THE drama behind the scenes of It Ends With Us has continued.
Since the promo of the romance novel turned film began, fans have suspected a feud between director and lead actor Justin Balboni, 40, and lead actress Blake Lively, 36.
The movie based on Colleen Hoover’s hit book follows Lily Bloom (Blake), a florist who falls in love with a neosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid.
While dating, their relationship got toxic and depicted domestic violence.
In a report by DailyMail uploaded on Friday, insiders have revealed more information on what happened during the filming period.
One source told the news outlet about his alleged approach to sensitive subjects such as domestic violence.
The insider said, “During scenes depicting abuse, Justin failed to consider Blake’s character’s perspective, instead focusing solely on what he believed was the abusive male viewpoint.
“His approach was very chauvinistic, creating a tense atmosphere on set.
“Directing a film so serious and so important about domestic abuse without allowing the women to be included in this process is disturbing.”
The source also claimed that Justin “failed to recognize” Blake and Colleen’s roles on set in which they were also producers and writers.
They also alleged that Justin took their re-write requests “very personally.”
The insider said, “Without Colleen’s book, none of this would have been possible.
It Ends With Us fans slam ‘petty’ cast as Blake Lively and Jenny Slate continue to ‘snub’ Justin Baldoni from promos
“Parts of the film were rewritten under the instruction of Colleen – they had to be.
“He took their script decisions very personally, even though they weren’t intended that way.”
‘ALWAYS GONNA COME WITH MY OWN BIASES’
In an interview with CBS Mornings on Wednesday, Justin was asked his approach on how to handle movies that talk about domestic violence.
IT ENDS WITH US CAST
It Ends With Us is a movie based on novel of the same name be Colleen Hoover and features a star-studded cast.
Blake Lively – Lily Bloom (also producer)
Brandon Sklenar – Atlas Corrigan
Justin Baldoni – Ryle Kincaid (also director)
Hasan Minhaj – Marshell
Jenny Slate – Allysa
The actor said, “As a man, I’m always gonna come with my own biases, it’s one of the reasons I was afraid to direct this movie let alone act in it.
“I wanted to make sure this film always had a female gaze and I was never putting myself into it.
“One of the things that I think is very easy to say especially for us men is when maybe we talk to someone who is in the situation or we read a book or we hear a news story, the question that’s always asked is ‘Why did she stay?’
“That’s the wrong question, we need to be asking ourselves is ‘Why do men harm’ and that was the big thing for me.
“What I’ve learned more and more of is that these women who experience this every single day, there’s real love there.
“There’s charm, charisma, passion, there’s this beilef that they can be better and it’s not so simple.”
He went on to explain the organization, No More, helped Justin make the movie “as truthful as possible” and “do justice to all the women” who experience domestic violence.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
At the It Ends With Us premiere earlier this week, fans noticed that Blake and Justin didn’t pose for photos together.
Many thought that was odd since they were the lead characters in the film.
“Is no one else wondering why one of the stars isn’t doing press with the others?” one fan asked.
Another echoed, “Literally what is going on with the cast… why is Justin doing all his promo by himself?”
Fans also noticed that many of the cast unfollowed him on social media.
None of the cast members have addressed the alleged feud publically.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or chat at thehotline.org.
