Yahoo Lifestyle ‘It Ends With Us’ Star Offers Honest Take On Whether He’s ‘Team Blake Or Team Justin’
“It Ends with Us” actor Brandon Sklenar is speaking out about the legal turmoil that has engulfed co-stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively for the first time.
Appearing on “CBS Mornings” Monday, Sklenar admitted he felt the ongoing discourse surrounding the 2024 movie, which explores themes of domestic violence and emotional abuse, was “unfortunate.”
“I just want people to remember why we made the movie in the first place and what it stands for, and just keeping the focus on that,” he said. “That movie meant so much to me.”
“I have someone very, very close to me in my life who’s gone through what [the character of] Lily’s going through for a long time, and I’ve been on the front lines helping her navigate that space,” he added. “Me doing that film gave her the strength to change her life. ... It’s unfortunate that things get taken away from what the ethos of that thing is, and it gets convoluted.”
When co-host Gayle King asked Sklenar if he was “Team Blake or Team Justin,” the actor refused to pick sides.
“I’m Team ‘It Ends with Us,’” he quipped.
Watch a clip from Brandon Sklenar’s “CBS Mornings” interview below.
Based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 bestseller, “It Ends with Us” tells the story of Lily Bloom (played by Lively), a Boston woman who reconnects with a high school boyfriend, Atlas (Sklenar), while still in a turbulent marriage with Ryle (Baldoni, who also directed the film), a doctor prone to violent outbursts.
“It Ends with Us” was a critical and commercial hit, raking in a reported $351 million at the box office worldwide. Still, Baldoni and Lively were rumored to be on the outs by the time the film opened in theaters, and in December, Lively filed a lawsuit alleging that the actor-director had sexually harassed her on set and orchestrated a smear campaign to damage her reputation.
Baldoni retaliated with a $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times over its coverage of Lively’s allegations. After denying any wrongdoing, he also filed a $400 million countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, alleging defamation.
The dispute is scheduled to go before a judge next year.
Sklenar, who currently stars in the Paramount+ series “1923,” came to Lively’s defense after the “Gossip Girl” actor was accused of not taking the film’s dark subject matter seriously in interviews and red carpet appearances.
“Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about,” he wrote on Instagram in August. “It is, in fact, the opposite of the point. What may or may not have happened behind the scenes does not and hopefully should not detract from what our intentions were in making this film.”
“Trust me when I tell you, there isn’t a single person involved in the making of this film that was not aware of the responsibility we had in making this,” he added.
