It Ends With Us is one of many book to screen adaptations to arrive in theaters lately, although BTS drama is overshadowing the actual film. The movie, which is streaming with a Netflix subscription, has become best known by the long legal battle happening between stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni (who also directed the title). Now author Colleen Hoover has issued her own statement about the ongoing situation.
Blake Lively's complaint against Wayfarer Studios kickstarted a legal saga that's still going on to this day. Justin Baldoni fired back with a defamation case, and countless headlines have surrounded It Ends With Us since. Hoover recently addressed the situation in an interview with Elle, speaking about the controversy that's become synonymous with the movie version of her book. She said:
It feels like a circus. When there are real people involved, with real feelings and emotions. This actually truly has impacted some of the actors’ careers in huge ways. And I just find it all around sad. I’m just trying to stay removed from the negativity. I have my own story I could tell … but I don’t want to bring attention to it, and I don’t want to have to put someone else down to lift myself up.
Rather than adding fuel to the fire of this long legal battle, it sounds like Colleen Hoover is disheartened by the It Ends With Us drama. She seemingly sees the harm that could come to both Lively and Badloni's careers, and is trying separate herself from the brouhaha.This comes shortly after alleged texts from Hoover to Justin Baldoni have arrived online, where she asks to be left out of the drama.
The drama of It Ends With Us seems to be dwarfing its messaging, and emotional tale of domestic violence. Hoover's book is actually based on her mother's story, which adds another level of emotion to the way the movie is associated with legal drama. As she went on to say:
The book was inspired by her story, and now it gives us PTSD to think about it. I feel awful because I almost feel like she’s gone through more with the aftermath of this film, more pain than she went through with my dad, just seeing the ugliness of it. I can’t even recommend it anymore. I feel like [the lawsuit] has overshadowed it.
I can't imagine how many complex emotions this has prompted for both Hoover and her family. She seems to think that the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni drama has overshadowed the story being told. And she even thinks that his has even added more pain for her mother than the years she spent in an unhappy relationship.
While Justin Baldoni's defamation case was thrown out, both legal teams appear to still be hard at work. So unfortunately for Colleen Hoover, It Ends With Us likely won't be able to separate itself from the BTS drama. The movie issues are affecting the way she's looking at the book itself, as she said:
I’m almost embarrassed to say I wrote it. When people ask what I do, I’m just like, ‘I’m a writer. Please don’t ask me what I wrote.’ The more time that passes, the easier everything gets for all of us. But it is sad, because I was very proud of that book. And I’m still proud of it, but less publicly so. Maybe I need therapy, I don’t know
Talk about a bummer. Getting a successful book turned into a hit movie sounds like a dream, but in the case of It Ends With Us, Hoover was also treated to a series of unforeseen challenges. And if/when Baldoni and Lively meet in court in March, I can't imagine how many more headlines will come.
It Ends With Us is streaming now on Netflix. While Blake Lively has a number of project on the 2026 movie release list and beyond, Justin Baldoni doesn't have any upcoming projects listed on his IMDb at the time of writing this story.
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