Justin Baldoni-Blake Lively Feud: It Ends With Us author Collen Hoover takes a side? Silent Insta speaks volumes

Colleen Hoover, author of It Ends With Us, has removed all traces of Blake Lively from her Instagram account, including a photo where Lively tagged her. This comes after Hoover quietly reactivated her account on Wednesday, amidst the ongoing and increasingly contentious legal dispute surrounding the film adaptation of her novel.

Colleen Hoover picks a side with Instagram return

The It Ends With Us movie has become the centre of a legal storm between Lively, 37, and the film’s director and co-star, Justin Baldoni, 41. Baldoni alleges that Lively used her star power to influence Hoover, 45, to side with her after she filed a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment in December. Hoover had previously expressed strong support for Baldoni, as evidenced by emails included in his $400 million countersuit where she told him “there is no one better for the project” and suggested he play the lead.

Three weeks ago, as the legal fight escalated, Colleen Hoover deleted her Instagram account, which also removed a December statement where she praised Lively as “honest, kind, supportive and patient.” Now, her relaunched page is devoid of any mention or imagery related to either Baldoni or Lively, including promotional photos from the film, which premiered in August.

Hoover now appears to be focusing on the upcoming adaptation of her 2018 thriller, Verity, starring Anne Hathaway. Hoover’s return to social media coincides with a minor setback for Lively and her legal team. They were recently denied an extension to file their amended complaint in the ongoing case. While Lively’s lawyers requested a two-week extension to name new parties by Valentine’s Day, Judge Lewis J. Liman granted only one extra day, requiring the amendments to be filed by Monday.

A source close to Lively stated, “We are pleased with the Court’s ruling, which granted most of the relief we had sought. Adjustments to the parties’ scheduling requests are not controversial—they are typical and inevitable in litigation. We have no concerns with filing Ms. Lively’s amended Complaint on or before February 18. We will be adding additional evidence to the amended complaint.”

The legal battle between Lively and Baldoni has been ongoing for nearly two months, beginning with Lively’s sexual harassment lawsuit filed just before Christmas. A New York Times article detailing the allegations followed shortly after, including text messages suggesting Baldoni’s publicists planned a smear campaign against Lively.

Baldoni responded with a $250 million defamation suit against the New York Times, and then filed a countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of trying to “hijack” the movie. The extensive 240-page filing also alleges that Lively’s team selectively edited text conversations, omitting crucial context. The filing included a conversation where Lively likened herself to Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, referring to Reynolds and Taylor Swift as “my dragons.”

Raw footage obtained

Raw footage of a dancing scene obtained by DailyMail.com casts doubt on Lively’s claim that microphones were switched off, enabling Baldoni to nuzzle her neck and say “you smell so good,” a key element of her sexual harassment case. The footage shows Baldoni’s microphone was active, and the audio reveals the pair discussed their significant others during the scene. The “smell good” comment was also revealed to be part of a conversation about Lively’s fake tan.

A voicemail obtained by DailyMail.com further illuminates the disputed rooftop scene, which Lively edited and prompted her “dragon” comment when Baldoni didn’t immediately praise her changes. In the voicemail, a visibly distressed Baldoni offers Lively a groveling apology, acknowledging he “fell short” in his response. He also addressed the “dragon” threat, saying, “Damn right, you got great friends. If that’s how you felt and they knew that. F***. We should all have friends like that, aside from the fact they’re two of the most creative people on the planet… The three of you guys together is unbelievable. Talk about energy. Force. All three of you.”

Justin Baldoni’s website

Baldoni’s team has launched a website, thelawsuitinfo.com, with legal documents and a timeline of events related to the case. The website includes texts between Baldoni and Reynolds where Reynolds expresses his admiration for the director, as well as flirtatious texts from Lively to Baldoni. A source told DailyMail.com, “It’s important to point out that nobody is monetizing off this. It’s simply a landing page to have access to legal documents that are already public. This is far from a provocation. In fact, it’s yet more evidence that Justin and his team intend to be continually transparent.”

Also Read: It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover comes in Blake Lively’s support; Justin Baldoni dropped by agency