parallel between stories told about women on-screen and the realities women face in their day-to-day lives. “Stories about women seem to be held to a different set of standards, and that is to say that they’re often held to the standard women are held to in life,” the actor said on Tuesday evening at his first public appearance since his wife Blake Lively sued her It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni for harassment.

Not many contemporary authors have enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame and popularity like Colleen Hoover. She built a fanbase across social media, and soon, her works became a staple for those who wanted to experience emotional and dramatic narratives, such as It Ends with Us, a novel that also got a cinematic adaptation starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

Colleen Hoover | @collenhoover / Instagram

The story was based on domestic abuse and a relationship that had raw intensity. But both the book and the movie have been at the center of growing controversy, particularly regarding how it was marketed. Surprisingly, Lively fell into the same pitfalls as Hoover and didn’t avoid the same mistakes during promotions.

The marketing misstep by Colleen Hoover that could’ve been avoided by Blake Lively Blake Lively in It Ends with Us | Sony Pictures Entertainment

Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us has not...

Justin Baldoni bemoaned being banished to the basement by Blake Lively during the It Ends with Us premiere, according to a purported leaked voice message he sent to his associates.

The message was played in full on The Megyn Kelly Show during an interview the former Fox News host conducted with Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney.

Kelly provided little context as to how she obtained the message, but Freedman said in the interview that he planned to put “every single text message, every single document” in the public domain. Freedman has repped Kelly in the past. Deadline has been unable to independently verify or date the voice message.

During the message (full transcript below), Baldoni said he was “sent to the basement with all my friends and family” for over an hour because he was not “allowed to be seen” with Lively and the cast.

“We start laughing because of...

The attorney for Justin Baldoni said on Tuesday that the on-set tensions and allegations of sexual harassment from Blake Lively against his client — “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni — stemmed from the “unfortunate fact” that Lively did not read the book the film was based on.

Bryan Freedman told Megyn Kelly that Lively, who filed a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni on Dec. 20, “didn’t understand” some of the content of the film, which is based on the novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover. He did not provide evidence for his assertion that Lively did not read the “It Ends With Us” source material.

Freedman argued if Lively was “sexually harassed to such a degree,”as detailed in her New Year’s Eve lawsuit, “she wouldn’t [have] return[ed] to the film.”

Watch the full “Megyn Kelly Show” segment, which also featured a previously unaired voice note from Baldoni,...

Justin Baldoni has fired back at Blake Lively.

In scathing fashion, we should emphasize.

As you’ve very likely read about by now, Lively has threatened to sue her It Ends With Us co-star for sexual harassment… alleging in an explosive legal submission that Baldoni created a hostile work environment on the set of the aforementioned movie.

She also claims that Baldoni and his public relations team took part in a campaign to smear her reputation.

Justin Baldoni speaks at the Vital Voices 12th Annual Voices of Solidarity Awards at Iac Building on December 9, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Vital Voices Global Partnership)

Specifically, the documents in question state that Baldoni caused “severe emotional distress” to Lively as a result of his behavior… included “showing nude videos or images of women to Blake,” along with discussion of Baldoni’s past “pornography addiction” or “sexual conquests.

Blake Lively’s attorneys have vehemently rejected claims that her accusations of sexual harassment against Justin Baldoni are just “creative differences” in a legal battle that has caught the attention of Hollywood. As things stand, Baldoni’s team is getting ready to take more legal action in this complicated dispute over the movie “It Ends With Us.”

Lively’s legal representatives from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher released a statement on Monday highlighting the seriousness of her allegations. It’s called “serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation, backed by concrete facts.” People have been trying to downplay the conflict by calling it a disagreement between creative professionals, but this comment directly contradicts that.

Lively told California’s Civil Rights Department about the dispute on December 20. During and after the film’s production, this complaint outlined allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. These claims were made...

Justin Baldoni has yet to actually go after Blake Lively in court over her accusations of sexual harassment and an online smear campaign, but the It Ends With Us actress’ attorneys are rebuking the Jane the Virgin alum’s team over “more attacks” in the media.

“Ms. Lively’s federal litigation before the Southern District of New York involves serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation, backed by concrete facts,” Lively’s Manatt, Phelps & Phillips attorneys and Willkie Farr & Gallagher lawyers said late Monday, noting their client’s stinging 93-page Nye lawsuit.

“This is not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences; or a ‘he said/she said’ situation,” they stated mere hours after Baldoni’s main attorney Bryan Freedman appeared on NewsNation taking swings at the New York Times, Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds. “As alleged in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and as we will prove in litigation,...

From the unexpected success of Terrifier 3 to the unprecedented failure of Joker: Folie à Deux, there were a bunch of shocks and surprises at the box office in 2024. After Barbenheimer gave the box office a massive boost in 2023, 2024 saw another decline in theatrical revenue. But there were a few blockbuster hits that kept movie theaters alive in 2024, like Wicked, Inside Out 2, and Deadpool & Wolverine. There were some 2024 box office disappointments that found success on streaming long after they left theaters.

Some of the box office results of 2024 were completely predictable. Borderlands and Kraven the Hunter were never going to be hits; everything about their marketing and behind-the-scenes drama spelled a disaster from the get-go. And no one was surprised when ol’ reliables like Kung Fu Panda and Sonic the Hedgehog scored another hit at the box office. But there were still plenty of surprises at the 2024 box office.

It Ends With Us, the sea of unsteady emotions of a book by Colleen Hoover, has seized hearts around the world. With its potent story, it became a world-spanning hit, especially after going viral on BookTok in 2021.

The novel tells the story of Lily Bloom, a young florist trying to escape her traumatic past, and Ryle Kincaid, a neurosurgeon with anger issues. Their intense romance quickly spirals into something dire, mirroring the cycle of abuse in Lily’s past.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in It Ends With Us (Credits: Sony Pictures Releasing)

As the film adaptation hit theaters in August 2024, fans had a lot to say about one key difference: the ages of the main characters, Lily and Ryle. While the ages in the book seemed true to life, the movie made a change. Let’s explore why the filmmakers decided to age up these characters and how this change affected the film.

It Ends With Us (2024) could have been the start of something beautiful. Writer Colleen Hoover, on whose work the movie was based, would have been hoping that the duo of Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni can coordinate again to take the series forward.

Sadly, that wasn’t meant to be. Ironically, it might have been the end of any chances of the duo collaborating in the future, be it for It Starts With Us or any other project. It did mark the beginning of what could very well be Hollywood’s next big lawsuit.

It Ends With Us: From media to the courtroom Something was off between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively || Sony Pictures

It Ends With Us hit theatres in August. A few weeks before the release, cracks were beginning to emerge in the movie’s protagonists. Rumors that not everything was fine between Blake Lively and Justin...

The tension between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni keeps getting more heated as their court battle progresses. Both parties have been in dispute since the release of their collaboration film, It Ends With Us, where they both starred in. The actress’ camp is suing Baldoni, who served as the movie’s director, for accusations of s*xual harassment and creating a hostile environment on set.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in It Ends With Us / Credits: Sony Pictures

Now, as both stars get embroiled in the same issue, more and more pieces of evidence and statements resurface online, just like this earlier interview with Lively admitting that she was truly involved in the production.

Old interview of Blake Lively proves her influence and control on set of It Ends With Us

Following Blake Lively’s shocking 80-page lawsuit against former co-star and director Justin Baldoni for misconduct on the set of It Ends With Us,...

There is a long way for the It Ends with Us controversy to go before we can pull the plug on it. Right from the get-go, the film was under the scrutiny of the public eye for trying to romanticize a story about domestic violence. Then came the promotions and Blake Lively’s behavior in interviews was enough to make fans run as far as they could from the film. Now, even months after the film’s release, controversy hasn’t left its side with the actress filing a lawsuit against her co-star and director, Justin Baldoni.

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively in It Ends with Us (2024) | Credits: Sony Pictures Releasing

In her complaint, Blake Lively had a lot to say about Justin Baldoni’s unwanted advances towards her and the involvement, or the lack thereof, of intimacy coordinators. Justin Baldoni hit back with his own side of the story...

In the Blake Lively v. Justin Baldoni battle, which now has spawned dueling lawsuits claiming harassment and defamation, Kjersti Flaa is an unlikely casualty.

A 51-year-old Norwegian entertainment journalist who lives and works in the U.S., Flaa became part of the Lively-Baldoni story in August after she posted on an old interview she’d done with the It Ends With Us actress.

The interview was a short, four-minute, 17-second video shot in 2016 during the press junket for Woody Allen’s Café Society, in which Lively starred alongside Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart and Steve Carell. Titled “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job,” the cringe-worthy exchange starts with Flaa congratulating Lively — who had just announced her pregnancy — on her “little bump.” Visibly annoyed, Lively snaps back: “Congrats on your little bump.” Flaa was not pregnant.

Kjersti Flaa’s 2016 interview with Blake Lively went viral when she posted it in August.

It Ends with Us, a romance movie based on the book written by Colleen Hoover, explores the themes of domestic abuse. The movie was a hit among the fans of the book but got mixed reviews from the general audience.

Yet, it was praised for its depiction of the sensitive topic of abuse. Although Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni were the stars of the flick, Baldoni decided that he couldn’t be both actor and director in its sequel which prompted him to suggest that Lively should be the next director. Let’s explore why.

Blake Lively is ready to direct the sequel of It Ends with Us Blake Lively in It Ends with Us | Credits: Sony Pictures

Interviews with Elle UK and Us Weekly suggest that there are unresolved creative differences between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively. Some sources claimed that their creative differences led to a negative experience...

“It Ends with Us”, the new live-action romance drama feature, based on the book by Colleen Hoover, stars Blake Lively, Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Amy Morton, Brandon Sklenar, Alex Neustaedter, Steve Monroe, Isabela Ferrer and Will Fitz, now streaming on Netflix:

“…though she is coming from a complicated past, ‘Lily Bloom’ has always known the life she wants. While living in Boston, she meets neurosurgeon ‘Ryle Kincaid’ and believes she may very well have found her soul mate.

“Soon, however, questions arise about their relationship, and to complicate matters, her high school love interest, ‘Atlas Corrigan’ comes back into the picture, putting her relationship with Ryle in jeopardy…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Blake Lively responded to claims within Justin Baldoni’s $250 million libel lawsuit against the New York Times on Thursday, saying the Tuesday motion “changes nothing” about her sexual harassment claims against the “It Ends With Us” director and star.

On New Year’s Eve, Baldoni was one of 10 plaintiffs that filed a lawsuit against the newspaper, alleging that the publication was libelous in its Dec. 21 report, “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.” The report was a write-up of Lively’s own sexual harassment complaint against the actor, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging that Baldoni and executives at his Wayfarer Studios created an unsafe work environment.

Baldoni’s Dec. 31 suit sued the paper for $250 million for libel and invasion of privacy. Publicists Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan – co-plaintiffs in the case – accused the paper of relying on “‘cherry-picked’ and altered communications stripped of necessary context...

The fallout from the sexual harassment complaint filed against Justin Baldoni by his former co-star Blake Lively continues to escalate. Baldoni, known for his role in “Jane the Virgin,” has not only denied the allegations but has also filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against the New York Times, claiming their reporting on the complaint damaged his reputation.

It Ends With Us: Blake Lively Vs Justin Baldoni Multiple Lawsuits Explained, Here’s What You Need To Know

At the center of the controversy lies the December 2024 exposé published by the New York Times detailing Lively’s complaint to the California Civil Rights Department. The complaint accused Baldoni of inappropriate behavior and alleged that he, along with his crisis PR team, attempted to smear Lively’s reputation in retaliation.

Following the publication of the article, Baldoni was dropped by his talent agency, WME. While Deadline reported that Lively’s allegations played a role in the decision,...

Did Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds blacklist Justin Baldoni at his agency and beyond?

Sometimes, “damage control” does more damage than anything else. It’s unclear if Justin Baldoni understands that.

In the wake of a damning report on his alleged smear campaign against Blake Lively, he has filed a massive lawsuit against The New York Times. One part of that lawsuit claims that Lively and Reynolds pressured his agency to drop him.

There’s just one problem. The agency in question is flatly denying Baldoni’s claims.

Actor/filmmaker and Vos Honoree, Justin Baldoni speaks onstage at the Vital Voices 12th Annual Voices of Solidarity Awards at Iac Building on December 09, 2024. (Photo Credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Vital Voices Global Partnership) Did Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds get Justin Baldoni dropped by his agency?

Just like long weekends, the winter holiday season is a major time for big...