The press tour for the world’s fifth-highest-grossing movie as of September 1, 2024, “It Ends With Us” left viewers dissatisfied with star and producer Blake Lively’s insensitive comments about domestic abuse and out-of-touch marketing during film promotion.
The film is based on the best-selling novel by Colleen Hoover, which follows young florist Lily Bloom’s (Lively) relationship with an abusive partner (Justin Baldoni). The movie tries to emulate the emotional upheaval felt by victims of domestic violence as Lily figures out how to leave her abuser while also being in love with him. The book “It Ends With Us” is inspired by the author’s parents’ abusive relationship that she witnessed throughout her childhood.
The press tour began with a rocky start when Lively and her co-star and director Baldoni decided to tour separately, rumors say due to on-set drama. Then, Lively kicked off her own advertising campaign in a TikTok video by encouraging viewers to, “grab your friends, wear your florals, and head out to see it!” Which made it sound like her fans should rally up their girlfriends and watch the heavy film as if it were a light-hearted rom-com. She followed this with a series of unfortunate interviews. After being asked a question about what she would do if a fan wanted to discuss domestic abuse, she sarcastically remarked that they should ask for her phone number and address. Lively detached herself from the themes of the movie and, instead of tackling the issue of domestic violence, talked about superficial concepts like zodiac signs and fashion choices.
To some, the press tour seemed to be a series of brazen cross-promotions. Blake Lively’s iconic hair is tinted ginger for the film. She uses her hair as a tool throughout the film, flipping it around when she’s dancing or shoving it out of her face when she’s working at her flower shop. At the beginning of the tour, she announced that she had started her haircare line, Blake Brown, and has since used the film to talk about the brand. In New York, an “It Ends With Us” themed pop-up called Betty’s Blooms was used as promotion for Lively’s two beverage lines: one with alcohol and one without. She shared online recipes for “It Ends With Us” inspired cocktails, one titled “Ryle You Wait” after the abuser in the film. One of the recipes called for gin from her husband Ryan Reynolds’ beverage line. This is not the only promotion she did alongside her husband. She has been sharing the red carpet to promote the Marvel blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine.
Lively has made herself into more than just an actress: She is a brand, a movie mogul and a big name in Hollywood. Her trouble separating herself as a brand from herself as an actress has made the “It Ends With Us” press tour less of a discussion about the strength of women who have experienced domestic abuse and more of a Blake Lively commercial. She has exploited the film’s publicity to make a profit while being insensitive to the themes of the movie. It seems that she does not understand the heaviness of the film she has just made, or she does and is ignoring it anyway. She has reduced a harrowing story about domestic violence to her character’s flowers and fashion inspiration.
Domestic violence is an epidemic that is plaguing the United States and the world, and countless women relate to the themes of the film. Lively should have used her star power to educate the world on domestic violence instead of using the movie to advertise herself.
