‘It Ends with Us’ May Be the New ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ Amid Rumors of Cast Feuds
It Ends with Us may be on its way to becoming the new Don’t Worry Darling. In addition to being embroiled in controversy due to its source material, rumors are swirling of drama and feuds behind the scenes.
It Ends with Us is a feature film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name. The book and movie follow Lily Bloom (played by Blake Lively), who has recently moved to Boston to get a fresh start after her father’s passing and turbulent family history. She soon meets Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni), a charming neurosurgeon who appears to be the man of her dreams. However, their whirlwind relationship takes a dark turn when Lily’s reconnection with her childhood love, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar), sparks abusive and jealous tendencies in Ryle.
The movie is controversial because readers are divided on how well Hoover’s It Ends with Us handles the topic of domestic abuse. While it’s meant to be an empowering story about breaking the cycle of abuse, some have accused it of actually romanticizing abusive relationships due to how it frames Ryle and Lily’s connection. Some readers came away with concerning ideas that the book was just a typical love triangle novel where one can either be “Team Ryle” or “Team Atlas.”
Now, on top of the movie’s controversial nature, rumor has it that some Don’t Worry Darling-level drama may be happening.
What’s going on with the cast of It Ends with Us?
In 2022, viewers who weren’t even interested in watching Don’t Worry Darling became engrossed by the alleged drama behind the scenes, with rumors of numerous feuds, Florence Pugh not wanting to do press for the movie, and the infamous “spit-gate.” Now, It Ends with Us may be heading in a similar direction as the conversation on social media is dominated by rumors of a falling out between Baldoni and the rest of the cast. Baldoni both directed and starred in It Ends with Us, which is why his absence at group press events has raised eyebrows.
Since late July, Lively’s page has been dominated by footage and photos of her and her co-stars’ press tour for It Ends with Us. So far, they have collaborated with Tinek Younger and Half Baked Harvest and sat down for numerous interviews, challenges, and Q&As. However, Lively, Sklenar, Jenny Slate, Isabela Ferrer, and Alex Neustaedter largely dominate this press. Meanwhile, Baldoni isn’t present or tagged in any of the posts, resulting in numerous comments questioning where he is.
He seems to be doing his press for the movie alone, posting what appears to be a one-on-one interview with Variety and a video where he goes solo to the Jacob Burns Film Center to talk about the movie.
Even his footage of the global premiere of It Ends with Us, which the whole cast attended, sees him walking the red carpet and talking to fans and the press alone.
Meanwhile, Slate posted a whole bevy of photos of the premiere, posing with almost everyone except Baldoni. On top of that, X users pointed out that none of the cast, or even author Hoover, follow Baldoni on social media, although it’s unclear if they once did. Regardless, social media users are convinced something happened between Baldoni and the rest of the cast and are anxious for someone to spill the tea.
The closest thing we have to confirmation that something is going on, is a cryptic statement from Slate on the red carpet. When asked what it was like working with Baldoni, especially since he was working two jobs as director and actor, Slate completely avoided the question. Instead, she talked about how “looking around” the set made her realize if she ever had the chance to do acting and an additional job, like writing, she would just stick to acting. Her comments make one wonder if Baldoni didn’t balance his dual duties well.
Ultimately, it could just be that Baldoni is busy or chose to go in a different direction with his press. However, the fact that the director and lead star isn’t front and center in group press is more than a bit unusual, though there has been little indication of what might have gone wrong between the cast behind the scenes.
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