Justin Baldoni received an outpouring of support on social media when he spoke out about domestic violence while surprising fans at a screening of It Ends With Us, days after his co-star Blake Lively came under fire for her promotion of the film.
In the lead-up to the film’s release, rumours of an ongoing feud between Justin, 40, and Blake, 36, have dominated headlines, and resulted in both stars facing intense scrutiny online.
But now, Justin, who in addition to acting in the film also directed it and was one of its producers, has been praised online after making a powerful speech about the film’s serious subject matter.
The film, which is based on the novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover, follows a woman named Lily Bloom, played by Blake, who becomes embroiled in an abusive relationship with a man named Ryle Kincaid, played by Justin.
And the actor reminded viewers to be aware of how the story may affect others as they visited a Los Angeles movie theater at The Grove over the weekend.
Justin Baldoni has received an outpouring of support on social media after speaking out about domestic violence while surprising fans at a screening of It Ends With Us.
Just before the movie began, Justin surprised viewers by entering the theater; he then addressed the crowd and shared an important message about “intimate partner violence.”
“Thank you for choosing to leave your homes and come sit and have this experience,” the actor said.
‘This film talks about love, hope, romance. But it also talks about something very serious: domestic violence.
“I just want to say that it’s something that’s very widespread, it’s everywhere. There’s a good chance that some people in this room have been affected by it.
‘If at the end of this film you see someone sitting alone, shaking or emotional, maybe you should approach them and ask if you can support them in some way.’
Justin added that even those who didn’t relate to what the characters experienced should take time to “reflect” on their themes.
“I ask anyone who watches this film to maybe reflect at the end and ask themselves, ‘What is the cycle you can break in your life?'” he concluded.
A woman named Shelsy uploaded a clip of her speech to TikTok and it quickly went viral, garnering more than 961,000 views in a matter of hours.
The film follows a woman named Lily Bloom, played by Blake Lively, who becomes involved in an abusive relationship with a man named Ryle Kincaid, played by Justin
The actor reminded viewers to be mindful of how the story may affect others while visiting a movie theater at The Grove in Los Angeles over the weekend.
A woman named Shelsy uploaded a clip of her speech to TikTok and it quickly went viral, garnering more than 961,000 views in a matter of hours.
And immediately, people took to the comments section to praise Justin for his words.
“What a kind soul,” one person commented, while another agreed: “She’s so eloquent. It’s heartwarming.”
“He deserves all the credit for the success of the film,” someone else added.
“Every producer, writer and director should hire him,” read a fourth comment.
A fifth said: “Hearing him say this makes me feel very healing.”
“This is how you promote: in person, in normal clothes, genuine, with love,” wrote another user.
“You are so modest, so considerate, so empathetic. You are a real gem,” another person commented, tagging Justin. “Thank you for being a voice for those who don’t have one.”
“Bro actually cares about the message, he’s a good guy,” said another follower.
Blake was previously criticized for the way she answered an interview question about the film’s very serious themes.
When a reporter asked the Gossip Girl alum how people who identified with what her character was going through could talk to her about it if they saw her in person, her sarcastic response left people outraged.
Instead of encouraging victims of domestic violence to seek help from professionals or sharing the resources available to them, she laughed at the concept of making herself available to them.
“People who see this film and relate to the themes of this film on a deeply personal level will really want to talk to you,” the interviewer said.
People immediately took to the comments section to praise Justin for his words.
‘This film will touch people and they will want to tell you about their lives.
‘So if someone understands the themes of this film and meets you in public and really wants to talk to you, what’s the best way for them to be able to talk to you about this? How would you recommend they do that?’
It came days after her co-star Blake was criticized for not addressing the issue in an interview.
Blake didn’t seem amused by the idea of people approaching her and wanting to discuss the heartbreaking themes that unfold in the film.
She sarcastically replied: “Ask me for my address or my phone number.”
“Or I could just share my location with you and then we could…” he trailed off before laughing.
Blake also came under fire online after she hosted an interview with her It Ends With Us co-stars Jenny Slate and Isabela Ferrer, as well as author Colleen, and did not discuss the topic.
The four women laughed together as they chatted about everything from their dream jobs to their zodiac signs, but domestic violence was not mentioned during their talk.
Social media users were quick to criticize them, especially Blake, who hosted the interview, for participating in the light-hearted questionnaire given the serious nature of the film.
SSeveral hours later, Blake took to Instagram to share information about domestic violence, as well as some resources for her followers.
When a reporter asked her how people who identified with what her character went through could talk to her about it if they saw her in person, her sarcastic response left people outraged.
Blake also previously came under fire online after she hosted an interview with her It Ends With Us co-stars and failed to discuss the serious message behind the film.
She shared a series of links, including a hotline for victims of domestic violence, as well as statistics and other information.
“Everyone deserves relationships free of domestic violence,” she wrote.
Rumors of a rift between Blake and her co-star Justin first surfaced after fans noticed that they did not do any press together ahead of the film’s release and did not interact at the film’s red carpet premiere.
A source previously told DailyMail.com thathat Blake and Justin clashed over his “dismissive” attitude toward her “input” while filming scenes involving abuse.
The source claimed Justin only focused on “what he believed to be the abusive male point of view” and had a very “chauvinistic” approach to the issue.
“During scenes depicting abuse, Justin failed to take Blake’s character’s perspective into account and focused solely on what he believed to be the abusive male point of view,” they said.
‘His approach was very chauvinistic and created a tense atmosphere on the set.’
The source claimed Justin was “almost abusive” on set and said it “almost became the character.”
“Justin almost became the character in the sense that some women on set felt he was almost abusive to them and that he was unprofessional and unapologetic,” they said.
“To make such a serious and important film about domestic abuse without allowing women to be included in this process is disturbing.”
Days later, TMZ reported that Blake felt ‘weight-shamed’ by Justin on set as they prepared for a scene in which he lifted her off the ground.
Sources close to the scene told the website that Justin suffers from back problems and sought the help of a trainer before the lifting scene.
He allegedly asked the trainer how much Blake weighed and asked for help in preparing his back to avoid injury.
When Blake found out about his comments, she reportedly felt embarrassed for him.
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