Sony Pictures is praising Blake Lively’s “passion and commitment to advancing the conversation around domestic violence” with It Ends With Us amid some backlash she’s received for her promotion of the drama.
Lively, who co-produced and stars in the film as florist and domestic-violence survivor Lily Bloom, has been criticized online for what some feel has been a “tone-deaf” approach to promoting a movie surrounding serious themes.
“I’m very confused. You missed the entire purpose of the movie. I’m sad and disappointed,” one comment read on a recent lighthearted “Girl Talk” promo video that Lively, 36, posted to her Instagram grid, where she talks with Hoover, 44, plus costars Jenny Slate and Isabela Ferrer.
On Wednesday, Aug. 14, Tony Vinciquerra, Sony Pictures Entertainment chair-CEO, praised Lively, telling The Hollywood Reporter in a statement, “Blake’s passion and commitment to advancing the conversation around domestic violence is commendable. We love working with Blake, and we want to do 12 more movies with her.”
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Based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel, It Ends With Us debuted in theaters with a $50 million opening weekend at the domestic box office. While it currently holds a 57% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, its Audience Score sits much higher, at 93%.
“Blake, Colleen and so many women put so much effort into this remarkable movie, working selflessly from the start to ensure that such an important subject matter was handled with care,” Vinciquerra also told THR, adding that “audiences love the movie.”
In the the romantic drama, Lively plays a woman named Lily who gets tangled in an abusive relationship with a man named Ryle Kincaid (played by Justin Baldoni, who also directs) before making the decision to leave.
On her Instagram Stories Tuesday, Aug. 13, Lively thanked her fans for supporting It Ends With Us and the film’s “important” messages, as well as shared a clip of herself speaking about the movie’s themes on the red carpet at the London premiere.
She also posted resources for survivors of domestic violence, sharing the CDC statistic that one in four adult women have experienced physical violence by their intimate partner in their lifetimes. Wrote the Gossip Girl alum, “Intimate partner violence affects all genders, including more than 12 million people every year in the United States.”
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“Everyone deserves relationships free from domestic violence. The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides confidential support 24/7/365,” Lively continued in the post, adding a link to the hotline, plus: “For immediate help text “START” to 88788.”
The Simple Favor actress has also drawn criticism over comments she made in recent chat for Jake’s Takes, where interviewer Jake Hamilton asked her what would be the best way for fans to talk to her about the themes in It Ends With Us if they approached her in public.
“Like, asking for my address, or my phone number, or, like, location share?” she quipped. “I would just location share you, and then we could [talk]. I’m a Virgo, so like, are we talking logistics, are we talking emotionally?”
But on a serious note, Lively went on, “What’s been beautiful about this movie is that, unfortunately, we all know at least [one person] who [has] experienced this.”
“And the beauty of this has been to see people, and to see this movie alongside women who haven’t experienced this — thank goodness — go, ‘Whoa, I fell in love, too. I saw the red flags, but they didn’t look red; they looked kinda fuchsia and cute. But you know, I ignored them,’ ” she added.
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Lively has been embroiled in recent reports of friction with Baldoni, 40, which reportedly also extends to much of the main cast.
Notably, the director has been largely absent from grouped promotional appearances, including at the New York City premiere, where he didn’t pose with his costars or introduce the film ahead of the screening. Additionally, Lively, Hoover, Slate, 42, Ferrer, 24, and Sklenar, 34, do not follow Baldoni back on Instagram.
There have also been reports of creative clashes behind the scenes, which allegedly led to two different cuts of the movie emerging, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“All is not what it seems,” a set source told PEOPLE about the rift. “There is much more to this story. The principal cast and Colleen Hoover will have nothing to do with him.”
Baldoni has since hired crisis public relations manager Melissa Nathan of The Agency Group amid reports of his alleged behavior on set.
