‘It Ends With Us’ Drama Heats Up As Director Justin Baldoni Is Accused Of “Unprofessional,” “Chauvinistic” Behavior On Set

It Ends With Us received a positive reception after opening in theaters this weekend, but the romantic drama has become mired in public discourse amid growing reports that Blake Lively may have had a falling out with her co-star and director Justin Baldoni while making the film.

Though early reports alleged Lively and Baldoni had creative differences and had “competing cuts” of the film made, recent reports claim Baldoni was allegedly “unprofessional” and “chauvinistic” towards his co-stars.

“All is not what it seems,” a source from the set recently told People . “There is much more to this story. The principal cast and [author] Colleen Hoover will have nothing to do with him.”

The film stars Lively as a florist with a traumatic childhood who finds herself in a passionate relationship with a charming neurosurgeon (Baldoni) who appears to be hiding something far more sinister.

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Insiders also told The Daily Mail that Baldoni could be “dismissive” about Lively’s input when filming scenes that involved abuse, as he preferred to focus on “what he believed was the abusive male viewpoint.”

“His approach was very chauvinistic, creating a tense atmosphere on set,” the insider said. They added that he had allegedly become “borderline abusive” and “almost became the character.”

“Justin almost became the character in the sense that some women on set felt he was borderline abusive to them and that he was unprofessional and unapologetic,” the source claimed.

Baldoni also allegedly took it “very personally” when Lively and Hoover asked for parts of the script to be rewritten. The outlet claims Baldoni began to feel “ganged up on” by the women on set.

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“His behavior extended beyond the main players,” the source alleged. “Once he felt ganged up on, he became even less empathetic. Now, he’s speaking praises, likely out of fear that they’ll call him out. He knows it’s coming and might try to blame his actions on being a method actor.”

Decider reached out to Baldoni’s reps for comment but did not hear back by time of publication.

The reports come as a surprise considering Baldoni co-hosts a podcast called Man Enough , in which he and journalist Liz Plank discuss gender roles and toxic masculinity.

Amid the film’s release, Baldoni confessed that he put a lot of work into preparing to play the film’s antagonist, so much so, it appears he may have veered into method acting.

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“I did a lot of work to prepare for Ryle, months and months and months, before we ever shot anything,” Baldoni told Today.com . “Besides working with acting coaches, I kept a journal as Ryle, and I wrote down in first person as if it was like a therapy assignment.” He said he also attended court-mandated recovery groups for perpetrators to better understand their perspective.

He added, “I can feel (Ryle) living inside of me, but I’m, like, pushing that down so that I can make sure that everybody on set is OK, and I’ve never once raised my voice on set.”

Baldoni also maintained that he accepted others’ input during production, describing himself as “a ‘best idea wins’ person.” He even noted that he felt he sometimes got “out of the way too much” so others could have their way.

However, he’s only had praise to share for Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, who also offered some creative input in the film. He noted that he would work with them again “if they’d have me.”

“You can’t summarize Blake’s contribution in a sentence, because her energy and imprint is all over the movie and really, really made the film better, and from beginning to end,” Baldoni said. “Ryan was so generous … he’s a creative genius, that guy. So, you know, his gift is levity, and her gift is levity.”

Though Hoover’s novel It Ends With Us has a sequel, Baldoni has already seemingly turned down the opportunity to direct it.

“I think that there are better people for that one,” he told Entertainment Tonight at the premiere, seemingly taking himself out of the running as director. “I think Blake Lively’s ready to direct, that’s what I think.”

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