Trigger warning: This article discusses intimate partner violence and may be distressing to some readers
On August 17t, Blake Lively shared a series of statistics about intimate partner violence in the US along with resources on her Instagram stories. She also shared a clip from the It Ends With Us press tour in which she discussed intimate partner violence with a journalist, overlaid with a thank you to fans who are embracing the film.
It could be considered an appropriate post from an actor promoting a film that depicts domestic violence and abuse. But, for observers of a press tour that has been compared to Don’t Worry Darling for levels of chaos, it came too late to quell a wave of animosity and “bad vibes” that have been building around the actor for weeks.
According to sources, when Blake Lively kicked off the press tour for It Ends With Us, a film in which she starred and produced, she was hoping it would be a career milestone for her. While the film has grossed a staggering $242 million USD worldwide since its release on August 9th, according to sources who spoke with The Daily Mail, Lively is worried backlash from the press tour could end her career.
Have you felt like you’re watching a PR cancellation in slow motion? Same. Here’s how the situation unfolded.
The Blake Lively ‘It Ends With Us’ Backlash Explained
During August, Blake Lively was on the promotional tour for her new film It Ends With Us, and if you felt like you couldn’t look anywhere without seeing her outfits, haircare range and comments being picked apart, you’re not wrong.
Where Lively was once a beloved throwback for millennials who remembered her turn as Serena Van Derwoodsen in Gossip Girl, the actress seemed to rapidly develop on aura of cringe.
It started with her wardrobe.
Millennial favourite website The Cut dedicated a post to her It Ends With Us promotional tour wardrobe titled simply Why Is Blake Lively Dressing Like This? ripping into her commitment to florals (her character Lily Bloom is a florist).
Meanwhile, TikTok beloved red carpet fashion critic Nicky Campbell posted a video “me looking at Blake Lively’s outfits on this press tour” in which he depicted himself as rendered speechless when asked to “be nice”.
Instagram account @eyewitnessbeauty, run by podcast hosts millennial cool girl beauty editor Annie Kreighbaum and Glossier co-founder Nick Axelrod-Welk, joined in on the fun. They posted a carousel of Lively’s co-star Isabel Ferrer responding to questions about Lively styling her on the red carpet. The actress seemed a little embarrassed, admitting, “She did style me. This is all her doing,” looking down at her floral dress and adding, “In classic Blake fashion.” The caption for the post read: ”Wellness check needed on Isabela Ferrer!”
In essence? Lively was being dragged by the exact millennial female and LGBTQI+ demographic the film was supposed to resonate with.
The controversy extended far beyond a few fashion faux pas, but let’s start there.
Blake Lively ‘It Ends With Us’ Wardrobe: The Why
Lively, who has always been open about not using a stylist, appears to be trying the “method dressing” trend successfully deployed by Margot Robbie in the promotional tour for Barbie and Zendaya for Challengers and Jenna Ortega for Wednesday and Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. Lively’s character Lily Bloom is a florist (get it?) so we can see where she got the idea. But, Lively isn’t promoting a film about tennis, or a doll, she’s promoting a film about intimate partner violence, so the avalanche of cheerful florals feels slightly discordant.
Tone-Deaf Behaviour On The ‘It Ends With Us’ Red Carpet
@amaris12 Because why are people being shocked when they go and see the movie and realize its not just a fun romcom. Ive seen her promote her hair brand more with this movie than shes addressed the actually storyline of DV. Meanwhile Justin Baldoni is using his platform every chance he gets to use this movie to advocate for women that are in relationships of domestic violence #fyp #itendswithus #movie #dv #BlakeLively #blakelivelyandryanreynolds #justinbaldoni ♬ This was supposed to be fun… – Chief Green Screens
The suspected feud between Justin Baldoni and Lively It Ends With Us looks likely to generate as many headlines and TikTok conspiracy posts as Don’t Worry Darling.
But the vibe shift towards Lively went beyond rumours she’s not getting along with her director. Lively was criticised for taking a glib approach to the serious subject matter of her film.
A TikTok poster Amaris wrote, “When you tell Blake Lively that she shouldn’t promote ‘It ends with us’ like a cheesy rom-com when it’s a movie about DV,” which sums up the online response to the actor’s behaviour.
Baldoni, whose sister is a domestic violence survivor has talked passionately about the issue during his promotion of the film. Meanwhile, Lively has responded to questions only when asked directly and, in one promo video, said, “Grab your friends, wear your florals and head out to see it. Responses to the video ranged from “weird” and “unhinged and tone deaf.”
This is how Blake Lively is promoting her movie about escaping an abusive relationship and breaking the cycle of the abuse…
— Gabriel Divina (@GabrielDivina2) August 13, 2024
Unhinged and tone deaf.
This isn’t Barbie! pic.twitter.com/ZM7HlGyrpE
In an interview with Deadline she made it clear she didn’t see intimate partner violence as the point of the film, when directly asked about it. After providing some free advice to survivors, she said: “This is a film that covers domestic violence but isn’t about domestic violence.” Commenters on the video didn’t take kindly to her words. One wrote, “I feel like she’s never experienced domestic violence so she truly doesn’t understand” while another added “Not Blake Lively starting to give me the ick” and others adding that she reminded them of clueless office manager Michael Scott in US sitcom The Office.
Another TikTok poster said “normally a big fan of girlypopping as a promo strategy but I fear not everything can be girlypopped. And it’s just not a vibe for a movie like it ends with us” over a video in which Blake Lively blurts at a comment about the launch of her haircare company in conversation with a reporter on the red carpet.
Which leads us to…
Weird Cross Promotion
Lively decided to launch a haircare brand, Blake Brown, during the film’s promotional tour. According to Launchmetrics, her haircare launch generated $16 million USD in media impact value within a week, but fans feel this attention could have been better directed at domestic violence awareness.
Then, there’s her soda brand. Back in 2023, Lively, a non-drinker, sparked backlash when she launched a range of canned cocktails under her sparkling cocktail line, Betty Booze (part of her Betty Buzz soda range). Now, she seems to have repeated the same mistake.
Lively served It Ends With Us-themed cocktails by Betty Buzz at the film’s August 6th Premiere after-party.
The Australian Institute of Health And Welfare notes that 34% of alcohol-related intimate partner violence incidents resulted in physical injury, compared to 20% of non-alcohol-related incidents of intimate partner violence. Meanwhile, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has shown that intimate partner violence incidents increase when bottle shop trading hours are extended, and there has been a major push by lobby groups to end after-hour alcohol delivery services.
In essence? Using the promotional tour of a film about intimate partner violence to plug your beverage brand is about as wide of the mark as you can get.
Is The Source Material Off The Mark?
TikTok Mik Zazon is a domestic violence survivor who posts under the handle @mikkzazon. She shared her thoughts on the film’s promotion, saying, “It seems like there were two separate agendas. You had Justin on one end advocating for domestic violence survivors, and on the other side you have Blake saying, go out and put on a floral dress, go out with your girlies and come to the theatre. It’s going to be a great time.”
While she was complimentary of the film, she added that it should have been given disclaimers and that the book should have had them too. When Zazon read the book, she said she thought she was diving into a “girlypop love story” and was given whiplash by the plot. She added that there was a risk of romanticizing intimate partner violence and that while she felt this was intentional in the It Ends With Us story, she felt like Blake Lively’s behaviour and the lack of disclaimers in the film and in the book could contribute to “desensitization.”
In a review of the film published by Rolling Stone, culture writer CT Jones suggests Colleen Hoover’s novel was inherently flawed in an article titled How Do You Make A Domestic Violence Movie? Not Like ‘It Ends With Us.”
“With 8 million copies sold, It Ends With Us swaddles a central premise about the insidious nature of domestic abuse in a glitzy, trope-heavy, and often absurd love-triangle romance. So, of course, movie executives thought it would make a killer movie.”
Jones notes that the promotion of Hoover’s book has always been a fraught balance. Despite growing up in a home where domestic violence was rife, Jones wrote, “Hoover’s personal tie to the heavy subject matter hasn’t prevented the author from being caught in between the seriousness of her inspiration and her need to engage in promotion.”
When the book became popular during the pandemic, Hoover was criticized for profiting off intimate partner violence (which spiked during the lockdowns), and the author made several missteps, including allowing her publisher to release an It Ends With Us-themed colouring book. She apologised, and the merch was withdrawn.
While the film could have taken some PR lessons from the novel’s release, it hasn’t. As Jones writes: “…this glossy marketing campaign is proving that Hollywood hasn’t found a respectful way to market movies about domestic violence. Even worse, It Ends With Us isn’t even trying.”
Lively is yet to directly comment on the backlash.
Help is available.
- If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
- If you’d like to speak to someone about intimate partner violence, call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
- If you’re under 25, you can reach Kid’s Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
This article originally appeared on Marie Claire Australia and is republished here with permission.
