Colleen Hoover is finally speaking out about the legal storm surrounding the It Ends With Us adaptation, shedding light on the complexities that have overshadowed her work. The 41-year-old author, whose book inspired the film, shared her candid thoughts with Elle for the first time, describing the ongoing lawsuits between co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni as a “circus.”
The legal drama has been complicated. Justin Baldoni’s $400 defamation and extortion lawsuit against Lively was dismissed last month after he missed the deadline to amend and refile claims. Meanwhile, Blake Lively’s own sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against Baldoni is still active, scheduled to go to trial in March.
Hoover has largely remained private on the issue, though she initially expressed support for Lively. In her Elle interview, she explained, “It feels like a circus. When there are real people involved, with real feelings and emotions. This actually truly has impacted some of the actors’ careers in huge ways. And I just find it all around sad.”
Hoover emphasized her desire to stay removed from negativity. “I’m just trying to stay removed from the negativity. I have my own story I could tell … but I don’t want to bring attention to it, and I don’t want to have to put someone else down to lift myself up. So I’d rather just ignore it and let people think and say what they’re going to say.”
She also admitted that the situation has changed how she feels about her own work. “I’m almost embarrassed to say I wrote it. When people ask me what I do, I’m just like, ‘I’m a writer. Please don’t ask me what I wrote.’” The author revealed that the aftermath of the adaptation’s controversies has caused trauma, even more than she anticipated from the story’s inspiration drawn from her mother’s experience. “I feel awful because I almost feel like she’s gone through more with the aftermath of this film, more pain than she went through with my dad, just seeing the ugliness of it,” Hoover said.
Her statements reveal the emotional toll of having a beloved story entangled in public conflict. Despite the challenges, Hoover remains committed to maintaining integrity and protecting those involved. “I can’t even recommend it anymore,” she said, describing the difficulty of navigating both her personal feelings and public scrutiny.
