Justin Baldoni thanks fans for putting up with us, support amid feud rumors

Justin Baldoni thanks the fans for the success It ends with us amid speculation of a feud with the star Blake Lively.

“I just want to thank all the fans. To everyone. Thank you for watching this film, for supporting it, for supporting the survivors, and for helping us make sure the message doesn’t get lost. I’m so grateful,” said Baldoni, the film’s director and lead actor TMZ in an article published on Tuesday, December 10.

Based on Colleen Hooverthe best-selling novel of the same name, It ends with us tells the story of domestic violence survivor Lily Bloom (Lively), who is in an unstable relationship with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni). Things get even more complicated when her old flame Atlas Corrigan (played by Brandon Glazier), re-enters the picture.

Although the film was a huge success over the summer, rumors of tension between Baldoni, 40, and Lively, 37, overshadowed its August release after fans noticed that Baldoni wasn’t posing on the red carpet with the rest of the cast in premiere of the film in New York.

Related: Everything Justin Baldoni had to say about working with Blake Lively

Justin Baldoni can’t seem to have anything but positive things to say about his It Ends with Us co-star Blake Lively as reports of a fight on set continue to circulate online. As the drama officially hits theaters on Friday, August 9, Baldoni, who directed and starred alongside Lively, heaped praise on his co-star. (…)

Prior to the film’s August 9 release, social media sleuths also discovered that Lively, Hoover and the film’s lead actors were not following Baldoni on Instagram. Despite his heavy involvement in the film, Baldoni was noticeably absent from most of the film’s press, opting for solo interviews rather than appearing alongside his co-stars.

According to The Hollywood ReporterLively, the film’s producer, she had her hair cut herself from the movie Deadpool and Wolverine editor Shane Reid however, prior to its release, it is unclear whether any of it was used in the final film.

At the August premiere of the film in New York, Baldoni invited Lively to direct a potential sequel based on Hoover’s follow-up book, It starts with us.

“I think there are better people for that,” he said. “I think Blake Lively is ready to direct. That’s what I think.’

Related: Inside Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s intense “Creative Struggle.”

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s new film It Ends With Us proved to be a box office hit, earning $50 million in its opening weekend. While the actors should be riding high on the film’s success, they have instead found themselves embroiled in controversy as behind-the-scenes drama involving various final cuts swirls in the news (…)

Baldoni recently revealed that he had a “near breakdown” while shooting It ends with us.

“It’s a very strange place, let alone directing, when I’m trying to play a character that does the things that Ryle does in the movie, so there were times on set where I would just have to walk away,” Baldoni said on the Dec. 4 episode. Elizabeth Day“How to Fail” podcast. “I would have to remove myself and go shake it out.

“I did a lot of somatic therapy, so there were times when I was actually just shaking. There’s a moment in the movie where Ryle finds Lily’s phone and finds the phone number and he’s very jealous and heartbroken,” he recalled. “And he’s angry and he’s not hurting her, but you can see in his eyes how dangerous he is. I almost collapsed after that scene.”