“It Ends with Us” actor Brandon Sklenar is talking out concerning the authorized turmoil that has engulfed co-stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Energetic for the primary time.
Showing on “CBS Mornings” Monday, Sklenar admitted he felt the continued discourse surrounding the 2024 film, which explores themes of home 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 mentioned. “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 requested Sklenar if he was “Team Blake or Team Justin,” the actor refused to choose sides.
“I’m Team ‘It Ends with Us,’” he quipped.
Watch a clip from Brandon Sklenar’s “CBS Mornings” interview under.
Based mostly on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 bestseller, “It Ends with Us” tells the story of Lily Bloom (performed by Energetic), a Boston lady who reconnects with a highschool boyfriend, Atlas (Sklenar), whereas nonetheless in a turbulent marriage with Ryle (Baldoni, who additionally directed the movie), a health care provider vulnerable to violent outbursts.
“It Ends with Us” was a important and business hit, raking in a reported $351 million on the field workplace worldwide. Nonetheless, Baldoni and Energetic had been rumored to be on the outs by the point the movie opened in theaters, and in December, Energetic filed a lawsuit alleging that the actor-director had sexually harassed her on set and orchestrated a smear marketing campaign to wreck her popularity.
Baldoni retaliated with a $250 million libel lawsuit towards The New York Instances over its protection of Energetic’s allegations. After denying any wrongdoing, he additionally filed a $400 million countersuit towards Energetic and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, alleging defamation.
The dispute is scheduled to go earlier than a choose subsequent yr.
Sklenar, who at present stars within the Paramount+ sequence “1923,” got here to Energetic’s protection after the “Gossip Girl” actor was accused of not taking the movie’s darkish subject material severely in interviews and crimson 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.
