It Ends With Us Legal Drama Breakdown With Rebecca

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Welcome to the shit show. Things are going to get weird.
It's your fave villain,

Kale Lowry. And you're listening to Barely Famous.
Today, I have a writer from OK Magazine. Becca, welcome to Barely Famous Podcast.
Thank you for having me. Yeah, of course.
So today we want to talk about It Ends With Us, Colleen Hoover, Justin Baldoni, and Blake Lively. And I loved the book.
I loved the movie. There's a lot of drama surrounding this.
What's your take on it? Where are we at? I also was a huge fan of the book and movie. I mean, now, obviously, I watched the movie back a second time recently, and it makes you look at it differently, and it makes you question and stuff.
It makes me sad because of how much I loved the book, and reading that book was super emotional and honestly helped me change my perspective, and I even feel like I grew from reading the book. So it to me makes me sad that this story has now this whole other side to it.
And it's taking away from like the true themes and meanings of the book. And now it's all about these A-list celebrities and the whole idea of he said, she said, instead of the true woman's lives were changed were changed from this book.
Yeah. And people walked away from abusive relationships, people.
And even after watching the movie, people came out and said, like, I finally was able to leave. And I just wish that the story could stay focused on that.
Right. I will say that Colleen Hoover and her books have they were a huge reason that I got back into reading, because I think one of the first books that I read was a Colleen Hoover book.
Me too. You know, to sort of jump off on my, on my reading journey.
And so that's really important to me, but also being a survivor of a domestic, of domestic violence myself, I really resonated with the story. And so I actually went to see the screener with my best friend who had not read the book.
And we both cried at the movie the first time we saw it. I hate that Colleen Hoover's first adaptation is sort of clouded by all of this.
And I was saying to you earlier, I don't know where the line is, right? Because Blake deserves a voice, Justin deserves a voice, but Colleen, this is a huge moment in Colleen Hoover's career. And so that's really sad because the book and the movie have such a strong message, just an important message.
And I want to get into the timeline. And I feel like this all happened so fast.
Yeah. And one thing I was going to say, too, is I think it's crazy how one thing we had been talking about before, too, is this whole idea of social media and are people on social media right? Do we believe everything we see on social media? But then there's this whole other thing of was social media right? Because when you remember when the premiere was on TikTok and stuff and it was blowing up and people knew that there was drama going on before it ever came out.
People saw Blake and Justin acting weird at the premiere and the whole internet knew so it's like is social media not right I'll tell you what TikTok and and true I hate to call them sleuths because I think there's a negative connotation but they're I mean they'll figure it out before right before it actually is confirmed and I feel like the internet can do some wonders with that because I, when other people caught on, I didn't catch on to that.

I just don't have the eye for that.

I was shook when people were making these like allegations or like having speculation surrounding this.

Cause I was like, why are you guys turning something into something it's not?

I just didn't, maybe, maybe they weren't really friends, but that's all I, that's the conclusion I came to was like, maybe they're not really friends.

They just work together and that's the end of the story. Right.
But people really speculated what was going on before anything happened. I, I think I was late to the game.
Like I had no idea that there was drama. So when I first saw, cause obviously I was covering the premiere, I was covering what Blake was wearing when she wore the Britney Spears dress.
And I was covering all aspects of that. But then there's also these angles of, well, the internet is saying something is going down, but then you can't just base, that's not factual.
But you know what? You're a journalist and I've been on TV. So we sort of have a different perspective and we see it through a different lens because we have that background.
I think that the general public who has not been in those same positions see things through a different lens than we do. So we know to sort of take it with a grain of salt and maybe understand that right off the bat that there is two sides or three sides to the story where someone else might see things and call it for what they see it as right and I think that's a good point to point out there is always going to be three sides to a story um there's what he said what she said and then there's the truth um and I think in this case it's going to take some time for the truth to come out when covering the premieres and stuff and analyzing that my first I didn't want to believe that there I was like there's no way there's drama what are you talking about the internet's just being annoying again yeah like just leave them alone this is such a beautiful story just I was literally like it felt like I was like hanging on the edge of my seat I was don't touch this one.
Make this go away so we can focus on the message of the book in the movie. And I was just such a fan of Colleen and her story and her work.
And I was like, just everyone loved Blake, loved Justin. Like just I just for once, can we just all be happy and just let this film have the success it deserves? And then when these lawsuits came out, it's like, wait, no, this is really happening.
As much as you didn't want to believe it or didn't want to believe that there was drama, now they're both saying, no, you guys were right, honestly. I feel like the lawsuits are saying, no, the internet was right.
There's something going down. But now it's just about, I guess, finding out what went down and what side of the story ends up being right that leads me to my next question I guess this is a general question just for anyone is omitting information lying in this case I would say yes I think omitting information makes a good case for saying that it's liable and saying it's damaging to your reputation because what if that information is included then someone might have a different completely different perspective i would be curious though we talked about in the beginning of this episode we talked about um you know how the entire situation sucks for colleen right professionally speaking but do we think that all of this has people go watch the movie more? I watched it again for a second time on Netflix after this all came out.
Did you? Yeah. Did you have a different perspective the second time you watched it? A hundred percent.
You did. A hundred percent.
Did you pick up on anything? I mean, it's crazy because it's crazy because this whole thing is about there's sexual assault accusations here and the whole part of the

story and it's Justin's portraying this evil character I guess you would say like Ryle at the

end of the day you're supposed to believe at the end of the day like he did things to hurt Lily

and he did things and now in real life in real life Blake's saying Justin hurt him her so it's

kind of crazy to think about and when watching the movie back again I'm looking and I'm like

is what's Blake what's Blake's emotions as she's acting as Lily what's Justin feeling towards

Thank you. it's kind of crazy to think about and when watching the movie back again I'm looking and I'm like is what's Blake what's Blake's emotions as she's acting as Lily what's Justin feeling towards Blake as he's Ryle playing like having feelings for Lily I look at clips from the movie and I think to myself how were these two able to work together so closely when there was so much animosity between them during all of this or alleged animosity or potential animosity or maybe it was one-sided and the other party didn't know how I do think they did a great job I loved it but I do wonder how they were able to effectively do these scenes and have these intimate moments on camera and for the movie when they potentially felt like this about each other.
I think we have to also remember that these are two of the most famous actors, actresses in the world. I had never heard of Justin Valjone before this.
I'll be honest with you. Is he on that? Yeah.
I had never seen him or heard him. So I heard of him.
In Jane the Virgin and he, well, he's also a also a director he's a lot of his credentials i guess you would say are from directing too and not necessarily starring so more so but like behind the scenes i also don't know that i had ever seen i knew who blake gladly was but i don't know that i had ever seen her act i didn't watch gossip girl i had never seen the shallows i'm not shark is that a show yeah it's like a shark movie i I've never seen any. I knew who she was.
Oh, no. You know what? I saw Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Or The Age of Adeline. No, I have no idea what that is.
Okay. So I knew who she was vaguely.
I didn't know she was as big as she is. And I'm not talking about physically.
I mean her present. Like I didn't know that she is as popular and famous as she is.
And so I was like, I cannot believe this is even going on. Okay.
So going back to the timeline, we have December 20th, Blake Lively files the CRD complaint. Then the very next day, the New York Times posts the report about the alleged smear campaign against Lively.
Two days later, December 23rd, 2024, Justin and Heath's co-host, is Heath the last name of somebody? So Baldoni and Heath's co-host on the Man Enough podcast, Liz Plank leaves the show with no explanation. So that leads me to believe that she's probably thinking, oh my gosh, she wants to, these are all my own thoughts.
These are nobody else's thoughts. I allegedly think that maybe she was like, okay, well, if Blake Lively is a victim in this, like I can't support Justin.
Right. Like, I don't know that for sure.
I don't know what her thought process was, but she leaves it with no explanation, which I didn't even know he had a podcast. Me either.
And I think also it's just such a sensitive topic. My brain, at least, automatically went to the Me Too movement.
And we're supposed to we we finally as women especially created this whole movement where it's like no me too and i like blake is accusing justin of sexual assault your immediate thought is to believe the woman and that's what we've been taught to at least as a woman to support other women and believe women and be a girl's girl but then it's like how can you know if it's true or not so she leaves it the next day the very next day and it came oh it says it came days after lively's complaint against baldoni

so that's i mean that has to have impacted his maybe not his income but the brand as a whole

which is sort of like defamation i would say libel slander defamation still falls into that

sort of category and then on christmas eve 2024 we have baldoni's former publicist suing him

Thank you. Sort of like defamation, I would say.
Libel, slander, defamation still falls into that sort of category. And then on Christmas Eve 2024, we have Baldoni's former publicist suing him, Abel, Nathan, and Wayfair.
Stephanie Jones and her agency, Jones Works LLC, filed a lawsuit against him, his company, and then his current publicist, Abel, and crisis communications specialist, Nathan, in New York, December 24. What's the deal with that? I don't think that I necessarily understood where the publicist came into it because why would someone else then be suing Justin? I think that has to do, and again, this is also my opinions and Not Okay Magazine's opinions and stuff, but I do think that might have to do with the whole smear campaign aspect of it and how these public publicists it almost feels like they're playing chess like so did they think that justin did it i i'm assuming i mean you don't file a lawsuit without having a case i would say and so by filing a lawsuit against him they must have thought that he bent the rules or it says quote defendants abel and nathan secretly conspired for months to publicly and privately attack jones and jones works to breach multiple contracts and induce

contractual breaches and to steal clients and business prospects what does that mean i'm not

understanding like i know what it means but where does it fall into like into all of the drama so i just used nerd wallet's card finder tool to find a better card for me and listeners this is genius all you have to do is answer a few questions and in minutes you'll get matched with recommendations tailored to you. I'm discovering

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Because then on December 31st, 2024, Baldoni, Wayfair, and others sue the New York Times. and in the lawsuit the new york times is accused of libel false light invasion of privacy promissory fraud and breach of implied in fact contract for its article about retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs the plaintiffs allegedly conducted against lively after she voiced concerns about purported misconduct misconduct on set but who is who was in charge during this entire time on set if there were issues on set so there was a I'm pretty sure actually I'm not pretty sure just put your put yourself in Blake Lively's shoes if what she's saying is true and these horrific things are happening to her I am no longer pursuing I'm putting a pause on everything and until everything is situated we're not moving forward right i'm not going to and i don't want victim shame right so that's not an attack on her but you think you would think so it says on january 4th 2024 so that's back over a year now blake did address her concerns in an all hands meeting with the entire what were the concerns at that time? In a text that Nathan sent to Abel.
He doesn't. Nathan says he doesn't realize how lucky he is right now.
The whispering in the ear, the sexual connotations like Jesus Christ and other members feel uncomfortable watching it. I mean's just so much so that is like so almost his own team admitting that he in admitting that he's allegedly doing this stuff changing the scenes you mean um well this part specifically was about him whispering sexual connotations in her ear but how do they know what he's whispering just playing devil's advocate a little bit right like i don't i mean i i guess it's happening on set maybe it's more than a whisper i mean maybe i mean i can whisper over here like you're so sexy and like you hear that you know yeah so i feel like maybe it was like that okay so then we have december 31st 2024 which is what what, three weeks ago? Four weeks? Yep, three weeks ago.
Lively files a lawsuit against Baldoni and Wayfair Associates. January 2nd, Baldoni's lawyer expresses intent to sue Lively.
I think this is where everything intensifies publicly, right, in the court of public opinion, right? People went from being sort of on Blake's side to now switching over. And then this is where I feel it really intensified that people were like, okay, we believe Justin.
Yeah. And feeling bad for Justin because he.
What about Colleen? Yeah. Does anyone feel bad for Colleen? I feel bad.
Is everyone looking at Colleen colleen and like okay this is supposed to be a pivotal pivotal moment in her career this could potentially set the tone for the rest of her adaptations that are coming we have verity is in is in the works right now right and i think there's an uh regretting you is another one um i think reminders of him was picked up so this is the first one that is going to set the tone. I just, I don't, does anyone feel bad for her? Where are their thoughts in here? Where I don't, for both of them.
And maybe they've reached out personally and privately. I don't know.
But where is the, just as publicly as you're destroying this for her, where is the public apology? Right. The public feel bad don't you it also it also gets confusing because then we have Colleen come forward in support of Blake and then it's I think that was early on though and yes if you were following the case really closely or the cases and and all of this really closely I did read and this is all alleged.
I don't know this to be absolutely factual,

but there was something that I read

that was talking about how Blake said

that she would refuse to promote the film

and the work if everyone was basically not on her side.

Right.

And how is that fair?

Again, this is Colleen Hoover's first adaptation,

so she wants to support the actress,

the main character of her story,

and I don't blame her for that.

I understand where she's coming from. And I think that, you know, everybody involved here really owes Colleen Hoover an apology.
I agree. It's hard, too, because I understand all sides.
I did understand, especially from when this all started. I loved Blake as an actress.
I loved the role she was in. in I loved watching her on the screen I don't know her as a person obviously um but I that doesn't mean I wasn't completely pleased with the way she was promoting the film and I know that that was where a lot of the issues started it was kind of like flowers and happiness but Justin's over here like domestic violence and this message of the film and being able to leave a toxic environment but then i also can see how blake was like but this is about lily being her own person at the end of the day and not just being defined by her domestic violence and but it wasn't to me that's not how i took it right it was right it's like the message is that you have you you can leave you can get out of the cycle you can it ends with us right like that is the message, not about who she is as a person.
It's like the message is that you can leave. You can get out of the cycle.
It ends with us, right? Like that is the message, not about who she is as a person. It's about having the strength to leave a really toxic situation.
I just wonder too, just from an ethical and moral standpoint, is at the point that you realize there is problem after problem after problem and the he said, she said on set, at what point? I mean, I understand there are millions of dollars involved and I get that, but it had already been prolonged for so long and it had already had the stop because of the writer's strike or whatever the case was. When there are this many issues and the allegations to this level, at what point did Sony have a responsibility to put a halt to all production because of some of these allegations? If what Blake Lively is saying is true, then should Sony be slapped with the lawsuit as well? Because I don't know about anyone else, but I mean, I've been on set before and I've had people tell me, oh, you should sue them for that.
You know what I mean? Because as a production company, as an entity, they had a moral and ethical obligation to say we have to pause here i do believe that blake might have sued sony actually well allegedly on january 7th 2025 which as of the time of this recording was two weeks ago or one week ago sorry baldoni's team sends disney ceo and marvel boss a preservation of evidence letter in relation to dead and Wolverine because allegedly Ryan Reynolds character was making comments essentially making fun of Justin Baldoni in his character of Deadpool nice pool I saw I read it online as nice pool I didn't know if that was for um because Deadpool might get flagged Deadpool like switches personalities throughout the film. Oh, okay.
I haven't seen okay. So there's nice pool, there's kid pool, there's all these different pools.
Okay, so they were saying that he made comments in reference to whatever Blake Lively was going through on set of It Ends With Us. And so that's sort of what the extent of the timeline that I have.
But in Blake's complaint summary, I mean, it's long. There's a lot going on here.
And to your point, she said in the complaint that she was being shown images of naked women, specifically a video of Jamie Heath's wife giving birth, non-consensual discussions of her weight. I did read, we'll say speculation or allegations that this was in reference to an injury that Baldoni had and so he had to ask for that reason you know I don't know if there's typical protocol for something like that but maybe he didn't need to I don't know if he did or didn't ask her directly but maybe there's like a chain of like a sequence of events that need to occur for that I don't know he allegedly texted or sent a message or spoke to Blake's personal personal trainer asking how much blake weighed because he had there was a scene in which he had to pick her up which blake i believe alleged wasn't initially included in the script of him having to all of a sudden pick her up and stuff and so now he was trying to find out how much she weighed because he said he has back back issues okay and so at that point if you have back issues and it wasn't initially part of the script maybe remove it right like that i will say it's like i don't want to be asked how much i weighed by a man or a woman right so for me i don't want that in there so at the point that you have a back injury period point blank that is the end of that scene you know what I mean um number three is Mr Baldoni allegedly speaking to Blake Lively's dead father which you know I didn't know right off the bat uh number four of like no two speaking two oh like in spirit I don't okay I'm not sure um number four is Blake Lively requesting that an intimacy coordinator be present on set during the scenes between her and baldoni no more improvised kissing and that mr baldoni and mr he not touch lively her employees or other female crew members without their consent now i did see um where there was a conversation had about the intimacy coordinator and blake lively denying um or rather doesn't need an intimacy coordinator.
And she was giving direction in a video. Right.
I remember seeing that go viral on TikTok. All of a sudden she's saying she demanded demanded an intimacy coordinator be present.
But then there's videos of her teaching or directing Justin how to be intimate. So I think there was a screenshot of text messages where she's declining.
I don't know. Allegedly, do your own research.
An agreement was reached, which included the following. No more showing nude videos or images, including the producer's wife to Blake.
No more mention of Mr. Baldoni's or Mr.
Heath's previous pornography addiction. And that's in quotes or Blake Lively's lack of pornography consumption.
That's weird. And then it's just like, why is what does porn have to do with this? Well, I think it comes down to the conversations that are being had on set.
You know, I own a company where tons of people are on set. We all talk about crazy things.
Right. But I always make sure that everyone's comfortable.
If someone brings up a conversation that somebody else is not comfortable with, I need to make sure that as the owner of the company and I'm present, I have to make sure everyone's comfortable. If nobody's comfortable, don't participate in the conversation and actually don't talk about that.
So I think at what point were these conversations not being shut down when someone was uncomfortable? Right what more could the entire cast or production or crew have done before this movie went public before they had to show their faces side by side at the premiere which they never ended up even doing which I think only made things worse and if it's true Justin's alleging that he had to go into the basement at the premiere and then there's whole that aspect of things about he's the director and he can't have his like that's his moment at the end of the day at what point was PR involved because I feel like PR handles a lot of this stuff or should handle all this stuff before it comes out because you have to almost think ahead from a PR standpoint right because you have to understand that if there's animosity between characters or between actors and actresses, knowing that they're never going to be photographed together on a premiere or at a movie or at a promotion or whatever that looks like, you have to know that there's going to be speculation. So there also wasn't anything done there either.
One thing i thought too is when people were speculating and stuff what if a statement was put out then what if there was just some sort of explanation from blake or justin of why this was happening and why they weren't on screen together i feel a real conversation about that could have prevented the spiral of speculation of course there's always going to be, but when the internet's confused, it just makes them speculate even more and it makes them form their own opinions. But then I was even going to ask you as a personality and stuff, do you feel addressing problems head on even is helpful? Not always.
So there are certain times where I'm like, okay, the general public hates those. You know when people are going to get divorced and they put out this like joint generic statement about irreconcilable differences or something so generic.
And it's like, in a way I understand them because they are basically calling a spade a spade, but without getting into the nitty gritty details, I do think that that probably could have prevented a lot of the speculation because it would confirm that there is in fact issues without getting into what they are and i think that would have that potentially could have saved the day right that's what that's what i was also thinking of if they were just like you know what we did get along there is issues between us personally but at the end of the day this film is beautiful yeah 100 i think that they're without it getting lost in in the sauce like the message of the movie, Colleen Hoover, all of that, I do think that that could have, and that doesn't mean that that would work for every situation. Of course.
Because there's definitely, I've gone to my PR and I'm freaking out about something. They're like, actually, if you put out a blanket statement like that, you're like, you're actually bringing more attention to the issue and people will dig further.
For this specifically, we would be, we would have sort of an explanation without the details right and they could have handled that privately but i think this was more and again don't misquote me when i say this i think this was more battle of the egos agreed and at the end of the day we're getting the message lost and i do i can't imagine what it would be like for to have as big of a public presence as Blake or Justin and having all these public perceptions. I personally can't relate.
You can relate to a certain level. Of course, it didn't feel good for everyone to all of a sudden jump on the Blake Lively hate train and stuff.
Of course, that must not have felt good for her. But is there a way she could have handled it better? Because she had an open conversation with fans about why they didn't love the way she was promoting the film and and say i hear you and understand and not just continuing to post the number for the domestic violence hotline but actually speaking directly to the people who are impacted and your audience they're the ones at the end of the day that are watching this film and buying tickets to see the movie and buying a netflix subscription to watch it on netflix and buying Colleen's book to read the book.
They're the ones at the end of the day that are watching this film and buying tickets to see the movie and buying a Netflix subscription to watch it on Netflix and buying Colleen's book to read the book. They're the ones that are making this film a success.
And so maybe could she have had that conversation? Is that her responsibility as someone who never experienced domestic violence or was that PR's responsibility to prep her and, you know, the training, media training on that specific specific should she have gone and done her research and sort of put herself i don't know domestic violence talk to domestic violence victims and survivors and things like that like was that her responsibility or was that her team's responsibility because she can only promote what she knows if she's never experienced something like this she's going to be out of touch for something like this she can only post that that's all she can do is post the hotline but i do think that it was mishandled and whether or not justin baldoni was ever involved or experienced domestic violence in any way i do think that he did a good job keeping trying to keep the message alive um and i think there was some sort of foundation or he donated money i don't know know. I thought I saw something like that, but I don't know whose responsibility that is.
I also it was just so evident and clear that there was just such a disconnect between them. And I just feel this should have been sorted out before that film ever got put into theaters because it's pretty obvious.
I think it would have grossed the same thing a year later. Right.
If they would have handled the issue. People were so excited for this story, not because it was Blake Lively as Lily, not because Justin Baldoni was directing it.
It was because Colleen Hoover wrote this amazing, incredible, impactful story. And people were, my mom was waiting outside with her Lily Bloom floral shop sweatshirt outside with her makeup done, ready to go to the film.
It had nothing, she didn't even know who Blake Lively was. I asked my mom, I was like, do you know who's playing Lily, Blake Lively? She's like, who's Blake Lively? No, I agree with you.
And I, again, I still think that it would have had the same amount of success if it came out a year later and worked out all of this. Because I think all of this could have been avoided.
But that's not to, I don't want to blame Colleen Hoover in any way shape or form because I feel like once you get optioned for it sort of out of your hands at that point and so I feel like it puts her between a rock and a hard place because definitely you know she wants to believe the woman the person who is allegedly a victim and then you also have Justin Baldoni coming forward with all of his side of it and it's like his side her, her side and the truth. What do you do? And then there was opinions online that I remember seeing of is Justin doing, saying the opposite of what Blake saying to make Blake look like the bad guy is I saw that online.
It wasn't my own opinions. I saw some stuff of was Justin being so pro like survivors and just because you know what? I did see that.
I thought you meant after the lawsuits. no no this was like when the film was first coming out like they were promoting i'm thinking about when like before the lawsuits when the internet was first like what is going on why do they hate each other they clearly hate each other um and people were wondering like because blake is the main character lily and she's promoting it one way people were were wondering if Justin was promoting it the opposite way to be spiteful or to make like for.
And then that kind of goes to that kind of goes to show of why Blake is like, there's this whole smear campaign because was Justin doing that purposefully? He's literally promoting the message of the book and the story to begin. Like, to me, no.
Agree. and I think I mean even if he was I just still point blank there was nothing wrong with the way he promoted the film in my opinion because he obviously he should he's as a director that he that's his baby in his hands yeah he took such a precious sensitive story of course he should promote it that way at least and whether that went against how Blake was doing it or not it's kind of like tough at that like too bad at that point and maybe there could have been two ways to promote the film maybe if none of this tension maybe if they still promoted the film separately but they posed together on the red carpet and they at least played pretend that they were getting along and did interviews together maybe they could have gotten away away with promoting the film completely opposing ways.
If they would have done it together and she was talking about the fashion choices and some of the things that – And Lily. Lily and her character and, you know – And her personality.
100%. And he was promoted.
I do think because they're in the same interview. I do – I would agree with you.
I would agree with you. Right.
And I never thought about that. I think that all of it was mishandled from start to finish because I think it could have been prevented altogether.
But I think to your point, at the point that you are in this industry, is there some sort of responsibility to Justin and to Blake that they should have been forced to do the interviews together or because she was making these allegations, you don't want to be around your abuser, right? Like that was the whole message of the book too, is the line and i think that's the question is like if this isn't industry, but it's $351 million, a lot to make for like a box office film. Let's just compare really quick.
Like I'm curious what's like similar similar? Like I'm curious what like Anyone But You made. I feel like that was just such a non-controversial film that just was successful.
What is that? Anyone But You with Sidney Sweeney and Glenn Powell. Oh my God, you have to, it's such a feel good movie.
Okay. Because I don't know what is good versus average.
Like I have no idea what movies make, but it says-

Well, also notice how It Ends With Us

is not in any award show nominations at all.

Because of the controversy or what?

I mean, not all films will get awards, of course.

But I just feel like for Colleen Hoover,

the hype surrounding this movie, I also think-

It deserved an award.

This is my maybe unpopular opinion.

I do think that they should release Justinin's version of it ends with us it already has made the money that it's made why not release justin's version or i guess blake would have to i guess blake would have to allow that and i don't i don't think that will ever happen unfortunately okay so again another opportunity that's missed because of all the mishandlings of this is like that could have been signed off on is like okay my version has to be cut like released first and then the second cut could be done right okay so anyone this is actually this was a good um comparison anyone but you sorry i kind of just cut you off but you're fine anyone but $25 million. Okay.
And they grossed over $220 million worldwide. So it did less.
I mean, it was less of a, it wasn't as exciting of a story. But I would say it ends with us.
The numbers could have been better, I would. For it ends with us, you think it could have been better? I think.
Because if anyone but you, a story that didn't come from this book that people are so obsessed and in love with made 220 million and ends with us 100 million more. It's a lot, of course.
But let me see how much Wicked made now, too. Oh, that's not a fair comparison.
No, I know. I know.
I know. I don't get the hype around Wicked, but that's a conversation for another episode.
Wicked grows $697 million globally. But if you see the extent of that.
Okay, so we're talking about it ends with us it definitely was successful somewhere in the middle which I feel like is still on the higher end especially with people I mean movie theaters are closing left and right right because with all the streaming and things like that people don't want to put the money into box office theaters I feel I definitely think it's still it wasn't a complete like waste of time or anything. I think it still did numbers wise successful in terms of gross, like how much they grossed in profit.
I don't know. There has to be a loophole that Justin can release that.
Because imagine the money that that would make then because people are either they either support him or they don't. Has there ever been something released that way, though? No, but I think they missed the mark.
The way that this was mishandled from top to bottom, they have missed so many opportunities to make this better and bigger than what it was. And we're focused on this.
He said, she said, love, hate, whatever animosity between Blake and Justin, which is completely unfair. But they missed the mark.
There was a way for them to both get what they want by releasing both cuts right in my opinion I'm also I've never been on a movie set so I have no fucking clue but um it's just the whole thing playing out I don't I think of course especially when you have people that read the book first and fell so deeply in love with the story and the little parts of that are in Boston and like that the little key stuff. I remember being upset that the little clues of each part of the story weren't included more.
And of course, there's always going to be criticism in that when you watch a movie adaptation. And you're going to wish it was exactly how Colleen wrote it.
But it's never going to be that way. And I think those parts of people not loving the film are just what comes with it.
And I don't think that those should be considered at all in all of this. But of course, I think the perceptions and opinions and he said, she said of Justin and Blake are just so unfortunate for the actual story itself.
Colleen did say that when you write a book and it's, we'll say, 300, 350 pages and then you adapt that to a movie script, you have to cut it down to like 100 or 150 pages I will say that I wish they did give it ends with us because it was so big why not make

it a little bit longer um to because some of the main points I will say did get lost I think it's

they still did a really good job like telling the story but I will say that the people that are die

hard coho fans um and die hard fans of this book would have liked to see some of those moments but

There's a lot of people. good job like telling the story but i will say that the people that are diehard coho fans um and diehard fans of this book would have liked to see some of those moments but there's no way to tell those parts of the story without cutting without making the script basically 300 pages so i i do understand that um in terms of contradictions in this case or, one of the things was the unwanted physical contact.

Blake Lively says that Justin engaged in unsolicited physical contact. His rebuttal is that he's denying these allegations, asserting that all physical interactions were consensual and professionally appropriate.
inappropriate on set conversation. Blake says that she contends that Justin and the producer Jamie Heath discuss personal sexual experiences and previous pornography addiction in her presence, creating a hostile work environment.
And Justin, his response to this is that he disputes this characterization, stating that any personal discussions were either misconstrued or did not occur as described. Retaliation and smear campaign.
Blake says that she is, Blake asserts that after raising concerns, Baldoni and Heath hired crisis management experts to orchestrate a campaign aimed at damaging her reputation through social media and media placements. Justin refutes this, claiming that any public relation efforts were standard industry practice and not intended to harm L's reputation um and then onset behavior and professionalism blake claims that baldoni's behavior created a toxic work environment leading to her feeling unsafe and disrespected at the point that she felt that way should the entire production have been put on pause he refutes this he maintains that he conducted himself professionally at all times and that any concerns raised were addressed promptly and appropriately.
If she continued, maybe I would believe that that's probably true, that he was professional and they addressed whatever they needed to address and they were addressed appropriately. Because if I'm that uncomfortable...
I would say I think the only way we might have some sort of answer, obviously it's hard to ever know what the real truth is because we weren't there and everything that's said is after the fact now and not when it was actually happening. I wonder if it does end in court, as people are saying.
People that were actually there there on set are gonna have to come speak out and either choose a side and share their what they witnessed too and i feel like having other people besides blake and justin kind of just throwing punches at one another that's gonna be are gonna be paramount to this case exactly what if there are people that don't have they don't pick a side like people the people that were on set don't you know feel one way or another right or if the people on set are saying you know what everything was consensual we i was there too and and they were blake was fine with it if that's what people are saying how they felt either so that's the that's the tricky part of this is like what blake is feeling or saying that she felt we can't dispute that. Right.
You can only maintain what I do feel that you did. And I do think that while Justin may have.
A solid case against Blake in certain aspects of the lawsuit, there could there's also a chance that Blake could have a strong case in other aspects of the lawsuit. Like there is there a way that this ends where they're both wrong I don't maybe it gets dismissed there's not enough evidence on either side because of you know and I've seen that I mean that happened in my own lawsuit right like it was completely dismissed because there was not enough evidence on either side it was just dismissed because right you know because while for example the whole trailer thing and being invited into the trailer what if Justin is is right in that aspect where Blake maybe didn't mean to or Blake didn't or after the fact she regretted it or something, whatever way it was.
But if you regret it, you don't turn around and file a lawsuit. I mean, that's great.
That's like someone having consensual sex and turning around and saying I was raped. It doesn't work that way.
Right. And while Justin could say, you know, I like that part is not true.

Could Blake prove that there was accurate non-consensual kisses on set or unwanted kisses on set like I the way I at least have felt found myself is like I don't know I think there's issues in both of both sides both could be true both could be false right there's such a gray area that we know. And while Blake could be wrong in some cases, I feel Justin could also be wrong and held accountable in some cases.
1000%. Blake claims, she said she believes that the alleged misconduct and subsequent retaliation adversely affected the film's production and her performance.
And Justin's response, he argues the production proceeded smoothly and that any challenges were unrelated to the allegations, which this is my first time actually seeing that response. And that's basically what I've been saying this whole time is you weren't uncomfortable enough to stop it.
Right. It doesn't mean it didn't happen, but you didn't put an end to it.
And I just don't know, again, it felt because victims sometimes don't come forward. And so that's the flip side of it is that, you know, some people don't speak up or they speak up way after the fact.
And I think that that, that doesn't, some people will argue that that makes, makes them question that person's credibility. And I don't necessarily always agree with that.
Yeah. And at the end of the day, there's other celebrities where it's been proven true of, you know, the stuff that you did in 2000 could still bite you now.
And even no matter I mean this is a year later we're talking about whereas you know you have actors like Danny Masterson's now behind bars for the rest of his life for something that he was accused of doing in 2000 and he it's only in in the 2020s where he's now was found guilty of it so it's a two decades later so then it's two decades and he can still be in jail for that. Whereas a year later, this is coming out.
So Diddy and Bill Cosby and all of them. I mean, that's decades later.
Decades. So at the end of the day, yeah.
Should she have come forward right away? Maybe. But I don't think it undermines credibility.
Exactly. Because rape victims come forward long after it happens.
And I will never victim shame someone if they decide to come forward two years later or two months later. At the end of the day, that is their truth and their experience.
And I would never undermine someone's credibility for that. Right.
And that's where the whole, I feel, push and pull of this whole case is, is sure, smear campaign. That's so easy to just be like la-di-da about or take a side about.
But then you have the word sexual assault thrown. And then it's like everyone kind of freezes.
And everyone's like, if Blake Lively is saying she was sexually assaulted, how do you not handle that with care? Well, so the legal actions and motivations, Blake says, so she views her lawsuit as a necessary step to address and rectify the alleged misconduct to advocate for a safer work environment. I think across the board, we should be promoting a safe work environment no matter the setting, no matter the place, no matter the industry.
Justin's response, he says that he basically perceives the lawsuit as unfounded and potentially damaging to his career, asserting that he's been unjustly accused, which also is valid. They're both valid in their motivation.
Right. But then Blake is saying her damn reputation was damaged if this alleged smear campaign actually was conducted to make the whole internet hate her.
So it's kind of just like, I don't know. It's really, it's confusing, honestly.
I don't know how I see this case evolving over months to come. I hope that Colleen Hoover continues to get the recognition that she deserves for the book and for the movie.
I hope to see Justin's cut one day, just to see what the differences were. And I hope that the truth prevails in whatever that looks like for either of them or for both of them.
Right. That's where I stand.
I would say I could, I see a world in which this both lawsuits get dismissed and i see a world in which this turns into johnny depp and amber heard and it is detrimental to one of their careers one of their careers because i think i'm starting to see johnny depp come back from that but i think amber heard has been buried i mean i'm like afraid to use the word buried now because of the whole, we can bury anyone. Um, that's now become like an infamous part of this lawsuit.
That's a scary place to be because I mean, she has a family to provide for. Yeah.
And, and that just also makes you question or wonder is she saw Amber Heard go through that. Obviously everyone kind of did.
And she, how could you go ahead and file that lawsuit without being 100% sure that you have a case? Do you think a documentary will come out of this the same way that it did for Amber and Johnny Depp? I do think so. I think – Can this podcast get in there then too because I was on the one on Johnny Depp? Put us in.
PR. I think the lawyers are going to have a lot to say after the fact of this at least.
I mean, I don who are her reps I don't even know who her reps are but his Justin Baldoni's attorney is everywhere I've seen him everywhere and then new revelations this is breaking news it's probably not breaking news um I'm just the last to know Johnny Depp's team is representing Justin Baldoni and he's representing Blake she does have a strong um like her publicist is badass yeah but they can't fight they can't litigate no pr cannot litigate so who is who is let me look it up i do think she is blake lively oh no one's googled this lively's attorney and why aren't they speaking up i feel in my personal, non-important opinion is that lawyers don't come forward and do a whole press tour on their stance unless they feel like their case is 100% solid. Because my lawyers, and that's across the board from family court to trademark to entertainment attorney here in New York, they will tell me, I cannot tell you for certain what is going to

happen. They tell me that every single time.
Right. And he's over here, Justin's lawyer, as in he is coming here out.
He's like, I have receipts to like Blake is done. Like that's the message he's sending at least.
So for a lawyer to sit there and such a renowned lawyer as he is, I don't know who her attorneys are. I'm not seeing it anywhere just off of really quick, brief Google search, but I'll be curious to see how this plays out.
And please let us know if you have, I'm always the last to know everything when it comes to this. So if you guys have any updates, please send them and let us know what you want to hear about next.
Thanks for coming. Thank you so much.
Where can our listeners find you on socials or find your articles? So my articles can be found at okmagazine.com. My socials are Rebecca with an extra A.
So Rebecca, 2A, Friedman, F-R-I-E-D-M-A-N. And that is my Instagram.
Perfect. Thanks for coming on.
Thank you so much. This just in, I know we just recorded an entire episode about all of the things about

Justin and Blake and OK Magazine just hit the breaking news with Justin Baldoni countersuing Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist for $400 million over It Ends With Us smear campaign. And I do know, based on everything that I'm reading, is that Justin Baldoni also named Taylor Swift in this part of a lawsuit.
He's claiming that they met at Blake's penthouse and they were talking and Taylor inserted her two cents, basically saying that she really liked Blake's cuts, her ideas, all of that. And so I thought that was really interesting.
And I do think, I mean, that's a scary place to be is to name Taylor Swift in anything

good or bad, because I feel like the Swifties will come after you.

So he might lose a lot of fans just by naming her.

I don't know.

It's kind of scary.

But on Thursday, January 16th, lawyers for the It Ends With Us director and his production

company filed a counter lawsuit against Lively.

Her husband, Ryan, and her publicist, Leslie sloan and the agent pr firm vision pr inc for a bombshell 400 million dollars so this is kind of crazy um i don't know where this is gonna go maybe they'll settle but maybe egos won't let them so we'll keep you guys updated i'll be curious to see what happens and um you'll have to let me know if you're team Justin or team Blake. Thank you.
I'm Caitlin Bristow, host of Off the Vine podcast, where I get real, maybe a little too real sometimes, with my friends and celeb guests from Bachelor Franchise and beyond. I'm talking guests like Jonathan Van Ness.
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