Blake Lively feuded with Justin Baldoni on 'It Ends With Us' set over his 'borderline abusive' behavior

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: For weeks before the release of ‘It Ends With Us,’ reports of a feud between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni were swirling over the internet. 

Recently insiders attached to the film have revealed to Daily Mail that the situation between the two co-stars might be bleaker than initially thought. The sources alleged that Baldoni, 40, was “chauvinistic” and “borderline abusive” on the ‘It Ends with Us’ set.

They further claimed that the actor, who apart from being a star of the movie, also donned the director’s hat for the film based on the Colleen Hoover novel of the same name, failed to “consider” Lively’s inputs on the portrayal of domestic abuse on screen.

Justin Baldoni was reportedly ‘chauvinistic’

The sources recently spoke to Daily Mail about the cause of the feud between Baldoni and Lively, 36. 

As the co-stars were not photographed together during the promotional events, online sleuths started guessing that there was something amiss between the duo. Now the sources are saying that Baldoni’s alleged “dismissive” behavior toward the ‘Gossip Girl’ alum’s inputs left him at the bad book of the actress. 

The film highlights the sensitive topics of domestic violence and toxic relationships as Lively’s character Lily Bloom falls in love with dashing neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni), and the relationship turns toxic and abusive.

The source claimed Baldoni focused on “what he believed was the abusive male viewpoint” while having a “chauvinistic” approach to the issue. 

They continued, “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.”

“His approach was very chauvinistic, creating a tense atmosphere on set,” while adding, “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.”

“Directing a film so serious and so important about domestic abuse without allowing the women to be included in this process is disturbing,” noted the source.

Baldoni allegedly “failed to recognize” Blake and Colleen's roles as a fellow producer and writer, resulting in the friction. Moreover, it is said that he took it “very personally” when Lively and Hoover asked for some edits. 

The source noted, “Without Colleen's book, none of this would have been possible,” and added, “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.”

Moreover, they noted, “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,” added the source.

Meanwhile, it has also been found out that several stars attached to the film have stopped following Baldoni on Instagram. However, Baldoni still follows them. 

Blake Lively was made to feel bad about her postpartum body

Another source recently shared with Page Six that Justin Baldoni has allegedly made Blake Lively feel bad about her postpartum body. She joined the set just after giving birth to her fourth child with Ryan Reynolds, son Olin. 

As photos from the earlier days of the production started surfacing online, Lively was called "frumpy" in her costumes by online fans. That made the actress uncomfortable so she started digging into her closet for her costumes and borrowed dresses from her friend Gigi Hadid.

However, the feeling of the animosity is probably not mutual as when Baldoni was asked about his experience working with Lively, he heaped praises about her. 

The 'Jane the Virgin' star said, “I don't know if you know how smart and creative she really is,” before adding, “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,” added the actor. 

Lively, in another interview with E! News, shared that her husband penned one of the scenes of ‘It Ends With Us.’

She shared, “The iconic rooftop scene, my husband actually wrote it,” and added, “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,” added the mother-of-four.

Internet reacts to Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's alleged feud

Internet was, however, left divided in the matter as several fans sided with Justin Baldoni saying they would be waiting for his version as well. However, another segment condemned the supposed male chauvinistic behavior, while simultaneously criticizing Blake Lively for allegedly interfering in the directorial role. 

One of the leaders commented online, "Looks like Blake’s PR is in damage control mode lol."

Someone else criticized Lively, saying, "Who knows. This feels like a smear campaign on Blake and Ryan's part. They spent more time promoting her hair products and his movie with Hugh during this movie's promo tour. There was absolutely no talk about DV. I think the movie will flop majorly and they want to blame it on Justin."

Another fan pointed out, "Interesting how he’s the only one promoting the film and bringing awareness to domestic violence and she is promoting her hairline during the promotion tour Please this is a smear campaign on Justin."

"Absolutely not. Accusing this man of inappropriate behavior is disgusting. We all see that Blake and Ryan have used this movie to promote her new hair care line and his new film. Justin has been trying to spread an important message regarding DV awareness. This is an attempt to save face due to backlash," said someone else. 

"I’ll wait for Justin’s version," declared another fan.

Someone else chimed in, "Borderline? Either he was abusive or he was not. If he was then he has breached employment laws and should be charged, and the industry should not work with him. If he was not then he should sue for defamation."

"I am personally a little shocked by this. He has always stood up for women and many female co stars have praised him. Hope it was a giant misunderstanding," added another fan.

Meanwhile, another social media user noted, "So he went method in acting his role. As he should? Why should he consider Blake’s character? A abuser doesn’t do that. They are concerned only about themselves, hence why he went method!"

Someone else criticized Bldoni, saying, "And that’s something that would never happen on a professional film set now!! Times have changed - an actor playing an abuser, especially the director, would never continue to portray himself as abusive or aggressive once each filming segment stops! It may work for some characters and may gave been common years ago but no longer."

"I would say when people describe him as being chauvinistic, unprofessional, and borderline abusive then maybe there’s a problem with him. He didn’t consider the positions or feelings of Blake - a fellow producer - or Colleen - the writer - he was very dismissive of their input, that’s why everyone in the cast shunned him during the photo ops on the press tour," said another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.