It Ends With Us Controversy: The Real Problem With The Movie & Press Tour, Explained

It Ends With Us, the new film starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni based on the TikTok-Viral book of the same name by Colleen Hoover, has rocketed to the top of the box office since its release, but most of the movie’s press… hasn’t actually been about the movie itself. Instead, alleged behind the scenes drama has dominated the headlines and overshadowed the real message of the film. So… what’s really going on here? Let’s take a moment to separate the production’s problems from the movie’s problems, and analyze how they’ve intersected and sparked their own issues. Plus, we’ll actually dive into the real important message that’s getting lost in all of the drama.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:41 The behind the scenes battle coming to the surface
02:44 Why the press tour fell apart & turned people off
04:30 Movie changes caused discourse (but do make sense)
06:04 The biggest dilemma over the film itself
07:38 Why the 'fun & florals' promo was such a bad idea
08:33 This all was a missed opportunity to do good

The Take was created by Debra Minoff & Susannah McCullough

[GabrielaCenturionNeumann]

I think they could have easily done the same floral themed promo saying something like "Let's all wear flowers in solidarity of people like Lilly who go through this day in and day out" or something of that sort. They could have even gotten away with the "take your friends" if they would have sprinkled facts like "a lot of times friends and family are unaware of what is happening, so let's all go together, watch the movie and start conversations". I mean, they could have done pretty much the same, but framing it from a perspective that acknowledges that this is in fact a serious matter

[brownenerdygurl]

I hate that Justin has been ostracized seemingly for wanting to talk about the serious issues in the film instead of "joining the Flower party".
I hate that Blake went to her job and flexed that her husband so powerful in Hollywood that he can rewrite parts of the screenplay without input from the screenwriter. Producer or not, it's dismissive & disrespectful.
I hate that Blake's been so dismissive of the DV elements of the film, saying things like "DV is bad, but it doesn't define Lilly. She's more than that. Stronger." It all reeks of performative feminism and is tone deaf.

[trinaq]

Colleen Hoover's novels are easy to read, but her character name choices are very on the nose, and hard to take seriously. Lily Blossom Bloom runs a florists', Atlas is her entire world, and Ryle gets easily riled up.

[LaDeGafitas]

I know this is stupid considering that the discussion is about something much more important, but it bothers me so much that the protagonist is a florist named Lily Bloom... that was such lazy writing.

Edit: Lily BLOSSOM Bloom??? FFS, one book that I'm gonna skip entirely.

[trinaq]

I liked that the ending was better than the novel's, where Lily allows Ryle to coparent their daughter unsupervised, when he could easily lose his temper again, or verbally abuse her. I feel sorry for Justin Baldoni, in that he genuinely wanted to convey the seriousness of domestic violence, but Blake and Colleen seem intent on pushing the fashion and romantic love story aspects.

[LighthouseJaye]

Respect to Justin Baldoni. Hate that they attempted to make him the "scapegoat" for caring about the topic enough to make it the center of the "press tour".
Blake is sad because at the least a good hour long podcast about the topic would have been helpful even if it was shallow.
Maybe she's had problems and doesn't want to talk about them... maybe she never has and doesn't understand the value of connecting on the topic.

I was surprised to see Justin on the "bad" side because he's chased movies with more depth since ending "Jane The Virgin" but he is also the lesser known actor and maybe the others feared the "Deadpool Gossip Girl super group" that would shun them from Hollywood...

(Sorry for the edit, wanted to focus on the value of Justin's attempt more than Blake richdaddying the press tour and movie)

[wwaxwork]

I mean the book literally uses Domestic Violence as a meet cute device, not sure why people expected the movie to suddenly be a careful exploration of the issue.

[renatanovato]

I was victim of domestic abuse and I totally disagree with all media around it!
The power imbalance is not necessarily because of money as everybody seems to believe. I was the bread winner and didn't need him for anything, but stayed in the relationship for 18 years.
My family tried to warn me, make me open my eyes, but I was blind.
Abuse is not as simple as they make us believe.

[chimmypark]

What we all know at this point truly is that Justin is the only one who values what the book was really about

[signalfire]

I mean… The evidence of deficiency in character is stacked against Blake Lively and I’m an evidenced based person. Just because all of the other cast and crew seem to side with her doesn’t prove anything. There are lots of people who employ power to get others on their side. Spreading rumors, victimizing themselves, etc. And usually the other side chooses to remain quiet and not respond in the same way (because they have integrity) which only adds fuel to the other sides story being true. We see situations like this play out so often in life but I’m just very impressed with the general public being able to see through it this time.

[tartnouveau]

If I remember correctly, it was rumored that Blake Lively was quite the bully to Leighton Meester on GG, once even commenting on Leighton’s upbringing (which was rough). I’m not sure where her cute reputation came from, because she’s been known as a bully for years.

[tthewizard]

art imitates life. just like DV in real life isn’t taken seriously, the promotion of this movie wasn’t taking the subject matter seriously either. how sadly ironic.

[sjn]

Honestly Maid on Netflix seems a much better story about DV. Especially because it focuses on emotional abuse, not physical. It's a lot harder to spot, and a lot harder to fight and get out of. They should probably show more stories about emotional abuse, especially because there are so many out there that romanticise it. 50 shades of grey, the After movies, 365 days, Twilight. Those movies are just sickening.

[cherishchee]

Justin Baldoni has said that he fought hard to put a trigger warning before the movie but he lost.

[thefriesofLockeLamora]

This book doesn't deserve more publicity. There are way better books that handle and explore the theme of intimate partner violence better than Hoover's laughable attempt at literature. For better books you can read In The Dreamhouse by Carmen Maria Machado, Big Little Lies, The Colour Purple, A Woman is no Man etc. The world needs to move on from Colleen Hoover expeditiously

[cameronfield]

I think the current trend of celebrity producers having their husbands and friends come in and make cameos or completely take over other people's roles is kind of despicable and flys in the face of the writer's strike that just happened

Say what you will about him but when Tom Cruise first did in MI 2 or 3 and became producer, its sole purpose was to allow him to do all his own stunts without producers banning him, that's fine

But why bother employing directors, writers, producers or any staff that are professionals in their field if actors are going to start taking over these roles

[PokhrajRoy.]

I knew it was a risky adaptation and none of the responses surprised me BUT I WAS SHOOKETH when I heard Jenny Slate and Hasan Minhaj were in it like you guys should be in better movies

[yq]

Blake cannot complete a sentence without somehow speaking Ryan's name. No matter she's talking about

[PokhrajRoy.]

I mean, NOT TO TAKE NAMES but the commodification of ‘social issues’ has been happening for a while. Making it an aesthetic is just weird.

[MsBloo]

Blake Lively looks like BLAKE LIVELY in every movie she plays ( to me )! Its as if theres something written in her contract when enlisting for a movie where she has to be herself and the character second. As her presentation, even with the clips here show her signature, pursing of the lips when in flirty scenes, her well known beach soft waves hair thats ALWAYS blonde and intentional frizz to give it the, " I just woke up like this, " flair and squitning of the eyes. BRUHHHH. She doesnt exude the characters she plays to me which is sad because i liked her in gossip girl but i tend to wonder if she has ever evolved since then. Not a hater just....her and her hubby Ryan Reynolds who has the same problem ( to me ) of not being able to blend into the characters they play irritate me. Movies and TV shows are supposed to immerse you in the story and bring the characters to life NOT emphasis the actors/actresses.