It Ends With Us continues to make headlines, with producer Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni locked in a legal battle since the release of the 2024 box office hit.
Lively, 38, filed a federal lawsuit against her former co-star and director in December 2024, accusing Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment and for allegedly coordinating a smear campaign against her. Baldoni has denied the allegations, filing a $400 million countersuit that has since been dismissed.
And while the legal battle remains ongoing, with a civil trial set for May 2026, Lively in particular has suffered a major online backlash amid the fallout – something that prompted her co-star Brandon Sklenar to speak out in her defence.
“Colleen [Hoover] and the women of this cast stand for hope, perseverance, and for women choosing a better life for themselves,” Sklenar posted to social media in a lengthy statement in 2024. “Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about.
“It is, in fact, the opposite of the point,” he added. “What may or may not have happened behind the scenes does not and hopefully should not detract from what our intentions were in making this film. It’s been disheartening to see the amount of negativity being projected online.
“This film is meant to inspire. It’s meant to validate and recognize. It’s meant to instill hope. It’s meant to build courage and help people feel less alone. Ultimately it’s meant to spread love and awareness,” he continued. “It is not meant to once again, make the women the ‘bad guy,’ let’s move beyond that together.”
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Now, however, Sklenar has revealed that his positive statement only prompted a wave of online abuse against him, opening up about the situation in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“I wasn’t damning anybody,” Sklenar recalled of his statement. “I was just like, ‘Can we focus on the ethos of this whole fucking movie and not be so hateful to anybody?’ I thought it was a nice thing to say, but apparently a lot of people did not feel that way.”
According to the 35-year-old, the response was almost instant, receiving abusive messages including “I hope you die”, “you’re a piece of shit” and “I hope your career ends”. And while his agent reportedly encouraged him to stay offline, Sklenar recalls that he had to read it.
“Imagine you’re walking down a hallway and there’s a door to a room full of a hundred thousand people and they’re all saying something about you,” he reasoned. “You tell me you’re not going to put your ear to the door?”
We will continue to update this story.