Blake Lively Restricted Creative Control – Hollywood Life
The drama continues to swirl around It Ends With Us stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively, as their alleged rift reportedly centers on creative control.
The 36-year-old actress is said to have taken on much of the 40-year-old actor’s role, despite him being credited as the director and Lively serving as a producer on the film. The rumored tension became noticeable when neither Blake nor the Jane the Virgin actor appeared together in photos, and he was absent from some of the movie’s press events.
An insider told Us Weekly on Thursday, August 15, “There were two camps on the film — Team Blake and Team Justin. This creative struggle set the tone for a negative experience behind the scenes and eventually led to them not speaking.”
The source added, “[Justin] felt that his vision wasn’t as valued as Blake’s, which stifled creativity on set.”
Blake Lively even revealed during a recent interview that her husband, Ryan Reynolds, helped write a scene for the movie, further diminishing Justin’s creative input. She told E! News, “We help each other. He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does. So his wins, his celebrations are mine, and mine are his.”
Although Blake was a producer, a role that typically involves overseeing the production process rather than the creative aspects of the project, another source mentioned that she worked “closely with Colleen [the author of the book] and other female team members on set.”
The alleged feud deepened when it was noticed that the cast members do not follow Justin on social media, although he follows them all. A source told Page Six, “None of the cast enjoyed working with Justin… they certainly didn’t speak to him at the premiere.” TMZ also reported that Blake thought the actor had body-shamed her after she recently gave birth to her fourth child, when Baldoni expressed worry about his back, having to lift her in a scene.
In what seemed like subtle shade, Justin commented during an interview with Entertainment Tonight, “I think Blake Lively’s ready to direct [the sequel]. That’s what I think.”