The blast radius of the It Ends With Us legal scandal extends beyond Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Brandon Sklenar, who played Lively’s love interest Atlas Corrigan in the controversial film, revealed he faced the wrath of netizens after he shared a statement asking everyone to ‘be kind’ as the drama unfolded online.
Sklenar, 35, posted the lengthy message to his Instagram account and quickly turned off the comments.
Now the actor is revealing the cruel messages he received after he uploaded the post.
‘I wasn’t damning anybody, but I was just like, ‘Can we focus on the ethos of this whole f**king movie and not be so hateful to anybody?’ I thought it was a nice thing to say, but apparently a lot of people did not feel that way,’ he told The Hollywood Reporter.
‘”You’re a piece of s**t,” “I hope you die,” “I hope your career ends,” things like that,’ he said.
Brandon Sklenar has revealed the wrath he faced after he released a statement asking netizens to be ‘kind’ during the It Ends With Us drama
Sklenar played Blake Lively’s love interest Atlas Corrigan in the controversial film
Sklenar’s agent, whose clients include a celebrity who endured a similar situation, advised him to avoid going online – but his curiosity over what people were saying online was too tempting.
‘But imagine you’re walking down a hallway and there’s a door to a room full of a hundred thousand people and they’re all saying something about you,’ Sklenar said. ‘You tell me you’re not going to put your ear to the door?’
The legal can of worms all opened last year after the making of It Ends With Us, which starred Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set and a retaliatory smear campaign – which he denied. He also sued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, for defamation and civil extortion, and the New York Times – which first reported on Lively’s allegations – for defamation. A judge has since dismissed the lawsuits.
The legal battle remains ongoing, with a civil trial now scheduled for May 18, 2026.
In his lengthy statement uploaded to Instagram in August 2024, Sklenar urged fans not to ‘vilify’ the women in the film and focus on the messages of it.
At the time, the legal battle had not yet begun – but rumors of drama between Lively and Baldoni were already swirling.
‘Colleen and the women of this cast stand for hope, perseverance, and for women choosing a better life for themselves,’ he wrote.
‘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. It is, in fact, the opposite of the point.
Sklenar revealed he faced cruel insults such as ‘you’re a piece of s**t’ in the aftermath of the post
The scandal started to simmer after the movie was released, with fans observing what they perceived to be tension amongst the film’s stars
‘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. It’s been disheartening to see the amount of negativity being projected online.’
The actor went on to say someone close to him had been struggling with a relationship similar to Lily – played by Lively – in the film, and he felt a ‘responsibility’ to bring the story to life and ‘spread the message further.’
‘Prior to my involvement in this film, she had not heard of the book. It was only then that she read it. She credits Colleen’s book and subsequently this film with saving her life,’ he continued.
‘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. A responsibility to all the women who have experienced generational trauma – domestic abuse – or struggle with looking in the mirror and loving who they see.’
He also called the film a ‘harsh reality check for the men who need to get their s**t together and take responsibility for themselves and their actions,’ adding that it was ‘meant to inspire,’ and also ‘validate,’ ‘recognize’ and ‘instill hope.’
Then, in late 2024, a can of worms was opened by Lively as she accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign
‘Ultimately it’s meant to spread love and awareness,’ Brandon continued in his message.
‘It is not meant to once again, make the woman the “bad guy,” let’s move beyond that together.
‘All I ask is that before you spread hate on the internet, ask yourself who its helping.
‘Ask yourself if your opinions are based in any fact. Or if you simply want to be a part of something. Let’s be a part of something better together. A part of a new story being written for women and all people everywhere.’
He then concluded the heartfelt post with: ‘Lead with love and please be kind.’
Sklenar turned off comments on the post not long after it was published.