Three crew members from the It Ends With Us set have revealed that the feud the between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni was an open secret. But while the gossip mill has been churning out tales of tension, insiders suggest the reality is a bit more nuanced.
“Everyone knew that they didn’t like each other”
The film adaptation of Colleen Hoover‘s bestselling novel has been marred by a public feud between stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, which in my opinion has become the stuff of Hollywood legend. Reports of behind-the-scenes tension have surfaced, suggesting that the two were at odds over creative control, leading to a divide among the cast and crew.
With Baldoni reportedly hiring a crisis PR manager and the duo avoiding joint press events, it’s clear there is tension between the two stars of the movie.
And apparently everyone on set knew about it. “Everyone knew that they didn’t like each other,” one crew member spilled to Rolling Stone.
But before you start imagining hair-pulling and name-calling worthy of a Real Housewives reunion, they clarified, “I don’t think they hate each other. But I don’t think they would work together again.”
Creative struggles between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively
There have been reports of Lively being upset at Baldoni for fat shaming her on set and lingering on a kiss for too long, none of which have been confirmed by the actors. But it seems like the pair didn’t get along over creative differences more than anything.
“Their styles are way too different,” another source noted. “Blake is very business-minded and very practical. Justin…is so on the other side of why he makes art that they were never going to be friends.”
Although Baldoni was a producer and the director on the movie, crew members thought he lacked control over the project.
“There were such conflicting ideas of how to make the movie, and since Blake was bankrolling it, Justin couldn’t really put his foot down,” one crew member spilled.
“But also he didn’t really have a strong opinion. He’s very good at directing actors and he’s good at acting, he’s an actor’s director, but as far as the direction of the entire picture goes, I don’t think it was his sort of film.”
Blake Lively was apparently never on set
The three crew members who spoke with Rolling Stone said that they saw Lively less on less on set as the production moved forward.
“There was lots of talk about, if this wasn’t contractually obligated she probably would have just scrapped the whole thing,” one crew member admitted.
“Justin was a little inexperienced with running a big crew and Blake was, at first, too domineering, because she was treating us like a bigger production than it was. Then, after she stopped caring, she didn’t care about anything about the shoot… Normally that wouldn’t be that big of a deal, a lot of actors are like that, but she was so invested in the beginning and then the more she and Justin interacted, the less she cared about it.” Yikes!
It wasn’t as hostile as it seems
Although there is no denying that it would be awkward AF to work with two celebs who low-key hate each other, according to the crew it wasn’t as bad as the rumours are trying to make it out to be.
“Blake had her own opinions on how she felt things should be done. Justin gave his two cents. Blake gave her two cents. She certainly had a say in the scenes and that trickled down to her wardrobe and all those things. But that’s pretty common,” a source said.
Another crew member chimed in, “I feel like a lot of the things you’re seeing online makes it sound like it was a hostile work environment and it wasn’t in any way, shape, or form.”
At the end of the day, “everybody was very professional. Everyone was nice. They didn’t yell at each other. There was no, like, ‘Oh, Mom and Dad have to go behind a closed door and yell at each other.’ Nothing like that happened.”
All three members also shared that Baldoni tried to make the set as warm and welcoming as possible describing him as “super nice,” though it seems he and Lively managed to avoid each other like the plague unless absolutely necessary.
Does the feud between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively really matter?
At the end of the day, while the behind-the-scenes drama makes for juicy gossip, what really matters is the impact of the film itself. It Ends With Us has been a box office success, grossing $267 million AUD globally after just three weeks in theatres.
This impressive performance suggests that audiences hopefully connected with the film’s powerful message about surviving domestic violence, which is the heart of the story.
As for whether It Starts With Us, the sequel based on Hoover’s 2022 follow-up novel, will be green lit remains to be seen. The box office numbers certainly make a strong case for a sequel, but this reported friction between Lively and Baldoni really does complicate things.
Baldoni has expressed openness to stepping down as director for the potential sequel, even suggesting Lively might be a good choice to take the helm.
It’ll definitely be interesting to see if the two rivals come together for the sake of a good project (and the hefty paycheck of course).
Lead image: Getty Images
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