**Trigger warning: This column discusses domestic violence. If you or someone you know is facing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Spoilers for the book and movie are also ahead.**

The highly anticipated romance and drama film “It Ends with Us,” based on the worldwide sensational book by Colleen Hoover, arrived on the big screen on August 9. Alongside its arrival came the scrutiny of the film’s leads, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. 

Many, including myself, have noticed their drastically different approaches to promoting the film, with Lively’s approach raising eyebrows. 

“It Ends with Us” is a book that centers around Lily Bloom. She moves to Boston after graduating college to pursue her dream of opening a flower shop and falls in love with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid. The book follows their whirlwind romance, tumultuous relationship and themes of domestic violence and abuse.

Baldoni shared in an interview that his production company, Wayfarer Studios, bought the rights to produce this movie. Yet, Baldoni has chosen to promote the movie separately from the rest of the cast. While this was seen as a move to avoid glorifying his abusive character, rumors of a rift between Baldoni and the rest of the cast were sparked when many unfollowed him on Instagram. 

Baldoni continuously advocates for victims of domestic violence in his press interviews, saying in one that he hopes women in abusive relationships “can make a different choice for (themselves)” after watching the movie. He displays immense sensitivity and respect in all of his interviews for the film and has even listed domestic violence resources in a link on his Instagram bio.

The approach Lively grasped onto opposes Baldoni’s — and not in a good way.

Despite being the lead, it’s like she hasn’t bothered to read the book. She focuses on how her character is a florist and has used every opportunity to wear or talk about flowers instead of promoting resources for domestic violence. 

If Lively cared a little, she would have seen in the book that gardening was Lily’s way to escape from the violence she was exposed to when she was younger. 

In a promotional video on TikTok, Lively encouraged people to “grab your friends” and “wear your florals” to watch a movie about a woman’s struggle to leave a physically abusive relationship.

To make things worse, she was sitting next to the author while she said that. 

Hoover dedicated “It Ends with Us” to her mother and was loosely inspired to write the book about her mother’s escape from domestic violence. She stated in an interview that “It Ends with Us” was the hardest book she’s ever written. 

Instead of Hoover doing right by her mother and the experiences of millions of other women, she has become swept up in the celebrity status of Lively and has forgotten why she wrote the book in the first place. 

Hoover’s reaction to Lively telling people to “wear their florals” when watching the film and overall lack of sensitivity rolls off Hoover like rain on an umbrella. 

On top of that, Lively launched her hair care line at the same time as the movie and has even used the movie to promote her alcohol line. 

She’s promising the most fun and girliest of times to viewers. You can drink your “It Ends With Us” inspired cocktails from her alcohol line, use her hair care, wear your florals and go watch the movie she’s in — where her character gets beat by her abusive husband. 

Lively has diluted the entire message of the film throughout the press tour and has turned the movie into her own project. It’s all about what clothes she’s wearing (they’re horrendous), how she styled her hair (she needs to brush it) and the music choices she’s pressured others to incorporate into the film. 

Lively is exploiting domestic violence victims to promote her brands. Instead of raising awareness about the sensitive topics in the film, she’s using it to strictly benefit herself.  

She treats the serious topic of domestic violence like it’s this annoying thing that keeps getting in the way of her personal showcase. This is evidenced by her cavalier attitude to serious interview questions. 

The only time Lively didn’t put her foot in her mouth during an interview was when she said domestic violence doesn’t define the character she plays. 

While that was a commendable response, the reality is that something as traumatic as domestic violence has a significant impact on you. Yes, it doesn’t define you, but it forever changes you.

Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, premiered his film, “Deadpool and Wolverine,” coincidentally close to the release of “It Ends with Us,” resulting in Lively encouraging people to see both films. 

She could not make it any more obvious that she’s trying to market “Deadpool and Wolverine” and “It Ends with Us” like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — affectionately dubbed by fans as “Barbenheimer.”

When Lively received backlash from fans for lack of promoting domestic violence resources, she posted domestic violence resources on her Instagram stories as damage control. 

If that isn’t the epitome of a day late and a dollar short, then I don’t know what is. 

Lively’s actions have tainted a movie that was meant to be powerful and spread awareness about the serious and sensitive topic of domestic violence with her own selfish and narcissistic cash grab. Her lack of sensitivity and constant shilling of her own products created a negative connotation with the film and a deterrent for potential viewers. 

If the actress doesn’t consider domestic violence to be a topic worthy of conversation while she’s in a movie about it, then how can the audience? “It Ends with Us” isn’t a cutesy book or romantic comedy — it deals with serious topics.

If anything, the movie’s rise will end with Lively. 

Safia is a sophomore in LAS.

[email protected]