Does It End With Blake? ‘It Ends With Us’ Suffers Messy Press Tour and Backlash

Content warning: This story mentions domestic violence.

While many people agree that books are typically better than movies, in the case of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us, many believe this to be especially true. Colleen Hoover is a Canadian author who has experienced exponential growth in popularity over the past two years. Her books have especially found momentum on BookTok, and her novel It Ends With Us has recently been made into a major motion picture.

Hoover’s first book-inspired film, It Ends With Us, follows a young girl named Lily Bloom, who moves to New York City and meets neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid. The book sheds light on the reality of being in an abusive relationship and has recently received backlash for its portrayal of young women experiencing domestic violence. It has been criticized as “misogynistic, anti-feminist, and an overall glamorization of domestic violence.” 

When the news came out about an It Ends With Us film adaptation, many Hoover fans were excited to see the book come to life. The film adaptation was written and directed by Justin Baldoni, famously known for portraying Rafael in the TV show Jane The Virgin. Blake Lively, who most notably played Serena in Gossip Girl, was cast as Lily Bloom, the movie’s protagonist. 

However, this excitement was short-lived once the cast was announced to the public. Fans of Hoover were unhappy with the decision to cast Lively due to her being considerably older than the book version of her character, who is 20.

The movie premiered on Aug. 9 and made over $309 million at the box office. However, critics were not a fan of the film, awarding it a 57 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie received mixed reactions from audiences. Die-hard fans of Hoover enjoyed it and thought it was well done, but new audiences believed it was a poor representation of domestic violence survivors. 

This backlash became even more prominent once the film’s press tour began and the lead actors, Baldoni and Lively, had to answer interview questions about domestic violence and the movie’s purpose. Between the two, viewers felt that Baldoni seemed to care more about the message behind the film and the intent for creating it, whereas his co-star Lively gave seemingly quippy one-liners that failed to focus on the power behind this film. 

Survivors of domestic abuse spoke out about the controversial marketing campaigns used by Lively and Hoover. Many women watched the movie to feel seen and represented but felt that the sentiment fell short. Criticism about the movie’s campaign strategies stemmed from seemingly insensitive and lighthearted promotion. Lively encouraged fans to “grab your friends” and “wear your florals” to the theatre. Many felt that she advertised the film as more of a “rom-com” rather than a story about navigating an abusive relationship. Additionally, viewers felt the lack of resources or trigger warnings before or after the film left audiences vulnerable to the thematic nature of the content. 

In addition to the poor marketing strategies used, Lively didn’t help her case by promoting the launch of her hair care brand, Blake Brown Beauty, whilst on the press tour. Although the launch wasn’t supposed to coincide with the release of the movie, fans still viewed this as a way for Blake to make the premiere about herself rather than the film’s message. 

Following the drama behind the movie, Lively was concerned and “felt out of control” about the negative press and controversy surrounding her behavior. She additionally felt “vulnerable and upset” about the situation. 

However, Lively was not entirely detached from promoting the purpose of the movie, as she did make an Instagram story post speaking out against domestic violence. But viewers were left wondering, is this enough? Especially when considering the fact that Lively made the post after all of the backlash.

It’s essential to hold actors accountable for their behavior when it comes to tackling thematic topics such as domestic violence. Lively’s purpose in her role of Lily Bloom was to advocate for survivors of domestic violence, but the mark was missed. Unfortunately, the important message behind the movie has been overpowered by the sounds of upset fans and the criticism of Lively.

I was disappointed to see this type of reaction to a movie that had the potential to inspire and uplift viewers. This shows how powerful bad press can be in Hollywood, especially when it comes to audience reception of films. 

So, does it end with Blake? Or will the Gossip Girl star rebrand herself and move on past this era in her life? Only time will tell. I hope she’s learned a lesson from this messy situation and detaches herself from future movies to focus on the purpose and message. 

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1(800) 799-SAFE (7233) or visit thehotline.org

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