Justin Baldoni was “chauvinistic” and “borderline abusive” on the set of It Ends with Us, sparking fury for his refusal to “consider” the perspective of co-star Blake Lively’s character while filming scenes depicting abuse, sources close to the show have claimed.
Rumours of a fierce feud between Justin, 40, and Blake, 36, have been circulating for weeks, with online sleuths highlighting how the on-screen love interests were not photographed together at the US premiere, while some cast members have blatantly evaded questions about the director.
Now, insiders have revealed the worrying truth about the tensions, telling DailyMail.com that Blake and Justin clashed over his “dismissive” attitude toward her “input” while filming scenes involving abuse.
The film, which hits theaters today and is based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel of the same name, follows Lily Bloom (Blake), a floral designer who falls for neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid, played by Justin, but soon after they begin dating, the romance turns toxic.
Justin Baldoni was “borderline abusive” on the set of It Ends With Us and sparked fury over his refusal to “consider” co-star Blake Lively’s character’s perspective, sources close to the show claim
Rumors of a steamy feud between It Ends With Us co-stars Justin, 40, and Blake, 36, have been circulating for weeks.
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.”
The source claimed the actor, who also served as director and producer, “failed to acknowledge” Blake and Colleen’s roles as producer and writer.
And he was said to have taken it “very personally” when the couple asked him to rewrite some scripts.
A source told DailyMail.com that tension between Blake and Justin arose because he was “dismissive” of 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 “macho” approach to the issue.
“Without Colleen’s book, none of this would have been possible,” they said.
“Some parts of the film were rewritten under Colleen’s direction, that’s true. He took the script decisions very seriously, even though that wasn’t the intention.”
They said things only got worse when he started feeling “attacked” by women on set.
“His behavior extended beyond the main characters,” the source continued. “Once he felt attacked, he became even less empathetic.”
“Now he speaks highly of him, probably out of fear of being criticized. He knows he will be criticized and might try to blame his actions on the fact that he is a method actor.”
DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Blake, Justin and Colleen for comment.
Earlier this week, Justin spoke about the difficulties of portraying a domestic violence relationship on screen with CBS Mornings.
He admitted that “as a man” he came with “his own prejudices” on the subject, but insisted that he “made sure the film had a female perspective.”
“As a man, I will always have my own prejudices. That’s one of the reasons I was afraid to direct this film, let alone act in it,” he said.
“I wanted to make sure that this movie always had a female perspective and I never put myself in that position.”
Social media users have been desperately trying to figure out what happened between the stars after sensing some tension between them in the weeks leading up to the release of the highly-anticipated film.
Blake and Justin did not pose for any photos together at the New York premiere this week, despite playing the two lead characters and love interests in the film.
They called Justin, who also served as director and producer on the film, “borderline abusive” on set, saying he “almost became the character.”
Blake and Justin didn’t pose for any photos together at this week’s premiere, while she happily took photos with her other castmates like Jenny Slate (left) and Brandon Sklenar (right).
Two days later, Blake attended a photo call in London for the film with some of the other stars, but Justin was mysteriously absent (pictured with Isabela Ferrer).
She happily took photos with her other castmates like Jenny Slate and Brandon Sklenar, but not with Justin, who was accompanied by his wife of 11 years, Emily Baldoni.
Two days later, Blake attended a photo call in London for the film with some of the other stars, but Justin was mysteriously absent.
Additionally, the two have not done any press together in the weeks leading up to the film’s release.
Instead, Blake sat down for an interview with her co-star, Brandon, last month; she and Brandon also participated in a promotional video with It Ends With Us stars Alex Neustaedter and Isabela Ferrer, but Justin had no part in it.
Eagle-eyed social media users also noticed that both Blake and author Colleen unfollowed Justin on Instagram recently.
To make matters more suspicious, actress Jenny completely dodged a question about Justin on the red carpet at the premiere on Tuesday night.
“What was it like having[Justin]as a director but also as a scene partner?” a Deadline reporter asked the star.
Additionally, the two have not done any press appearances together in the weeks leading up to the film’s release. Instead, Blake sat down for an interview with her co-star, Brandon, last month.
She and Brandon also appeared in a promotional video with It Ends With Us stars Isabela and Alex Neustaedter, but Justin had no part in it.
Jenny raised even more suspicions when she completely dodged a question about Justin on the red carpet at the premiere on Tuesday night.
“It’s a very intense job having to do so many things,” she said. “I said to myself, ‘Wow, I just want to have one job at a time.'”
“I’ve often felt that way. I love writing and it’s special to be a writer, but I looked around and thought, ‘Yeah, I’m good at acting. ‘ I love it.”
Justin sat down on the Today show yesterday and seemed to downplay the feud rumors by gushing about Blake on air.
Justin sat down on the Today show yesterday morning for an interview, and he seemed to downplay the feud rumors by praising Blake on air.
When asked what it was like working with the Gossip Girl alum, he only had positive things to say.
“I don’t know if you know how smart and creative she really is,” she said.
‘She’s best known as an actress and of course she’s a fashion icon, but she’s so much more than that.
“He is a creative and dynamic person: he participated in every part of the production and made everything he touched better.”
Blake recently confirmed that her husband Ryan Reynolds, 44, whose new film Deadpool & Wolverine will compete with It Ends with Us at the box office this weekend, wrote a scene for the Colleen adaptation.
“The iconic rooftop scene was written by my husband,” she told E! News. “Nobody knows about it except you.”
“We help each other. He works on everything I do; I work on everything he does. So his victories, his celebrations are mine and mine are his.”
