It Ends With Blake and Ryan: Social Media’s Best Kept Trend
It Ends With Us Just Ended Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' Reputation. How’s that for a hook line?
The film It Ends With Us, directed by Justin Baldoni, tells the story of Lily Bloom (played by Blake Lively), who chases her dream of opening a flower shop in Boston. Along the way, she falls in love, but her romance turns into a nightmare as she experiences both physical and verbal spousal abuse. The movie, released on August 9, 2024, was intended to spread awareness about sexual assault and domestic abuse survivors.
During the film’s launch, Blake Lively was at the center of marketing efforts. As the face of the movie, the public was eager to get more details about this highly anticipated romance drama.
With this, fans quickly picked up on a subtle but growing disconnect between director Justin Baldoni and leading star Blake Lively. Interviews between the two started circulating on social media - “Justin, what is one thing you can take away from this film?” Justin answered with the importance of spreading awareness about sexual assault and spousal abuse victims.
When Blake was asked the same question, she strayed from the awareness aspect and portrayed the movie as a “romcom.”
Eyebrows were raised across Instagram, X, and TikTok. The audience began seeing a side of Blake Lively that hadn’t been noticed before. This began a scandal that started in August and rapidly grew into a viral social media trend by December 2024.
What’s Going On Now?
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are now counter-suing each other, and social media is in a frenzy over the legal battle.
Here’s a timeline of key events since December that People Magazine shared:
December 20, 2024: Blake Lively files a complaint against Justin Baldoni.
December 21, 2024: Justin Baldoni is dropped by his talent agency.
December 31, 2024: Blake Lively files a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.
January 16, 2025: Justin Baldoni sues Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and others, alleging defamation.
January 21, 2025: Justin Baldoni's team releases footage from the It Ends With Us set that they claim contradicts Blake Lively's allegations.
The Social Media Storm
These lawsuits have become public property on social media. Everyone is reading the legal documents, analyzing the details, and sharing their opinions on the scandal. It’s a PR nightmare for those involved, but for social media platforms, it’s a goldmine for audience interaction.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have been exposed by Justin’s legal team, sharing text messages, audio recordings, and testimonials of how the two stars treated Justin during the making of the film.
During all of this, social media has impacted the personal lives of many people involved in this scandal. Colleen Hoover’s Instagram account was deactivated in January 2025, Taylor Swift did NOT invite Blake Lively to the Kansas City Chiefs Vs. Philadelphia Eagles Superbowl, and I don’t think Ryan and Blake are favored in the public eye, right now.
This controversy proves once again that nothing dominates online conversations quite like a celebrity scandal.
