As one of the most highly-anticipated book-to-movie adaptations, It Ends With Us has everybody talking — but not just about its upcoming release. Ahead of the film’s Aug. 9 release, rumors began to swirl that Justin Baldoni, who plays Ryle Kincaid in the movie, is allegedly feuding with the rest of the It Ends With Us cast and TBH, the evidence is pretty convincing.
The rumors first began after fans noticed that Baldoni was noticeably absent from It Ends With Us press junkets. Some thought Baldoni’s absence was due to him not wanting to romanticize his character, who is abusive toward Blake Lively’s character, Lily Bloom. Then, at the It Ends With Us premiere in New York City on Aug. 6, Baldoni didn’t pose with Blake Lively, author Colleen Hoover, or anyone else who worked on the film while on the red carpet, which was really… odd. Additionally, fans noticed that Baldoni’s castmates had unfollowed him on Instagram despite him following them. Her Campus reached out to Baldoni’s team for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
At this point, many are convinced there’s some drama going on between Baldoni and the rest of the cast. So far, no one on the cast has addressed these rumors but TikTok is going wild with theories of an alleged feud.
TikTok creator @clairenotdanes pointed out all of the weird things that happened between Baldoni and the rest of the cast during the It Ends With Us press tour, and questioned what was going on.
“What did [Baldoni] do to p*** off and offend or damage relationships with your entire cast not only as a director but again as a lead star of the film? Is so strange. So random,” the creator said. “Especially when we’re days away from opening weekend.”
Some seem to agree that Baldoni’s relationship with the rest of the cast has been giving off major feuding vibes.
Meanwhile, others speculate that this “drama” is a PR stunt to help the movie get attention.
I want details 👀if this is PR .. good move? I first thought they wanted to separate Justin from the group because he plays an abuser but now… me thinks there’s drama.
— saftey scissors (@GinaNT0nic) August 8, 2024
I’m trying to find out (but maybe it’s a PR stunt idk)
— Maicol 📺 (@michaelcollado) August 8, 2024
It’s also been rumored that Baldoni’s alleged feud with Lively is a result of her and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, wanting more creative control of It Ends With Us, which the Jane The Virgin actor directed. Fans are using an Aug. 7 interview Lively had with US Weekly where she said Reynolds wrote the rooftop scene to support this rumor.
Despite the online discourse, nothing has been confirmed about Baldoni’s alleged drama with the cast — after all, he has been doing press, just separately, and appeared at the movie’s NYC premiere.
Baldoni even praised Lively while speaking with People on Aug. 8. “She’s a creative force…she is so brilliant,” he said. “And I believe that her performance is going to help so many women feel seen and showcase this unique experience in a way that I don’t believe I’ve seen in another film.”
Of course, this alleged behind-the-scenes drama is reminding the internet of the Don’t Worry Darling press tour where it seemed as if the cast disliked one another. It’s pretty clear fans are suspecting the same for the It Ends With Us cast but so far, we don’t really know for sure.