After Lively made bombshell allegations against Baldoni in a sexual harassment lawsuit, Hoover reacted to the news and praised the actress on social media.
Colleen Hoover — the bestselling romance author of It Ends With Us — is speaking out after Blake Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni over his alleged behavior during and post-production of the book’s film adaptation.
In the lawsuit, which was obtained by TMZ on Saturday, Lively, the lead actress in the movie, detailed allegations of sexual harassment along with claims that Baldoni, her costar and director on the film, and his team participated in a smear campaign to destroy her reputation. (Baldoni’s team has denied the allegations.)
On Saturday afternoon, Hoover — who was also an executive producer of the It Ends With Us film adaptation — took to her Instagram Stories to show her support for Lively, who plays the lead character, Lily Bloom.
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Blake Lively Says Justin Baldoni ‘Cried’ for Hours In Her Dressing Room Over Her Appearance: Lawsuit
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The author posted a photo of herself and Lively, 37, sharing a heartfelt embrace in a movie theater, where they were cheered on by the audience at what was seemingly a screening of the film.
“@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met,” Hoover wrote over the photo. “Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
She also attached a link to a New York Times article shared on Saturday titled, “We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” which detailed Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni, including the alleged “social manipulation” campaign him and his team launched to “destroy” Lively’s reputation.
As the outlet noted, in the lawsuit, the alleged smear campaign was documented via emails and text messages reportedly obtained via subpoena — allegedly between Baldoni, his publicist, and his crisis management team.
As for why she filed the lawsuit, Lively said in a statement to TMZ: “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, fired back at the lawsuit in a statement, calling all of the claims “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.”
Freedman said Wayfarer Studios “did nothing proactive nor retaliated” against Lively, slamming the lawsuit as “another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation.”
He also addresses Lively’s alleged behavior on set, claiming that her “demands and threats” included “threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.”
To see a breakdown of the lawsuit, click here.
It Ends With Us, which was released in August 2024, centers on Lily Bloom (Lively), a woman grappling with domestic abuse at the hands of her husband, Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni).
Hoover has previously shared that the story was loosely inspired by her mother’s experience with domestic violence at the hands of her father.
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At the time of the It Ends With Us’ August release, Lively received criticism over the way she promoted the film versus Baldoni.
Lively leaned into fashionable red carpet moments and participated in prank videos … while Baldoni focused more on how the movie depicts domestic violence, bringing more awareness to the issue. According to the lawsuit, Lively followed the agreed-upon marketing plan.
During the promotional tour, Hoover participated in the press alongside Lively and other cast members, with the author appearing to remain unwavering in her support for the actress despite the controversy.
While It Ends With Us received mixed reviews from critics, it was considered a box-office success.
It is the first film adaptation of one of Hoover’s bestselling novels. Several movie adaptations have since been announced, including the 2018 psychological thriller, Verity. Deadline announced on Friday that the film will star Dakota Johnson and Josh Harnett opposite Anne Hathaway.
As of this past summer, Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, still held the rights to the It Ends With Us sequel, It Starts With Us. It’s unclear if that remains unchanged.
