Colleen Hoover considered skipping the August 2024 premiere of “It Ends With Us” due to tensions with actor Justin Baldoni, according to an email that recently surfaced online. In the message sent to studio executives the month before the film’s release, the author expressed feeling “beyond uncomfortable” about unspecified issues occurring “behind the scenes” involving Baldoni and co-star Blake Lively.
“I go back and forth every day between continuing to show up for this movie or going into hiding because it’s all causing me anxiety,” Hoover wrote, adding that she couldn’t promise to attend if Baldoni and his team were present. While emphasizing she preferred neutrality, Hoover claimed “feelings have been hurt and boundaries have been crossed,” making it difficult to “smile for the cameras.”
The bestselling writer clarified she fully supported Lively’s decisions about the event and would only speak positively about the project publicly, regardless of her attendance. Baldoni’s representatives didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Despite the tensions, all three attended the New York City premiere the following month, though Baldoni and Lively didn’t interact on the red carpet. Reports later claimed Baldoni and his guests were kept in a separate basement room during the event.
In December 2024, Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni, who denied the allegations and countersued before his $400 million counterclaim was dismissed last year. Lively’s ongoing lawsuit is scheduled for trial in May 2026.
Hoover later called the highly publicized conflicts “embarrassing” in a 2025 Elle interview, stating the drama had “overshadowed” her original novel. “When people ask what I do, I’m just like, ‘I’m a writer. Please don’t ask me what I wrote,’” she confessed.