Lively v. Baldoni: What’s the Verdict?
It Ends With Us was a movie thousands of people were anticipating, given the cult following of Colleen Hoover’s original novel. But the release of the movie has been preceded and followed by heaps of drama—from audience disagreement with casting and costuming to the lawsuit blowing up between the lead actors. This controversy raises a question: why do we, as regular people, know so much about the behind-the-scenes of projects like It Ends With Us? Why do we care?
Blake Lively has been a modern film icon for decades, with lead roles in shows like Gossip Girl and movies like A Simple Favor. Questions arose when she was revealed to star in It Ends With Us as Lily Bloom, with people wondering whether she was the right person for the role. Nevertheless, the movie continued production, and Lively was set to star alongside Justin Baldoni.
The movie and book struck a chord with so many people because they highlighted the issue of domestic violence in our world. While I personally don’t like Colleen Hoover’s method and style of writing, I can appreciate the underlying message. It matters. The issue people found with the movie and its release, though, was the apparent “tone-deaf” attitude members of the press tour had. Actors avoided questions about domestic abuse messages, used interviews as opportunities to promote their own brands, and, above all, the man playing the abusive, manipulative villain of the story wasn’t there at all. Justin Baldoni was expected to be at press tours to show how different his views were from that of the character he played and to take a strong stance against domestic abuse from a male perspective, but he was seldom seen.
A series of lawsuits followed the release of the movie. Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni for sexual harassment and defamation. She recounted numerous instances of sexual misconduct and accused him of promoting and orchestrating much of the hate she was receiving on the internet.
Baldoni sued The New York Times for libel following the articles published regarding Lively’s accusations. He then filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively for defamation, civil extortion, and invasion of privacy.
To me, the whole situation seems like a complicated, emotional battle that should be kept out of the public’s watchful eye. Social media has been feuding over who to believe with releases of hidden tapes, screenshots, and voice memos. Whether Blake Lively’s initial complaint was filed to shift the backlash she was receiving onto someone else or if Justin Baldoni’s lawsuits were just a petty response—we can’t know. And we shouldn’t feel an obligation to the truth.
“Stuff like this is going to be on the internet no matter what because [Lively and Baldoni] are celebrities, but I just think it could have been handled better,” Maisy Gable, 9, remarked. Maisy stated that she sided with Baldoni’s argument more because she found Lively’s initial approach to the case “unserious.”
“I think it all should have been dealt with in private. Social media just affects [the case] too much.”
I’m not denying that these issues matter. Sexual harassment, manipulation, and corruption are real problems in every industry, not just film. But when everything becomes based on profit, PR, and reputation—what’s the point? Shouldn’t celebrities be using their platforms to take the spotlight off themselves and onto real issues? As an audience, we spend far too much time and energy deep-diving into drama and “tea” that add no real substance to our lives. Spend time looking for the information out there that matters. What can we learn about that will change our lives? Is it the most recent scandal on TikTok? I don’t think so.
