Despite being released in the summer of 2024, the drama surrounding It Ends With Us (which is streaming with a Netflix subscription) is showing no signs of slowing down. The book-to-screen adaptation did well in theaters, but Blake Lively's lawsuit against Wayfarer Studios kick-started a long legal battle that's still going on today. Some documents about the case were recently unsealed, and Anne Hathaway's name was dropped. So what's going on here?
Shortly after the Gossip Girl star's complaint was filed, director/actor Justin Baldoni filed a defamation suit against both Lively and Ryan Reynolds. In unsealed documents related to the case, e-mails between Sony execs Tony Vinciquerra and Tom Rothman were revealed (via Us Magazine), where they referenced the backlash at Lively related to the movie's promotions. When Vinciquerra defended her in a new story, Rothman responded via e-mail, saying:
This is great. I’m really glad you did it. I waded into the cesspool of TikTok today and was actually shocked at how mean, ugly and personally hateful it was toward her.
Indeed, Lively was facing backlash ahead of the legal war. She encouraged fans to wear florals to theaters when seeing It Ends With Us, with some fans taking umbrage with this "challenge" in a movie about domestic violence. And there were plenty of negative videos on TikTok and other social media outlets like Instagram.
During this exchange about the hate Blake Lively was facing online, Tom Rothman went on to mention Anne Hathaway as another celebrity whom he thought got unwarranted hate from the public. His e-mail went on:
I guess it’s an ugly reflection of society — she has so much (looks, money, fame, hunk husband, kids etc etc), that the instinct of the crowd is to tear her down. Like what happened to Anne Hathaway and neither of them deserve it, even tho she did bring it all on herself by refusing to listen to advice … and by selling her products.
And just like, the Oscar-winning Les Misérables actress has been roped into the ongoing drama. While she wasn't named in any of the actual lawsuits, she's the latest celebrity to have a connection to the It Ends With Us legal situation. And there's no telling how many more names will be dropped before the Lively and Baldoni saga ends.
In addition to the controversy about florals, backlash came at Blake Lively over her interaction with a journalist in an interview years prior. This is another big reason why there was so much criticism coming at her online, which it appears the Sony execs saw and tried to combat.
It's currently unclear how long the battle between Baldoni and Lively will continue for, but both of their legal teams are showing no signs of giving up. As for It Ends With Us, that movie is streaming now on Netflix.
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