Blake Lively reveals producing decision she was 'begged' not to make on It Ends With Us amid feud rumors with director Justin Baldoni
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Blake Lively has revealed the producing decision she was 'begged' not to make on her new movie It Ends With Us.
In the adaptation of Colleen Hoover's 2016 romance novel, the 37-year-old actress plays a florist called Lily Bloom whose marriage to Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni) goes from passionate to abusive.
Her life becomes even more complicated when her old flame Atlas (Brandon Sklenar) arrives on the scene, reigniting her dormant feelings for him.
In addition to starring in the movie, Blake is also one of the producers - and is rumored to have feuded with Justin, her co-star and director.
Now Blake has divulged the creative gamble she refused to back down from, telling Hits Radio UK: 'I'm not supposed to be talking about this.'
Blake Lively has revealed the producing decision she was 'begged' not to make on her new movie It Ends With Us; pictured at the UK premiere
Blake insisted on including the song Cherry by Lana Del Rey at a point in the storyline, where others felt it was inappropriate.
In the number, Lana sings about a man who causes her to 'fall to pieces' and feel 'real love' that she likens to 'smiling when the firing squad's against you.'
'They begged me to take that movie out - that song out of the movie,' Blake disclosed in a new interview promoting the project.
Although she did not name the people who were opposed to the song choice, she explained that 'they felt like it was, like, too charged and heavy and things are still good with Ryle at that point so you don't wanna feel that charge.'
Blake, on the other hand, argued: 'F***, the moment Atlas enters, things are charged and heavy. Like there's conflict, there's pain, there's turmoil, there's tension.'
At that point, she explained Lily is thinking: 'Oh my God, my soul mate, the one that got away in my life, this person who's haunting me in everything I do and everywhere I go, is here now and we still had that connection,' Blake said.
'And you can be deeply in love with this person, but this person comes in, and you'rel like, your insides are gonna be a mess,' she added.
Her remark came as insiders claimed Justin was 'chauvinistic' and 'borderline abusive' on the set of It Ends with Us - and sparked fury over his refusal to 'consider' the perspective of Blake's character while filming scenes that depicted abuse.
The 37-year-old plays a florist called Lily Bloom whose marriage to Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni) goes from passionate to abusive
Her life becomes even more complicated when her old flame Atlas (Brandon Sklenar) arrives on the scene, reigniting her dormant feelings for him
In addition to starring in the movie, Blake is also one of the producers, while her co-star Justin served as the director of the picture
Blake (right) is pictured with friends including (from left) Lana Del Rey, Taylor Swift, RIOTUSA, Ashley Avignone and Ice Spice at the Super Bowl in February
Rumors of tension between Justin, 40, and Blake have been swirling for weeks, with online sleuths highlighting how the on-screen love interests were not pictured together at the US premiere - while some cast members have blatantly swerved questions about the director.
Now, insiders have revealed the concerning truth about the tensions, telling DailyMail.com that Blake and Justin clashed over his 'dismissive' attitude to her 'input' while they were filming scenes that involved abuse.
The movie, which hits theaters today, follows Blake's Lily Bloom, a floral designer who falls in love with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid, played by Justin - but soon after they start dating, the romance turns toxic.
The insider claimed that Justin only focused on 'what he believed was the abusive male viewpoint' and had a very 'chauvinistic' approach to the topic.
'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,' they said.
Rumors of a viscous feud between It Ends With Us costars Justin, 40, and Blake, 36, have been swirling for weeks
'His approach was very chauvinistic, creating a tense atmosphere on set.'
The source claimed Justin was 'borderline abusive' on set, and said he 'almost became the character.'
'Justin almost became the character in the sense that some women on set felt he was borderline abusive to them and that he was unprofessional and unapologetic,' they said.
'Directing a film so serious and so important about domestic abuse without allowing the women to be included in this process is disturbing.'
The insider alleged that the actor, who also served as director and producer, 'failed to recognize' both Blake and Colleen's roles as a fellow producer and writer.
And they said he took it 'very personally' when the pair asked for some script rewrites.
'Without Colleen's book, none of this would have been possible,' they pointed out.
'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.'
A source told DailyMail.com that the tension between Blake and Justin stemmed from him being 'dismissive' of her 'input' while they were filming scenes that involved abuse
The insider claimed that Justin only focused on 'what he believed was the abusive male viewpoint' and had a very 'chauvinistic' approach to the topic
They said things only got worse once he began to feel 'ganged up on' by the women on set.
'His behavior extended beyond the main players,' the source continued. 'Once he felt ganged up on, he became even less empathetic.
'Now, he’s speaking praises, likely out of fear that they’ll call him out. He knows it’s coming and might try to blame his actions on being a method actor.'
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Blake, Justin and Colleen for comment.
Earlier this week, Justin spoke about the difficulties of portraying a domestic violence relationship on screen with CBS Mornings.
He admitted that 'as a man,' he came with 'his own biases' on the topic, but insisted he 'made sure the film had a female gaze.'
'As a man, I'm always going to come with my own biases. It's one of the reasons I was afraid to direct this movie, let alone act in it,' he said.
'I wanted to make sure this film always had a female gaze and I was never putting myself into it.'
Social media users have been desperately trying to figure out what went down between the stars after sensing some tension between them in the weeks leading up to the highly-anticipated film's release.
Blake and Justin didn't pose for any pictures together at the New York premiere this week, despite playing the two main characters and love interests in the flick.
They branded Justin, who also served as director and producer of the film, as 'borderline abusive' on set, and said he 'almost became the character'
Blake and Justin didn't pose for any pictures together at the premiere this week, while she happily took photos with her other costars like Jenny Slate (left) and Brandon Sklenar (right)
Two days later, Blake attended a photo call in London for the film with some of the other stars - but Justin was mysteriously absent (pictured with Isabela Ferrer)
She happily took photos with her other costars like Jenny Slate and Brandon Sklenar, but not Justin, who was joined by his wife of 11 years, Emily Baldoni.
Two days later, Blake attended a photo call in London for the film with some of the other stars - but Justin was mysteriously absent.
In addition, the two haven't done any press together in the weeks leading up to the film's release.
Instead, Blake sat down for an interview with her costar, Brandon, last month; she and Brandon also participated in a promotional video with It Ends With Us stars Alex Neustaedter and Isabela Ferrer, but Justin had no part in it.
Eagle-eyed social media users also noticed that both Blake and author Colleen unfollowed Justin on Instagram recently.
To make matters more suspicious, actress Jenny completely dodged a question about Justin on the red carpet at the premiere on Tuesday evening.
'What was it like having [Justin] be director but also a scene partner?' a Deadline reporter asked the star.
In addition, the two haven't done any press together in the weeks leading up to the film's release. Instead, Blake sat down for an interview with her costar, Brandon, last month
She and Brandon also participated in a promotional video with It Ends With Us stars Isabela and Alex Neustaedter, but Justin had no part in it
Jenny further raised suspicion when she completely dodged a question about Justin on the red carpet at the premiere on Tuesday evening
'I mean what an intense job to have to do so many things,' she replied. 'I found myself being like, "Wow, I just want to have one job at once".
'I've often felt that way, I really like writing and it's special to be able to be a writer but I was looking around like, "Yeah I'm good with just acting." I love it.'
Justin sat down on the Today show yesterday, and he appeared to brush off the feud rumors by gushing over Blake on air
Justin sat down on the Today show yesterday morning for an interview, and he appeared to brush off the feud rumors by gushing over Blake on air.
When asked about what it was like to work with the Gossip Girl alum, he had nothing but positive things to say.
'I don't know if you know how smart and creative she really is,' he said.
'She's best known as an actress and of course she's a fashion icon, but she's so much more than that.
'She is a dynamic creative - she had her hands in every part of this production and everything she touched, she made better.'
Blake recently confirmed her husband Ryan Reynolds, 44, whose new film Deadpool & Wolverine will go head-to-head with It Ends with Us at the box office this weekend, wrote a scene for the Colleen adaptation.
'The iconic rooftop scene, my husband actually wrote it,' she told E! News. 'Nobody knows that but you now.
'We help each other. He works on everything I do; I work on everything he does. So his wins, his celebrations are mine and mine are his.'
