“It Ends With Us” addresses themes of domestic abuse, and Blake Lively’s remarks regarding how the subject matter might impact viewers have faced criticism online.
The film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s popular romance novel has garnered considerable acclaim, but it has also been the subject of rumors about potential conflicts on set between lead actress Blake Lively and co-star Justin Baldoni, who also directed the film.
The controversy seems to extend beyond the set, appearing in interview settings as well.
“It Ends With Us” revolves around Lily Bloom (portrayed by Lively), who dreams of opening her own flower shop. After relocating to Boston, she meets a charming neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid (played by Baldoni), and a romance ensues. However, their relationship begins to mirror the abusive relationship of Lily’s parents, with the film deeply exploring the theme of domestic abuse.
Given the film’s focus on this sensitive topic and its aim to foster discussions about relationship abuse while portraying Lily’s story as an empowering one, it was natural for interviewer Jake Hamilton to ask Lively about these themes during an interview with her and Brandon Sklenar.
Hamilton pointed out that some viewers might deeply connect with the film’s themes and might feel compelled to share their personal experiences with Lively if they encountered her on the street.
“This movie is going to affect people and they’re going to want to tell you about their life,” he said. “So if someone understands the themes of this movie and comes across you in public uh and and they want to really talk to you what’s the best way for them to be able to talk to you about this how would you recommend they go about it?”
Lively responded with a joke, saying: “Like asking for like my address or my phone number or my location share or I could just location share you and then we could…. [Laughs] I’m a Virgo so I’m like are we talking logistics or are we talking emotionally.”
Lively then elaborated on the film’s impact, noting that it’s been ‘beautiful’ to see women who haven’t experienced situations similar to Lily’s say: “Woah, I fell in love too. I saw the red flags but they didn’t look red they kind of looked fuchsia and cute but like I ignored them and I see why.”
“This story is told with such empathy that I feel like this movie can be healing, it can be a cautionary tale and it can be inspiring. So I think the movie itself and Colleen’s work itself does that work,” she added. “And if anyone ever comes up to you and says that your work meant something to them outside of just having that collective experience in a theater where you laugh and cry and feel together, like what a blessing.”
Nonetheless, social media users were not pleased with Lively’s initial response and have voiced their discontent.
One YouTube user commented: “Her initial response to the first question is so out of touch.”
Another remarked: “I’m surprised her team has not asked her to take this video down.”
A third person added: “Wow Blake I really thought you were a better person than this… your response to all of his questions just mind blowing, how outta touch you’re as a human being.
“A lot of people experience DV and for you to make a joke out of it is just crazy and heartless tbh.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can speak confidentially 24 hours a day via the national domestic violence helpline at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233). You can find a list of local resources here.