For the past few months, It Ends With Us costars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have been feuding over alleged on-set altercations. Between claims of sexual harassment on Lively’s side and a supposed “smear campaign” on Baldoni’s, social media was buzzing with support for Baldoni. As social media users go back and forth between supporting the actors, here’s an important question: is society contributing to the severity of this celebrity feud?
The controversial film first sparked criticism at its premiere in August 2024 when leading actress Blake Lively was scrutinized for her method of marketing the movie, which was met with support from author Colleen Hoover, who wrote the controversial novel that It Ends With Us depicts. This was used against Lively in a smear campaign allegedly orchestrated by Baldoni, but there have been rumors that she was required to promote the film as such in her contract.
Lively also spoke about husband Ryan Reynolds’ involvement in the film, though he had no role as an actor in it. She said that he wrote scenes and helped direct, which garnered more disapproval from the public.
“I thought it was so immature,” says sophomore Reagan Koch. “I feel like she didn’t properly inform anyone about what the movie was actually about. It’s not a ‘grab your florals’ type of movie, it’s a movie about escaping extremely toxic, abusive relationships.” Hoover’s screen adaptation of her bestselling novel surrounds themes of domestic violence and abuse, but Lively marketed the film as a “chick-flick,” encouraging girlfriends to “grab [their] florals” as well as promoting her new alcohol and hair care lines.
Additionally, viewers sensed tension between Lively and Baldoni when he wasn’t photographed with Lively or any other cast member during the movie’s premiere. Social media users quickly sided with Baldoni, expressing disdain for Lively’s interviews and bringing up older incidents to back up their anger.
However, the dispute became serious in December when Lively filed a complaint against Justin Baldoni, his company Wayfarer Studios, and several other crew members on It Ends With Us, alleging Baldoni’s attempt to defame her. In the complaint, Lively accused them of sexual harassment, negligence, and emotional distress, among other things. The complaint stated that the crew met on Jan. 4, 2024, to address the “hostile work environment” on set.
Lively then laid out her goals: “No more showing nude videos or images of women… no more descriptions of their genitalia to [Blake Lively]… an intimacy coordinator must be present at all times,” and more. According to the complaint, everybody in attendance at the Jan. 4th meeting agreed to Lively’s boundaries.
The next day, the New York Times published an article titled “‘We Can Bury Anyone”: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,’ in which they revealed text messages between a publicist for Wayfarer, Baldoni, and crisis management expert Melissa Nathan, who has worked with celebrity Johnny Depp in the Depp v. Heard case. The text string stated that Baldoni “wants to feel like [Blake] can be buried,” tarnishing Baldoni’s reputation and pushing readers to flock to Lively’s side.
Sophomore Nusaybah Arif says, “I think that [the defamation] was so scarily well calculated, and I honestly think that there is no way he can get out of this because, from what I saw, the proof was staggering. I thought it was strange… because it was like every single news chain and account suddenly turned their attention to her, but I had no idea how it [became] so severe so quickly.”
On New Year’s Eve, Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against the Times, accusing them of working with Lively to tarnish his reputation. Baldoni slammed Lively as well, claiming that she was the one who attempted to “bury him,” not the other way around, and stated that her claims against him were false.
Then, if one lawsuit wasn’t enough, on Jan. 16, Baldoni filed another $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds, claiming that they tried to “defame” him through lies, false accusations, and giving false information to the press. Because of this, the public began to support Baldoni once again.
“People are dumb and just go with whoever other people tell them is right. They have no opinion of their own, it’s just regurgitated from what everyone else says,” senior Alanis Ocasio-Alcaide says. Herd mentality, or the idea that people conform to a group they want to or are a part of, led to numerous “hate trains” against both Lively and Baldoni, often occurring every other week.
Since August, the months-long dispute between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has been reinforced and rehashed by social media. Social media users displaying herd mentality have only intensified the severity of their allegations and suits against one another. However, their continuation of attacking each other could cost them their careers. As both Lively and Baldoni have proven time and time again, you really can bury anyone.
