If you haven’t noticed, the promo for the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel, It Ends With Us, is getting more bizarre and awkward by the minute. The film, which stars Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Brandon Sklenar, and Jenny Slater, tells a harrowing story of domestic violence. But at the moment, people are less invested in the heartbreaking plot and more caught up in the drama of everyone in the cast — and Colleen — avoiding and unfollowing Justin, who is also the director of the film. Justin did not do press events alongside the rest of the cast in the weeks leading up to the world premiere, and although he did attend the premiere, he was only photographed by himself and with his wife and friends. When Jenny was directly asked about working with Justin, she expertly avoided the question.

Now, there are rumors about a messy feud between Justin and Blake, and online theorists are mainly pointing their fingers at Blake. So, what the fuck happened between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively? Let’s get into it.

What Happened Between Justin Baldoni And Blake Lively?

What Is The Justin Baldoni And Blake Lively It Ends With Us Drama?

At first, there were whispers about Justin being difficult to work with or all of the drama being faked for PR purposes, but the It Ends With Us drama TikTok narratives are starting to focus in on Blake now. The Gossip Girl star has received criticism for showing up to the world premiere in a 2002 Britney Spears Versace dress and for promoting her hair care line at the same time as she’s promoting the movie — both odd distractions, considering IEWU is a movie about a woman surviving domestic abuse. Meanwhile, Justin has made sure to emphasize the heaviness and seriousness of DV in his own interviews about the movie.

TikTok user Sofie Moon Scout says that their father is a retired studio exec and claims to have insight into the drama based on rumors from industry folks. Keep in mind this is all alleged, just an interesting take.

“It’s not Justin,” Sofie wrote. “Anyone on any other movie he’s directed has only said amazing things about him… It’s B & R.” The “R” refers to Ryan Reynolds, Blake’s husband. According to Sofie’s TikTok comments, Blake, Ryan, and Justin have “clashed” since the beginning production.

The Tiktoker alleged that Blake and Ryan wanted to use It Ends With Us to get an Oscar. “They invested some capital in the film believing that by doing so, they could use that to gain creative control over the film,” they wrote on TikTok. “They tried to throw their weight around, but Sony had Justin’s back. That’s when they threatened to take their money and Blake off of the picture.” Sofie says that Colleen adores Blake, so she stepped in to convince Sony to give Blake and Ryan some creative control.

From there, Sofie claims they “basically rewrote and re-shot most of the movie under Blake and Ryan’s direction.” They wrote that Blake and Ryan kept it under Justin’s name so they could use him as a “scapegoat” if the film did poorly, and they planned to take credit if it was a success.

Hm…

What Have Justin Baldoni And Blake Lively Said About Each Other?

Despite the ugly rumors, Justin only has kind things to say about his costar. “She’s a creative force,” he told People. “She’s an executive producer on the film, and she is so brilliant. And I believe that her performance is going to help so many women feel seen and showcase this unique experience in a way that I don’t believe I’ve seen in another film.”

He noted that he watched all of Blake’s movies before casting her in IEWU. “I knew she could do it in a really special, subversive way,” he said. While Justin has gushed about Blake in several interviews now, I can’t seem to easily find any Blake comments about working with Justin. She’s stayed pretty silent on the subject. Justin also still follows her and all of the other cast members on Instagram.

Well, I’m not taking off my It Ends With Us detective hat yet.

Listen to our hot take on all the drama on our Betches podcast (plus new episodes out every Thursday):