Blake Lively was embroiled in a lot of controversy as her hit film It Ends With Us rolled out in the theatres. The whole drama and negative attention caught the actress off guard and she was upset about it. The controversial drama began with rumours of a feud with co-actor and director of the film Justin Baldoni which put Lively under a microscope for the following weeks. She was criticised for her ways of promoting the movie as compared to Baldoni and her comments in interviews both new and old.

Blake Lively ‘surprised’ by the It Ends With Us controversy

A source revealed to People that Lively was “pretty surprised at the backlash and drama” which unfolded with the release of the film last month. The source revealed to the media outlet, “She initially felt very vulnerable and upset. During the promotion of the movie, not one day went by when she was not in the news in an unfavourable light. She's just not used to this kind of drama."

 The source added that Lively “felt out of control to her” during the whole situation. However, she “enjoys working and will continue to push forward projects that she's excited about."

Lively portrayed the character of protagonist Lily Bloom as well she was the producer of the film. The film has since grown to become the highest-grossing film of the actress’ career so far. The rumours sparked on the film’s premiere night where Lively and Baldoni did not pose with each other.

This was followed by the observation that the two were not seen again promoting the film together as well. Fingers were also pointed at the film’s marketing campaign which considered claiming they were misleading given the sensitive theme of domestic violence in the movie. 

Brandon Sklenar backs Lively amid drama 

While the controversy sparked with one co-star, Lively’s other co-actor Brandon Sklenar came to her defence. Sklenar spoke against the “negativity” directed towards the women of the film’s cast. He wrote on Instagram, “Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about. It is, in fact, the opposite of the point." 

It Ends With Us cashed in $300 million at the box office, worldwide. The film is based on the book by Colleen Hoover of the same name. She also wrote a sequel to the book which Baldoni owns the right to turn into a film. However, the actor previously said that Lively should direct the sequel if it happens. Nothing has been confirmed about the making of the sequel.

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