Blake Lively Addresses Domestic Violence After Backlash Over Lighthearted "IEWU" Press Tour

Never judge a book by its cover: Colleen Hoover's top-selling novel, It Ends With Us, is plastered with large, pink text and pink flowers on a pink background.

It's easy to assume the book is a romantic, lighthearted story based on its fluffy imagery. But the contents within paint a darker picture, having been based on the domestic abuse Hoover's mother faced. "I don't have a lot of recollections of what they went through, but I knew he was abusive, and I never understood how it happened because she was such a strong and independent person," Hoover said about her parents in 2021.

The live adaptation will mirror the book, maybe not exactly, but it will get its message across. IEWU's director, Justin Baldoni, has been using his press tours to raise awareness about domestic violence. Meanwhile, Lively has stayed busy promoting her hair care line, Blake Brown, answering questions about her makeup and style without addressing or raising awareness about domestic violence, fueling outrage for her "tone-deaf" approach in marketing the movie (that is, until recently).

In addition, the audience believes that Lively and Baldoni are in an alleged feud due to creative differences, which you can read about here.

After the Gossip Girl star faced intense backlash online, Lively finally talked about domestic abuse on her Instagram Story.

Blake Lively Shares Domestic Violence Hotline in Story

“1 in 4 women aged 18 and older in the U.S. alone have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Intimate partner violence affects all genders, including more than 12 million people every year in the United States. Everyone deserves relationships free from domestic violence," she wrote on Instagram Stories.

The actress provided a link to a hotline, adding, "The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides confidential support 24/7/365."

However, the social media audience hasn't been too forgiving. @vnesswiftie wrote on X, "her PR team finally stepped in? little to late, really took her days after the premiere to say something about what the movie was actually about? f*ck off blake lively."

"blake lively posting this on IG after her ass has been getting called out for the press tour for it ends with us just being her and ryan’s side business hustle……a clown 😭" tweeted @ceokimjisoos.

Is the audience being too harsh on Lively? As an actress promoting a film, it's not like she has full control of all the interview questions or the direction of the publicity. It’s possible that she and Baldoni agreed on different approaches to the press – Baldoni focused on the serious aspects of the film while Lively maintained a lighter touch. Who knows? At least she has finally addressed domestic violence, which is significant given her 46 million followers.

Lively sees the film as a mix of both "fun" and "tragic." She said in her BBC interview, "I really feel like we delivered a story that's emotional and it's fun, but also funny, painful, scary, tragic and it's inspiring and that's what life is, it's every single color."

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