'It Ends With Us' Author Colleen Hoover Comments on Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Drama: 'I Feel for Everyone'

Colleen Hoover is sharing her thoughts on the legal battle surrounding the film adaptation of her bestselling novel It Ends With Us.

The author, 46, spoke about the situation while promoting her upcoming film Verity, which hits theaters on October 2. The 2024 adaptation became the center of a lengthy legal fight involving director and actor Justin Baldoni and costar Blake Lively.

“I feel for everyone, you know?” Hoover told Variety in a new interview.

Despite everything that followed the movie's release, Hoover said, “As the author, I was — and am — so proud of that movie. I think they did a great job,”

Hoover continued. “I think Blake [Lively] was great in it, Justin [Baldoni] was great in it, Brandon [Sklenar] was great in it, and I saw the completed film before any of that happened, or I knew it was happening, so I was proud of the film! And I still am. It was a huge hit.”

Lively and Baldoni's dispute began after she accused her costar and director of sexual harassment and retaliation.

Lively also filed a complaint alleging that Baldoni orchestrated a smear campaign against her public image.

Baldoni denied the allegations and later filed a $400 million countersuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and The New York Times. A federal judge eventually dismissed Baldoni's countersuit.

Ahead of the scheduled trial, the judge also dismissed most of Lively's claims, leaving limited retaliation-related allegations.

The two stars eventually reached an out-of-court settlement on May 4. No money was exchanged, no apologies were made and no nondisclosure agreement was signed at the time.

Baldoni's defamation case was dismissed in 2025, while Lively's separate claims were largely dismissed earlier this year.

Following the settlement, a judge ordered Baldoni and his company, Wayfarer Studios, to pay just over $400,000 toward Lively's requested legal fees.

Lively had initially sought millions of dollars in legal expenses. Her lawyers argued that she should be reimbursed for costs tied to defending herself against Baldoni's defamation claims.

However, Judge Lewis Liman found that the amount of time billed and the number of lawyers involved were excessive for the specific claim at issue.

The judge also criticized what he described as a “blunderbuss approach” to calculating the legal hours. He said some expenses were too “intertwined” with the broader dispute to be recovered.

Lively's legal team still celebrated the decision and described it as historic.

“This first-ever award of fees and costs under this California law is historic, and demonstrates that there are real consequences of bringing retaliatory lawsuits,” her lawyers said in a statement to Page Six.

“As we have said from day one, Lively’s case was never about money – it was about accountability," they added.

Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman, however, viewed the ruling differently and called it “a significant victory” for his clients.

“The ruling is a significant victory for my clients and sends a clear message that, no matter how powerful you may be, the courtroom is not a place to take advantage of the law for your own personal gain,” Freedman said.