Topline
An over-the-top congratulatory letter sent from Ryan Reynolds to “It Ends With Us” author Colleen Hoover one day after the premiere of its namesake film has been slammed by fans as “masterclass in psychological manipulation” as the private communications of A-list actors leak amid ongoing legal drama surrounding the movie.
Key Facts
Thousands of emails and text messages were unsealed this week as evidence in “It Ends With Us” star Blake Lively’s ongoing lawsuit against her director and co-star Justin Baldoni, in which she claims she was sexually harassed and the target of an online smear campaign as retaliation after the raised concerns about behavior on set.
One leaked document contains the full text of a letter sent from Reynolds to Hoover the day after the “It Ends With Us” premiere, in which he gushes over the movie, the writing that inspired it and Hoover herself.
Reynolds’ letter, which is full of dramatic praise and flattery, has raised eyebrows and been labeled by readers as “bizarre,” shameless networking and a “masterclass in subterfuge and psychological manipulation.”
The letter says Hoover was sick with a stomach bug and suggested it was the result of “your body ridding itself of any residual Baldoni,” and made reference to “strange people with muddled intentions” surrounding the film.
In a later exchange, Reynolds said Baldoni had hired a crisis PR team to attack Lively online (a claim she would later repeat in a federal lawsuit) and Hoover says she “had a feeling this was Justin’s team controlling the online narrative.”
Reynolds said it was “amazing” to him that “despite everybody involved with a production completely running away” from Baldoni (Lively, Hoover, actress Jenny Slate and others refused to work with Baldoni on the “It Ends With Us” press tour), “the narrative must first land on why a woman is the problem.”
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Read Ryan Reynolds Letter To Colleen Hoover In Full
Colleen!
‘m sending you *literally* every form of congratulations under the sky while jumping up and down and rapidly happy clapping. At one point, I was three feet from you at the afterparty – but I wasn’t able to extricate myself from the Sony Studios Chairman’s mouth. I’m still in here and a little shocked I have service.
Holy fuckity fuck. You guys really pulled it off. Like .. . Colleen .. . this thing is on fire everywhere. And audiences have wrapped both arms around the film. You and B made something gorgeous out of ingredients you didn’t ask for. Which is what makes you both (and this whole post production team) so clutch.
I heard you guys got a tummy bug and you’re stuck in NY. I can’t think of anything worse. Although it might be your body ridding itself of any residual Baldoni. I’d rather be puking in a gulag than hijacking performative feminism while practicing personal growth catchphrases in the mirror.
I hope you’re taking a moment to enjoy this. I know the road isn’t always easy or clear. When you’re a creator and apex storyteller like you , I can imagine it takes a very resolute mind and heart to process all the strange people with muddled intentions trying to warm their hands on your light.
What’s happening this weekend with IEWU is a victory lap and a testament to fortitude. You created a world people wanted to experience about a subject that’s hard to talk about. You and Blake opened the movie adaptation higher than most films with budgets 5 to 6 times larger. During a movie season that was about to give up on female led films, (as if that’s a “genre” or something?) this is a proving point that audiences will show up for a film if it’s good. A lesson the industry learns and forgets in perfect concert with the seasons.
What a complete fucking WIN this is. I know we all breathe rare air. I realize how lucky we are. But I also know how genuinely GOOD you and Bare. And seeing good people put shitty people over their knee, for a good old fashioned , pants-down spanking in the supermarket is a special experience I don’t take for granted.
You both trued-up this whole project on and off screen. You two are thoughtful and intentioned and relentless. And it’s that same tender grit and humanity which created not only a world renowned novelist but the engine that got this film to here.
I could literally write you 85 more paragraphs eulogizing what this all means to me. This whole team rallied and delivered. Even Sony stepped up in ways I never imagined. But mainly, I’m just incredibly proud and inspired by you and B.
Hope you’re feeling so much better and I can’t wait for us all to celebrate in person. If you and:—!are still in NYC we’re back tonight and would LOVE to see you both. And if you feel like getting some fresh air, we have a whole beautiful , empty cottage an hour out of the city. It’s the perfect place to unplug from the internet’s digital anxiety system.
Lots of love
Key Background
Rumors of a feud between Baldoni and Lively started circulating ahead of the film’s premiere when fans noticed the pair didn’t appear on the press tour together. They did interviews with separate outlets and were never photographed together, and many of the film’s cast members avoided discussing Baldoni on the tour. Baldoni, however, praised Lively’s performance and her help behind the scenes. Months after the film’s premiere, in December 2024, Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department and later filed a federal lawsuit alleging Baldoni sexually harassed her, created a toxic work environment and retaliated against her when she spoke up. Baldoni filed countersuits, which have been dismissed. A judge on Thursday heard arguments on Baldoni’s motion to dismiss, but a decision has not been made. If it is allowed to proceed, a trial for the case is set for May 18. (Here is an in-depth timeline of the saga, and explanations of Lively’s initial claims and Baldoni’s claims.)
