An 'It Ends With Us' star put out a statement asking people to stop focusing on 'what may or may not have happened behind the scenes'

• Brandon Sklenar has taken to Instagram to address criticisms surrounding "It Ends With Us."
• In his statement, Sklenar condemned people for "vilifying" women who were part of the film.
• Sklenar is the first cast member to have spoken out about the film's controversy.

As backlash toward "It Ends With Us" escalates, actor Brandon Sklenar has taken to Instagram to defend the film.

"I wanted to take a minute and address all this stuff swirling online," he wrote in a post on Tuesday.

"Colleen and the women of this cast stand for hope, perseverance, and for women choosing a better life for themselves. 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 Ends With Us," adapted from a book by Colleen Hoover, is a romantic drama about domestic violence. It features Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, who also directed the film.

During the movie's press tour, fans speculated that Lively and Baldoni had fallen out, as Baldoni was mostly absent from press events with other cast members.

Fans also criticized Lively for her lighthearted approach to promoting the film despite its heavy theme of domestic violence.

Criticisms escalated after journalist Kjersti Flaan released a clip of an interview with Blake Lively on August 10, titled "The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job."

Sklenar plays Atlas Corrigan, the childhood friend and first love of Lily Bloom, played by Lively. He is the first cast member to have spoken out about the controversy.

In his post, he said that "someone very close to me" had struggled with a relationship that closely mirrored Lively's character. "She credits Colleen's book and subsequently this film with saving her life," he wrote.

"This film is meant to inspire. It's meant to validate and recognize," he wrote. "It is not meant to once again, make women the 'bad guy,' let's move beyond that together."

He ended his post by pleading with fans to stop spreading hate comments online. "Let's be a part of something better together. A part of a new story being written for women and all people everywhere."

A representative for Sklenar did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.