It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover has returned to Instagram after deactivating her account amid the ongoing legal drama between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Hoover, 45, left the social media platform in late January. Lively, 27, and Baldoni, 41, first clashed on the set of the film adaptation of Hoover’s bestselling novel and are currently engaged in a hostile — and highly public — legal battle.
But on Wednesday, February 12, the writer’s account resurfaced — without photos of Lively and Baldoni, and no mention of the It Ends With Us promotional tour last summer, which were previously showcased on her account.
The hit movie, which was released in August 2024, follows Lily Bloom (Lively) as her relationship with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincard (Baldoni) becomes abusive. She eventually finds an ally in her high school love interest, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar). Baldoni — who directed the film and optioned the rights to Hoover’s novel — and Lively were not seen promoting the film together.
Following speculation about tension between the costars, Lively filed paperwork in December 2024 accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment, creating a “hostile work environment” and causing her “severe emotional distress” while working together.
After The New York Times broke the news of Lively’s allegations against Baldoni, Hoover showed support for Lively, writing via her Instagram Story, “Blake Lively you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman called Lively’s claims “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious,” alleging in a statement to Us Weekly that Lively filed the lawsuit to “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” regarding the production of It Ends With Us. (Lively served as a producer on the movie.) Baldoni also fired his own $400 million lawsuit against Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, accusing the trio of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy and other claims.
Lively’s team responded to the lawsuit in a lengthy statement, telling Us: “This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook. This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender,” the statement read. “Wayfarer has opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.”