Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively filming It Ends with Us in January in Jersey City, New Jersey. Photo / Getty Images
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively filming It Ends with Us in January in Jersey City, New Jersey. Photo / Getty Images
Why has the press tour and promotion of box-office hit It Ends With Us become controversial?
It’s leading the US box office, but all anyone seems to be talking about is the alleged drama and whether Blake Lively is promoting the movie properly.
Rumours of less-than-friendly relations between Lively and her Ends With Us co-star Baldoni, who also directed the film, have grown.
They started when fans realised the two hadn’t done any joint press, despite their characters being a couple and the lead characters and Baldoni helming the movie.
At the movie's New York premiere Blake Lively (second left) was photographed with Hugh Jackman (left), husband Ryan Reynolds, Tammy Reynolds and Brandon Sklenar, but not director and co-star Justin Baldoni. Photo / Getty Images
The two weren’t photographed together at the movie’s premiere in New York, and don’t appear to have been snapped together at any promotional events.
In fact, the only photos on Getty Images with Lively and Baldoni are from when they were on set shooting in New Jersey.
Page Six reported the project was “extremely difficult” for the cast and crew.
Lively and Hoover have recently unfollowed Baldoni on Instagram, reports the Daily Mail, which revealed a source said Baldoni was “dismissive” to Lively’s viewpoint and “failed to consider Blake’s character’s perspective”. This allegedly caused tension on the set of the film.
In interviews the pair have sidestepped questions about each other.
“She is a dynamic creative – she had her hands in every part of this production and everything she touched, she made better,” Baldoni told the Today show when discussing Lively.
Has the press tour been striking the right tone?
Given the subject matter of the film, moments of levity or humour in interviews or appearances have contrasted with the heavy issues in the story, and Lively and some of her co-stars have been criticised for not addressing the topic of domestic violence more directly.
Lively went on to share information and resources about domestic violence on her Instagram account.
In the entertainment industry, press junkets and interviews happen to promote specific films or projects, but actors often talk about themselves as much as the film itself.
This is how Blake Lively is promoting her movie about escaping an abusive relationship and breaking the cycle of the abuse…
Unlike other high-profile actors, Lively doesn’t work with a stylist.
During this press tour she’s worn looks from Versace, Chanel, Oscar De La Renta and Valentino.
Many incorporated florals – a clear nod to her character, and a common red carpet strategy in the wake of the Barbie press tour, with stars such as Zendaya and Daisy Edgar-Jones dressing to the themes of their films.
With Lively wearing outfits with colour, flowers and femininity, the effect has been light and sweet, contrasting with the heavy themes of the movie, in a way that has felt jarring to some.
Should she be promoting her new haircare line?
The It Ends With Us press tour has come at the same time as Lively debuted a new consumer business; haircare line Blake Brown.
Whether coincidence or strategy – both movies and formulated products take a long time to execute and deliver – promoting both has led to mixed messaging, and suggestions it was taking attention away from the film.
Another Lively venture drew criticism, with themed drinks from the teetotal actor’s alcoholic RTD range, Betty Buzz, served at an event.
“Using the promotional tour of a film about intimate partner violence to plug your beverage brand is about as wide of the mark as you can get,” wrote Marie Claire Australia.
In what appeared to be a cross-promotional feature story, Lively and Hugh Jackman, her husband Ryan Reynolds’ co-star in Deadpool & Wolverine, appeared in US Vogue’s coveted September issue, in a cinematic shoot directed and shot by Baz Luhrmann.
The cover and shoot have been panned on social media, with commenters criticising the art direction and styling, others questioned the Lively’s relevance and talent, and some suggesting it looked like a jewellery advertisement.
With Lively, Baldoni and others involved in the film under the spotlight – now even more so with rumours of a rift swirling – any actions or behaviour caught on camera can blow up on social media.
There’s a video circulating on TikTok that shows friendship bracelets from a fan being gifted while the cast walked a red carpet.
Isabela Ferrer wears the gift straight away, while Lively accepts the present but doesn’t put it on. “Oh my gosh, thank you so much,” she tells the fan, saying she will wear it later “because it doesn’t go with my outfit but I will wear it later.”
The bracelet and Lively’s outfit both incorporate the colour pink.
And as is standard when someone becomes the focus of an online content cycle, people go digging, leaks happen – insiders told TMZ that Lively wasn’t happy to be asked about her weight before a lifting scene – and old stories surface.
Journalist Kjersti Flaa uploaded the interview for the film Cafe Society on YouTube with the title “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job”, calling it “the most uncomfortable interview situation I have ever experienced”. It has seen the actor criticised, with commenters labelling her “rude” and the behaviour “ridiculous”.
Is this a pile-on? Or is the drama good for numbers?
As the old saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Lively hasn’t had this many media impressions in years, and no doubt a lot of people will be going to the cinema to see what all the fuss is about.
Baldoni has apparently secured a crisis-management team, according to The Hollywood Reporter, hiring Melissa Nathan, a PR expert who represented Johnny Depp.
