Justin Baldoni’s newly-hired crisis managers are already working overtime. I don’t know when Baldoni hired The Agency Group, the same crisis managers who handled Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt’s debacles, but it seems like it was pretty recent. Likely on Monday, as the box office numbers for It Ends With Us came in and Baldoni realized that Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds were feeling themselves and preparing to take him down. That’s just the thing though… in the wake of IEWU’s success and the completion of the promotion, people were already hating on Blake. TikTok is ripping Blake a new one and that predates Baldoni’s crisis manager hire. I don’t know… the whole thing is weird and getting weirder.
First off, TMZ has entered the chat. No surprise – TMZ always gets a lot of strategic leaks from The Agency Group. Early on Wednesday, TMZ had some pushback on the narrative that “everyone has taken Blake Lively’s side.” According to their sources, Baldoni was never seen as the “clear-cut villain” and many people who worked on the film “view Baldoni quite favorably.” Their production sources admit that “there are definitely people siding with Blake, but there are also those who feel like Justin got screwed.” TMZ also confirms the widespread reports that Blake hired her own editor to cut the film and she had Ryan Reynolds do “last-minute rewrites on the script.” Both of those issues are not being seen favorably within Hollywood. But nothing compares to the other gossip, that Baldoni “fat-shamed” a recently postpartum Blake on the set. Thankfully, TMZ had an exclusive about that too:
Blake Lively has told people there were multiple reasons Justin Baldoni made her feel uncomfortable on the set of “It Ends With Us” … TMZ has learned.
Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … there was a scene in which Justin lifts Blake into the air. According to our sources, Justin has a history of back problems and before lifting Blake, he went to his on-set trainer and asked how much she weighed and how he could train to protect his back from injury.
Blake later found out about Justin’s comment and felt he fat-shamed her. We’re told this comment really bothered Blake, who gave birth to her and husband, Ryan Reynolds’ 4th child in February 2023.
Our sources tell us the second incident that allegedly made Blake uncomfortable on set is when the two engaged in a kissing scene and Blake felt he lingered longer than he should have with the kiss.
We broke the story … cast and crew agree there’s definitely bad blood between the “It Ends With Us” costars — but sources told us Justin’s not the clear-cut villain, as some people who worked on the film are standing by him. Some sources we spoke to also claimed some cast members are milking the drama to market the film.
The fat-shaming situation… I’ll be generous to both of them, actually. I could totally see how a recently postpartum woman would feel extra sensitive about any conversation about her body and her weight. I could totally see how Blake would feel some kind of way about that. On the other hand… the dude has a bad back and he was focused on the technical side of things, like “is my back going to go out if I try to lift this woman?” That, to me, is a totally legitimate argument to “the director/costar asking how much Blake weighs.”
As for the kissing thing… lord, I hope Blake isn’t dumb enough to complain about that? Are we really doing this? He was acting! Blake should try it.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
-
- New Jersey, NJ – **FILE PHOTOS** Did the kiss last too long? Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni share an on-screen smooch on the set of “It Ends With Us” on January 13, 2024. The “drama” between the two has been reaching a boil since the film’s release with fans speculating about how the stars of the hit film really feel about each other. Recent reports claim Blake felt ‘fat-shamed” by Justin while filming. *Shot on January 14, 2024** Pictured: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni BACKGRID USA 14 AUGUST 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: T.JACKSON / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New Jersey, NJ – **FILE PHOTOS** Did the kiss last too long? Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni share an on-screen smooch on the set of “It Ends With Us” on January 13, 2024. The “drama” between the two has been reaching a boil since the film’s release with fans speculating about how the stars of the hit film really feel about each other. Recent reports claim Blake felt ‘fat-shamed” by Justin while filming. *Shot on January 14, 2024** Pictured: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni BACKGRID USA 14 AUGUST 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: T.JACKSON / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New Jersey, NJ – **FILE PHOTOS** Did the kiss last too long? Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni share an on-screen smooch on the set of “It Ends With Us” on January 13, 2024. The “drama” between the two has been reaching a boil since the film’s release with fans speculating about how the stars of the hit film really feel about each other. Recent reports claim Blake felt ‘fat-shamed” by Justin while filming. *Shot on January 14, 2024** Pictured: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni BACKGRID USA 14 AUGUST 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: T.JACKSON / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New Jersey, NJ – **FILE PHOTOS** Did the kiss last too long? Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni share an on-screen smooch on the set of “It Ends With Us” on January 13, 2024. The “drama” between the two has been reaching a boil since the film’s release with fans speculating about how the stars of the hit film really feel about each other. Recent reports claim Blake felt ‘fat-shamed” by Justin while filming. *Shot on January 14, 2024** Pictured: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni BACKGRID USA 14 AUGUST 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: T.JACKSON / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New Jersey, NJ – **FILE PHOTOS** Did the kiss last too long? Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni share an on-screen smooch on the set of “It Ends With Us” on January 13, 2024. The “drama” between the two has been reaching a boil since the film’s release with fans speculating about how the stars of the hit film really feel about each other. Recent reports claim Blake felt ‘fat-shamed” by Justin while filming. *Shot on January 14, 2024** Pictured: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni BACKGRID USA 14 AUGUST 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: T.JACKSON / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New Jersey, NJ – **FILE PHOTOS** Did the kiss last too long? Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni share an on-screen smooch on the set of “It Ends With Us” on January 13, 2024. The “drama” between the two has been reaching a boil since the film’s release with fans speculating about how the stars of the hit film really feel about each other. Recent reports claim Blake felt ‘fat-shamed” by Justin while filming. *Shot on January 14, 2024** Pictured: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni BACKGRID USA 14 AUGUST 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: T.JACKSON / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Also, didn’t a movie about DV have an intimacy coordinator? So if he lingered on the kiss for far too long, wouldn’t the intimacy coordinator go to him and rip him a new one?? Blake is the one with power here so he couldn’t shut her up.
I agree that this trainwreck of a movie promotion gets weirder by the minute.
It’s like nothing adds up!
Im calling BS on this story. The fim did have an IC.
Good rule of thumb; it’s in TMZ, it’s a lie told to bring a woman dow .
Sorry don’t buy that just cause it’s on tmz it’s a lie to destroy a woman
Unlike Sophie Turner, BL is not loved. However, the kissing going on too long and the bad back seems to come from his side. Sophie Turner said nothing when JJ went after her. This could be a nothing story, but you don’t usually hire someone like Melissa Nathan for nothing. Usually the quiet person has the stronger position than the leaker (think Angie with BP).
It did have an intimacy controller. Sadly Lively sometimes directed the intimate scenes herself.
I can see some difficulty with the two bosses stepping over into your role and directing scenes themselves – then I must ask if Lively did feel uncomfortable was there no way of speaking about this and sorting out the issue directly or immediately?
Regarding her weight. I think it is completely reasonable to train to lift someone. It makes sense for both of their safety. He did not directly ask about her weight or shame her at all but worked with his personal trainer to ensure the scene worked well.
I do not see how he could have done this more thoughtfully. He has suffered from a back injury in the past and it is common for any actor to work to be able to physically complete their role.
Lively is left floundering because she has shown so little thought and empathy to those facing or recovering from DVA and Baldoni has smashed press – always always centering victims and survivors.
I think this is a PR move from Lively and it leaves as bad a taste as her branding an intergenerational trauma DVA movie as a hair product promo and floral girl day out
Aren’t films required to have intimacy coordinators these days? Isn’t that the person responsible for making sure everyone is comfortable with what is going to happen and making sure the actors and director (and actor/director) are following the plan? This complaint makes no sense to me.
There are literally not intimacy coordinators to go around. I listened to an interview with one who is actually starting a school to educate more people.
I don’t think they’re required, but it’s considered good form to have one. it sounds like if there wasn’t one, there definitely should have been.
Under SAG rules, an intimacy coordinator is now required, but I don’t think that requirement was in place when this film was shot. Regardless, they have one. There are two organizations in the country that certify IDs/ICs (I trained as an ID through IDC) and there are lots of certified people out there.
We posted the same question at the same time 😅
They had an intimacy coordinator. Justin made a point of having a woman.
This “situation” is annoying. It’s becoming bigger, weirder and murkier.
All of this nonsense is making me NOT want to see this movie. And I really liked the book! This just feels like mud slinging.
@Abby – I saw the movie today. It’s ok. If I had been watching it on Netflix I would have had breaks including surfing to see what else was on worth watching.
If his back was/is that a concern, rewrite the scene.
No, don’t ever ask anyone ever what they weigh. Don’t comment on bodies at all.
It’s consent. He crosses a consent boundary. Don’t comment on other people’s bodies.
As to kissing, I’d be uncomfortable too. He already crossed a line by commenting on her body. Whether he lingered or not is irrelevant: she felt uncomfortable.
She shouldn’t need to write a dissertation explaining why or justifying it. She was uncomfortable on set.
He didn’t ask her directly though.
I don’t know how the info got back to her, but if he asked someone else who would have this knowledge (who that is, I have no clue – someone in insurance?) I tend to think that’s a bit different than asking her directly.
I figured people working on films know the weights of actresses anyway since everyone makes a big deal about how much all of them weigh (whether that’s too little or too much or how someone fits into certain clothes. Journalists are straight up asking these actresses on tv and I’ve always wondered how they get this information). In any other industry you’d never ask someone’s weight. But I wouldn’t put it past a casting director to ask (i.e height and weight when they do their intro in an audition).
d
I think there is a difference here. The guy is not asking for her weight just because he felt like it with a bad intention. The guy has a bad back. When you have a bad back, young kids, you ask for the weight of everything. Grocerie bags, luggage, boxes, kids, baby carriage, laundry loads, etc. that’s how it is. He’s not body shaming her – SHE felt body shamed because of her own issues. He has to LIFT HER. She aint no baby: she 5’10” grown healthy woman! He’s just trying to protect his back and health for his own livelihood.
And if he happened to lift her and couldn’t and then dropped her, that could cause her injury as well. Either one of them could get hurt.
I don’t get this argument at all. Even if someone is slim, for the person lifting the other it’s important to prepare, so you train for that with the weight you’re supposed to lift. JB asked the trainer, not BL, which is exactly right.
If you’re not letting the person lifting you prepare properly, cancel the scene.
Improperly lifting someone can lead to serious injuries to both parties.
And yes, there was an intimacy coordinator and if BL felt she needed to act as her own intimacy coordinator, she either didn’t brief the hired person as she should have or the person didn’t do their job well.
These arguments against JB seem to be grasping at straws and everyone unfollowing him is straight out of Swift’s playbook. School-children stuff.
A video has been making the rounds of an interview with BL & Parker Posey, where BL is beyond rude and outright bullies the interviewer (both actually). It’s called “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job.” And this is apparently only one instance of BL being an ahole. It’s (as I’ve read) her general tone and behaviour. If links are allowed, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2-2RBi1qzY
Someone commented on the other article yesterday “JB hired a crisis PR team, so he must be guilty”. That’s akin to saying “someone hired a lawyer, they must be guilty.”
The more stuff comes out, the more it’s evident this is a smear campaign by BL, who’s been promoting a film about DV as if it were a cute summer rom com with a new haircare brand to profit off of on top. Mind boggling.
I watched the interview. Yikes to both BL and even Parker Posey for rolling her eyes so dramatically at the end of the interview.
I just watched the interview – Blake was kind of rude, but Parker Posey was absolutely ridiculous. She only spoke to Blake, never the interviewer, and the way she was feeling the pillow the whole time? Truly bizarre. And so rude!
If I’m in great shape and I know and see the the person, I feel I can do the lift, i wouldn’t be asking for that person’s weight. If I have some doubts about my capacities, i see and feel like the person is to heavy for me to lift with my past back injuries, it is possible that I ask for the weight – and via another person possibly too, because it is a sensitive subject – and I wouldn’t want to hurt that person, but would I prioritize my health before somebody elses’ body complex issues? Yes.
Problem is that that shouldve stayed confidential.
They shouldve gotten a body double because they both have issues
They shouldve hired an intimacy coach for their kissing scene.
We can clearly see that blake luvely is a mean girl, poisonning everyone to have everybody in her side, you dont want to have blake ryan taylor swift against you. Justin did well to hire a firm to control the mess. We can all see right through mean girl blake. 100% ryan reynolds is going to shut up and hide during this not to affect his own career, businesses and movie performance
@vik 💯
that interviewer also posted a video two years in support of Johnny Depp. talking about how wonderful he was as a person, hashtagged it #justiceforjohnny.
so it’s more than a little suspicious that this video just came out right after he hired the PR firm that was working for Johnny at that time.
really seems like the same playbook as Heard, with bots and social media campaigns and pulling up old info to make the person look bad, and everyone is eating this up.
@ Arizona–I just don’t see how her behavior or feelings towards Depp is relevant at all here, This wasn’t an article or a blog post or whatever–it was a video that we can all see with our own eyes. BL and PP behaved badly–the interviewer isn’t characterizing her behavior that way–we are watching her act like an ahole in real time. That’s on Blake.
You’re my hero. Honestly, I hate being lifted up. I’m also tall so Jason Mamoa works but the rest. My ex was short- shorter than me and very little. He lifted me up with such difficulty guys that – it killed the sexy vibe and embarrassed him, I felt guilty – I asked him to put me down. Because boy he was struggling and we had still a few meters to go. When another guy at the party lifted me up I was giddy like a kid. So really the factor of possibility of dropping someone is real.
In a professional setting, where lifting the woman (better than “female”, IMO) is part of your *job*, yes, you are perfectly allowed to ask how much she weighs. In fact, it is responsible to ask how much she weighs.
First, he is allowed to protect his body in a professional environment. Second, it is responsible also to protect her safety. If his back goes out, he could drop her, so figuring out the safest way to lift her is literally him being considerate.
Her feelings are valid. They are also hers to work out in therapy and with her husband. But they are also not what is really going on here. She needs something to add to a list of “stories” she can trot out for why Baldoni is the bad guy, when the real story is that she has bungled the marketing for this movie so terribly that her only hope to salvage her image at the moment is for the tail to wag the dog.
Is the wardrobe department allowed to ask what size she is to prepare her clothes? If you can’t handle talking about your physicality being an actor is probably not the best choice. There is an interview with her talking about how important intimacy coordinator are just like stunt coordinators. The film had at least one IC but she is annoyed that he spoke to the personal trainer/stunt coordinator about something that is very reasonable. If you are aware of how important safety is at a set it is really weird to be so upset about this weight issue. Go home and be upset if that is how you feel but bringing it to set and the press tour is so unproffesional.
It’s common practice to be asked how much you weigh even at auditions.
The industry is what it is, they only want very skinny people on the screen.
Let’s say that Blake Lively got offended because she thinks she’s above that.
He and his trainer probably know how much he can and can’t lift. So without having to go into the added time and expense. “Remember she’s a producer.” He asked someone how much she weighs. To see if he can do the scene as written. That isn’t a bad thing. Because guess what. If he would have just done the scene and then really hurt his back. They would have had to halt production and possible not gotten the movie finished at all. So she could either suck it up and tell her weight. Or just written the movie off. See sometimes in the real world you have to do things you don’t want to do.
For cryssake, so he was supposed to guess by sight? Then Lively would have complained about him “checking her out” or whatever. He’s had a back injury and when you have that, you need precise data to gauge if you can feasibly do something without further injury. I don’t give a crap about fee fees if it means I’ll end up in hospital or worse because I was afraid to ask. That’s a bit ableist. Maybe she’d have been less offended if his trainer had asked? Who am I kidding. This would have been an issue regardless. 🙄
He didnt ask her directly tho.He asked somebody else who had that knowledge.It was not malicious as he suffered back injury not long before filming of IEWU started.
So that information would keep him safe and her safe as there was lifting scene.
Unlike her commenting about interviewer bump.
to me, all of a sudden my social media is flooded with examples of how terrible Blake is, which seems… familiar. almost like when this PR firm was working with someone else. and now TMZ is in the mix, who typically support awful dudes (Brad Pitt, Depp).
I think Blake seems bland, and I don’t think she’s a good actress, and I think anything Colleen Hoover is pretty terrible, but everything about how this is going smells very fishy to me.
Exactly. I’m neutral at best on Blake, but the TikToks and the TMZ leaks seem copied right out of the defamation campaign against Amber Heard. It’s so sketchy.
Yeah, it is literally the same as it was with Heard in terms of old gossip and digging up the dirt. It goes well with JD’s attempts to put us into our place.
And no, I don’t find Blake exciting. The hit pieces are not hitting Ryan, so there’s that.
I’m not paying attention to any of those stories. Things were going south for Blake based entirely on her own actions well before Baldoni hired crisis PR.
I find it really interesting that everyone is now ready to go to town on Baldoni solely based on his needing to defend himself against Blake because he hired this specific firm. A firm he wouldn’t have needed to hire if Blake and her insanely well connected network went HAM on him personally and professionally to cover up for Blake whitewashing DV out of a movie.
Blake didn’t even say anything about him, so what is he defending himself from? people were already complaining about her, now he’s just piling on.
as Lainey said, who is actually in crisis here? because it looks like the actresses are standing with Blake, and the studio is standing with Justin.
@arizona, I mentioned this before but the weight detail originally came from People mag. It was vague and through sources though. I figured it came from Blake but I could be wrong. I don’t think that came from Justin. So I’m assuming he gave his version of the weight discussion through TMZ as a reaction to the fact that sources went to People mag. He was defending himself from the vague sourcing that came out in People mag. Maybe I’m reading it wrong but that’s my take. I’m not saying who is in the right but as far I can tell that was the rollout of the stories.
Wow, those crisis managers work fast! TMZ is always willing to print a story with the throughline of “women be crazy” and “she was just imagining things”. This feels like an attempt to flood the field in real-time, and personally, I’m not buying it.
yeah, this is how I feel. I also keep coming back to the fact that the women involved seem to be on Blake’s side. and TMZ just says not everyone is on Blake’s side, but doesn’t specify anyone… so it’s it a case of the men not feeling like it was that big of a deal, but women understanding why it is? seems like it.
I thought this story came from Blake’s side? This story makes him look bad…
It did come from Blake’s side to explain why he made her feel uncomfortable. Instead, it puts Blake’s insecurities on display.
That’s not how I read it – it’s coming from TMZ, and we know how they operate. They say “Blake thought…” or “Blake felt” but that doesn’t mean they have sources in her camp – they may have sources that say they think this is what Blake thinks, that may very well come from the studio, the set, or perhaps from the person who just hired crisis managers that pulled this exact same sh*t for Depp and Pitt.
Come on, how many stories have we read about “Angeline Jolie feels upset that Brad has a new girlfriend” or “The Sussexes tried to overthrow the Queen”. Yes, those headlines have their names in front, but it’s obviously not coming from them.
I thought the story originally came from People. There was a vague comment about Justin saying something about Blake’s weight. Tbh, that seemed to come from Blake but maybe I’m wrong. It was vague and did seem to make Justin look bad imo. Now, TMZ is printing an explanation about the weight comment from Justin. It seems to be a counter to the People story. To explain why he made a weight comment, bc of his back. Would we have ever heard this more detailed version if the story hadn’t originally come from People, idk? So it feels like a back and forth. I have no idea what’s going on but I side-eyed the whispers planted in the People story AND I massively side-eye Justin using Depp and Pitt’s pr team and going to TMZ.
Isn’t TMZ basically the mouthpiece for men’s right nonsense and abusers? They’re pro- Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp and all of that. I do not trust their reporting and I find everything about Baldoni’s handling of the situation suspicious. You’re such a great male ally that you hire the firm that protects male abusers? Ok…
Am I missing something? Doesn’t this story make him look bad so why would he release this info?
the way I’m reading it, they’re saying Blake was being overly sensitive because he had a legit reason to ask about her weight and she just “felt” like he lingered too long. basically she’s so crazy and emotional, because women. 🙄
@Arizona
Thank you. The comments trying to justify what has happened are concerning to say the least.
People are so ingrained to dismiss women.
You don’t have to like Blake to believe her.
And enough with: he had to know because his back!! Like they couldn’t change the scene? Of course they can, they do it all the time. Constantly rewriting scripts. If his back was the real issue there were ways around it that don’t involve him asking her weight.
We all say believe women when they say it was uncomfortable, until it’s the woman who is the hated of the month.
I don’t know, if I was Justin, I would be hiring someone too. Blake and Ryan are very powerful people in Hollywood. I saw TikTok’s that were immediately blaming Justin because he’s a “nobody”. It’s clear Blake and Ryan would run Justin’s name in the mud to clear theirs.
He’s not a “nobody” – LaineyGossip covered this. He held his premier alongside Sony executives. He’s the one with the production studio. He might not be as famous, but he’s not powerless in this situation.
The fact that he hired Pitt and Depp’s crisis teams and his defense is coming from TMZ is such a huge red flag to me. I used to watch Jane is the Virgin and while his character really started to bother towards the end of the run I think Justin is really talented and he always seemed like a good dude but we all know TMZ is the meninist defense force for horrific acts by men so I’m really going to hold off on jumping on the train that’s putting all of this on Blake especially with this newest allegation. If the outlet that’s defending his behavior is saying he made her uncomfortable in an intimate scene then how bad is the actual truth? Blake has done many love scenes before; do we really think she can’t tell the difference between regular acting and extracurriculars? Idk.
It seems possible to me that she could’ve overstepped with the film’s direction AND that he could’ve also done some inappropriate crap that made the cast dislike him but we’ll see what evidence (if any) comes out. Im just asking: in this era where we supposed to be believing women can we wait before jumping to conclusions?
I think if she was really having Ryan do script changes and brought in someone else to edit the movie, that’s a bad look and I’m curious as to why she thought it was appropriate.
I just am not tempted to say Blake is crazy and power hungry. nothing before this seems to have been an issue?
no one seems to be talking about how the woman working on his podcast also currently seems to be dodging him too.
Sony showed up to Justin Baldoni’s premiere in NY. JB hired TAG, a company whose head worked with Matthew Hiltzik for years. Hiltzik has a really questionable resume and includes spin for Weinstein and Trump figures. Hope Hicks also worked for him. Cast supporting him might lead back to Sony-keep that in mind.
These leaks: fat-shaming to bad back. Kissing a tad too long. Sounds like the Johnny Depp method: drop some yucky stuff where there’s a goodish reason why the guy acted that way while making sure the woman’s reputation gets dragged through the mud. TMZ is usually a himpathy site.
I don’t think Liz Plank, who works on JB’s podcast and was not part of the film, is avoiding him due to fat shaming or lingering a tad too long in a kiss. I don’t think Jenny Slate would play along with BL if this is the issue either.
I’m curious what led to a different version of a domestic violence story as well.like, is there something on film in JB’s version that is too triggering for the women who worked on it and they decided to take control of the narrative?
Yeah, everything I have heard about the book this film is based on is that this is an inherent flaw in the novel as well – the intent to tell a story about how insidious DV can be, the fact that trauma can be generational, and trying to stop the cycle of abuse, but all told amidst a story that looks and feels like a Hallmark romance. For that reason, I don’t know if this movie would ever have worked even with the most talented of writers, actors, and directors.
Liz Plank is not avoiding Justin, someone had pictures of Liz supporting Justin and his producing partner Jamey at an event for a charity or something a few days ago.
I DO NOT believe this narrative. It’s coming from TMZ so Justin’s crisis manager created that story.
The root of all the drama might still be something else, entirely different.
I imagine that, due to the lack of specifics (which no-one can openly speak about without hurting the movie and risking defamation), Justin’s crisis manager has rushed in to create a narrative that explains some of the drama, is soft on Justin, and somewhat implicates Blake.
Wait and see if Blake and Ryan hit back through their own chanels in passive-aggressive ways.
It started in people, it came from Blake’s team.
I don’t know if Blake is looking sus because of his crisis management team or because she is sus? She doesn’t look good in this and his bad back is like a known thing. Blake’s looking a little tone-deaf Karen/mean girl who is weaponizing her hurt feelings which is kind of on brand for her? I’m going to need a bit more than he asked how much I weighed and he kissed me too long. There has to be more to the story so I’ll reserve judgement either way. I wish it could have all been handled more maturely and professionally.
Tbf I am indifferent to all of these people and am usually on team girl always. But I’m not sure what to think here.
This reeks to me. Bots will be out in full force and hiring a crisis manager who spearheaded Depp’s bullshit is an incredibly, incredibly bad look for a man who directed a movie based on a book that many people think glorifies DV.
Sorry, this is foul. There are plenty of crisis managers to hire, and using the one that leaks to TMZ and hires bots and smeared Amber Heard (a DV victim) is actually disgusting to me. I don’t care how good he’s been in interviews on the topic. His actions speak way louder than his words – he’s the one who initially purchased the rights to this book too, right? That combined with hiring this particular firm whose methods are absolutely foul imo says everything about him and none of it’s good.
Hmmm, given this is TMZ this is def giving ‘post partum woman be crazy’ vibes however given her history of issues with co stars its plausible.
Lainey’s take on the situation was quite interesting – she said that the power imbalance is not tipped in Lively/Reynolds favour as everyone things. The studio exec’s seem to be backing Justin and his production company has other projects lined up.
To me the situation reads that Blake and Ryan tried to turn this into a Barbenheimer moment (while shilling their various brands) and its blown up in their faces with the cast caught in the middle. The optics of promoting a movie about DV as a ‘summer romcom” alongside a violent superhero movie are just plain bad all round. They’ve centered themselves around both movies in a desperate bid to have their ‘cultural moment’ – the PR has been a sh!tshow and she’s rightly getting dragged for diminishing the very serious subject matter of her movie. And these leaks from TMZ do her no favours – wonder how Ryan will react to this.
This. Nailed it.
She needs her head read if she thinks the PR for this was appropriate.
Her ego and need to create a “moment”, alongside Ryan, tripped her up.
I really, REALLY hope if this is the case that this is due to her ego and meddling because if it’s due to RYAN the older more established husband-actor’s meddling it’s frustrating to see her getting caught in the middle with the backlash. If this is about something that has nothing to do with JB I hate that for him and could see him going into overkill with shady but successful people to not be ruined. If it has nothing to do with BL/RR and they and the cast have some other (reasonable) drive for icing JB, I hate that SHE’s getting the backlash. She’s got RR and family connections though but I hate that a woman takes the brunt of the chaos.🫤
Justin set the better tone as far as repping the film. Blake made some tonal missteps. Going to People to whisper “sources say” rumors was gross. Again, I’m guessing that came from Blake and Ryan? But hiring Depp and Pitt’s pr people is super gross. Getting your side out through tmz also feels gross. Without further info, that’s all I got.
These allegations are weak and definitely not the reason Blake and the female cast iced out Justin. There has to be more to it right?
I still say all this is about the power struggle between Justin, Blake and Colleen. Saw this on deaxmoi which seems very possible:
“IEWU drama started with Colleen and Justin. Justin optioned the book before it got big. When it was successful, and his option was up, instead of letting Colleen retain rights and sell them again at a higher rate, he exercised his right to keep them, so she missed out or a big pay day. The cast and crew feel like he screwed Colleen which is at the root of why they don’t respect him”
“IEWU drama started with Colleen and Justin. Justin optioned the book before it got big. When it was successful, and his option was up, instead of letting Colleen retain rights and sell them again at a higher rate, he exercised his right to keep them, so she missed out or a big pay day. The cast and crew feel like he screwed Colleen which is at the root of why they don’t respect him”
Wow. This makes sense now.
But that’s not how business works. It was Colleen’s decision to option the book for what people feel was a low price – after the fact.
He was under no obligation to refuse to cash in his option, and I really don’t think those sources would be singing the same tune if Colleen were a man. They would be congratulating Justin on having had the foresight to see the potential of the book before it became a big deal.
I find it hard to believe that people in the industry are claiming to have lost respect for him over this. He made a good call and therefore a good deal. Is Colleen herself making a big deal about this?
Idk, this doesn’t sound right to me. Why would his Man Enough podcast cohost drop him for this—it’s not chic, but it is a business decision. Not illegal. And if his beef is with CH, why is JB going after BL instead?
Justin’s PR left the group that repped Depp and started her own firm. Not that that matters. Just found that out last night.
TikTokers were lighting Blake up before the promo tour started. They didn’t like her being cast to begin with. The fact she & Ryan tried to make this into Barbieheimer 2.0 also grated. Add on the cross promotion with her products and there is wholly organic, non-misogynistic reason to be pissy at Blake. Like come on.
Another tidbit…Sony signed Justin to a development deal. So he isn’t without power at this point.
I agree. I think people are overestimating the crisis management team’s reach here. The Blake hate started rather organically before most of this stuff hit mainstream. Quite frankly, everything people are annoyed about is her own doing during this promo cycle. Is it getting traction and trendy to hate on her now? Yes.
And the biggest hit piece yet came out yesterday. The interview with Parker Posey about the Woody Allen movie with the Norwegian journalist. The journalist uploaded that video after 8 years and called it the reason she almost quit her job. She very innocently congratulated Blake her pregnancy which she had publicly announced by saying “congrats on your little baby bump.” Instead of saying thank you like a normal person, she immediately got defensive and snapped back, “oh, congrats on your baby bump too.” Absolutely embarrassing the poor woman who is clearly not pregnant. Then she and Parker iced her out the rest of the interview. She was sitting on that interview for 8 years and felt it was relevant to the conversation so she finally uploaded it. And maybe she was feeling a bit spiteful. I don’t think Justin’s PR firm made that video materialize. But this is what happens when you are not a nice person and create bad will. Karma comes back to bite you.
@Sonia Google that interviewer and Johnny Depp. you’ll see that she was posting about how we needed #justiceforjohnny two years ago.
so it’s interesting that the “biggest hit piece” came from someone who was supporting Depp, the person this PR firm has previously worked with.
I think the real story here is Blake and her husband took the film away from Justin and that’s the cause of the bad blood between them.
I agree. And in Hollywood doing that is really looked down upon – editing and releasing your own version of a film.
I’m sure many actors are “siding” with Blake because they know where their bread is buttered – Blake and Ryan are very powerful.
I don’t care for Blake Lively as an actress and think she has made absolutely brain-dead choices (getting married at a plantation, publishing poorly written blog posts romanticizing Southern Belles, every outfit she’s ever worn) and I’m sure she was a pain in the ass to work with. But I hope the JB crisis managers aren’t going the total “She’s A Witch, Burn Her,” route that they used on Amber Heard.
Yeah, be vigilant. There is not enough information about what happened for there to be a campaign against her. Did she make tonal errors in promoting her film? Absolutely. Is it deserving of a huge witch burning campaign? No. And at the end of the day, there is not enough info about what happened on set for anyone to have a campaign set against them. Abusers deserve that though.
I don’t blame him for hiring a crisis management team and it may well be that there aren’t tons to choose from, but I don’t love the way their fingerprints seem to be all over this and the new negative story about Blake. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. That said, I’m also extremely bothered by what appears to be a whisper campaign against this guy with no actual allegations. This is 2024 and given who the players are, if he did something skeevy or abusive on set, someone needs to just say what it was. Frankly, before I even checked this site this morning, I wondered if today they’re would be vague allegations of him doing something during an intimate scene and sure enough……
Yeah that’s kinda where I’m at. It would really help to squash the ambiguity if she would just come out and say exactly what he did (and it really should be more than just lingering on a kiss) but maybe the mystery is better promotion for the movie than talking about something terrible that JB did.
I don’t know if there are two parties of bad people at fault here, but I know there is at least one. You don’t get to come back from using slavery as the backdrop to your wedding from where I stand. As for Justin Baldoni,has anyone had anything negative to say about him in his career to date? Not that that’s proof of anything…
I figure Gina Rodriguez would have said something by now. She’s fairly outspoken.
Blake, Justin and members of each of their teams should have had a sit down before doing press. The messaging is so messy. Justin is talking about DV and Blake is selling her hair care line and talking about wearing florals to the movies with your girlfriends. I can only go from past behavior, but Blake has shown over and over she just doesn’t get it.
i highly recommend lainey’s article on the situation, which was linked in the round-up post yesterday. i think she did a great job dissecting the story. she talked about the fashion angle (related to the other blake article posted today), and justin’s and blake’s places in the industry. i felt it was pretty even-handed overall. also came to say that, looking at the thumbnail for this story, neither actor looks like they’ve kissed a human person before. it just looks so ‘actor-y’, if that makes sense. also, blake’s character’s fashion in all of these movie stills looks completely ridiculous. she fashions herself a stylist, but she’s not that great at it. she picks some interesting pieces, but doesn’t know how to bring them all together, and that shows in all the pictures. i wonder what things would have looked like with a pro. referencing lainey’s article again, there was a quote from blake about the fashion in the movie, and i appreciated her thought process. but again, she doesn’t have enough talent to pull it out.
I do think her fashion looks are almost uniformly terrible. not just for this movie.
This is probably completely unrelated, but I just saw Deadpool and Wolverine and Deadpool has a line where he looks at the camera and says “Where’s the intimacy coordinator?”
If he has back issues and was concerned about lifting her in the air why can they just not film that scene that way? Back issues are no joke and if there was any danger of him injuring himself they should just film it differently. Easy solution. He is the director after all. As far as the kiss lingering too long that feels pretty subjective. I agree that there should be an intimacy coordinator to help the logistics of a scene like that. I do not like Blake Lively and I am only so so about Ryan Reynolds. I love Deadpool so I tolerate him but I do not really like him as a person. All this stuff may affect the box office but does it boost the numbers or damage them?
I couldn’t get through the book… Characters with names like Atlas and Ryle? Is this a bad YA novel? And all the drama surrounding the film isn’t changing my mind.
Back injuries are degenerative they do not heal themselves. I have a compressed lower disk due to a car accident and getting hit hard from behind at a stop light. I have to be careful about lifting heavy items too. There have been days I am crawling on hands and knees to get around the pain is so bad.
Blake is 5’10 she is not a small person. Height wise. I can see him asking to prepare. And I can see her getting miffed about it since she had recently given birth. But both can be true, and both can have their own POV that does not align with each other. And it seems by that point they weren’t’ really collaborating with each other. I think it was more decent he went to the onset trainer. Over asking he directly. But in these types of environment people choose camps and probably word got back to her spinning the narrative to a negative. And not in the light it was meant as. Us vs. Them and all that.
I’m 5’9 while I know what it’s like to be tall woman. I may be very mindful, cutsie and demure (shout out to Jools!) But I am not dainty.
That Posey interview showed that Blake is that cool girl that everyone follows without her having to even sau the words.
Posey felt Lively’s attitude and she happily stood by the cool kid. Blake didn’t have to lift a finger.
@Elle oh please Parker Posey proved she is a follower to of all people Black Lively lol! There was nothing cool about her at all. These are normal things reporters as especially when they cant talk about her amazing acting skills.
I’d hire a crisis management team if I had to go up against Ryan Reynold’s money. She’s not really a powerless woman when you bring Ryan Reynolds into the equation… she has the ability to go toe-to-toe with someone. Anyway I can’t believe this movie is getting so much publicity haha. I wrote it off when I saw the first trailer.
So I will say I can understand how both of these situations could cause an issue and make her uncomfortable. Obviously the weight question would be so extremely upsetting especially without context, but even with it would just bug you. Though he meant no harm and was thinking purely about his back but I get her pov here too. And as for the kissing if his acting choices made her uncomfortable that is how she felt and that’s valid.
So while I can see her POV and think her feelings are valid what I can’t understand or get behind is her reaction. Because in both these cases these are conversations that solve a problem. With the weight question tell him how hurt and offended you are, get the context, yeah it will probably still bug you but you’ll know it wasn’t about your body.
And with the acting choice meet with him and the IC as a professional, tell him you don’t like this and find another way to play the scene.
You don’t make this public mess and create a scandal, unfollow, refuse to promote the movie together and act unprofessional.
I have never seen Gossip Girl and had to google BL to see what films she’d made that I might have seen. I have only seen one, The private lives of Pippa Lee , in which she played the young Pippa Lee who ends up marrying a man 30 years older than her. They cast 75 year old Alan Arkin in this role. I was repulsed by a scene where a partially naked BL is lying on top of a fully clothed Alan on a sofa. Rebecca Miller directed from her source novel and it is challenging material and the film is full of uncomfortable scenes. I just remember thinking only in HW would you cast a 75 year man with a 25 year old actress. I suppose we should be grateful that it wasn’t Woody Allen instead of Arkin!