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Blake Lively was blindsided by the backlash to her latest film It Ends With Us, according to a report.
In the last month, the 37-year-old has become embroiled in controversy as fans criticised Lively for her “tone-deaf” approach while promoting the movie, which focuses domestic violence and abuse. The film, directed by Justin Baldoni who also stars, is an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s 2016 bestselling novel of the same name.
Amid the ongoing drama, one journalist shared her “nightmare” interview with the Gossip Girl star recorded in 2016, stating that the interaction – deemed “incredibly rude” by fans – made her “want to quit” her job.
Lively is yet to directly address the criticism surrounding It Ends With Us, but is said to be “upset” and “surprised” by the negative reaction.
The actor was “pretty surprised at the backlash and drama”, a source told People Magazine. “She initially felt very vulnerable and upset.
“During the promotion of the movie, not one day went by when she was not in the news in an unfavourable light.”
The source added that Lively is “just not used to this kind of drama”, stating that the situation “felt out of control to her”.
They went on to say, however, that Lively “enjoys working and will continue to push forward projects that she’s excited about”. The actor will next appear in A Simple Favour 2 opposite Anna Kendrick, a sequel to the 2018 mystery drama-comedy directed by Paul Feig.
Although Lively has not addressed the It Ends With US drama head-on, she did appear to respond when the backlash first surfaced in August, sharing a message to her Instagram stories raising awareness of domestic abuse.
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On social media, people called out the Age of Adaline star for promoting It Ends with Us with a light-hearted tone given that the film deals with serious issues of domestic violence and abuse. Many took particular issue with the fact that Lively was promoting her new haircare line, Blake Brown, during the process.
Commercial tie-ins also raised eyebrows, including a selection of themed cocktails – one of which was called “Ryle You Wait”, in reference to the film’s abusive character played by Baldoni.
In a promotional clip ahead of the theatrical release, Lively encouraged cinemagoers to “bring their florals”, echoing the “wear pink” trend that surrounded Barbie last year.
The Independent contacted a representative of Lively for comment at the time.
While Lively has kept quiet on the matter herself, her co-star Brandon Sklenar commented on the situation, calling the criticism “counterintuitive”.
“It just seems silly to me,” Sklenar said. “It’s kinda defeating the whole purpose of the thing to spread any negativity. It’s an important film for so many women and for so many survivors of domestic abuse.”
In an earlier post, he wrote: “Trust me when I tell you, there isn’t a single person involved in the making of this film that was not aware of the responsibility we had in making this.”
Others also believe that Lively is being too heavily criticised, with some stating that the actor simply sees her character differently to Baldoni, who has been markedly more serious in his approach to press.
