By now, the whole world knows that Blake Lively‘s press tour for It Ends With Us was far from planned. After all, with a movie with such an established following already, you’d expect fans to be raving over interviews and flocking to the theaters.
The reality of it, however, was quite different. Since the movie’s NYC premiere, fans noticed the tension between Lively and her co-star Justin Baldoni – and have continued to point out their different approaches to the movie ever since. For many, while Baldoni was taking a more serious take, and acknowledging the movie’s importance in continuing the conversation around domestic violence, Lively’s press tour was criticized for making light of the subject by not giving the issue the respect it deserved.
A whole onslaught on opinions and criticisms later, it seems Lively is hearing all the feedback, and perhaps agreeing with it too.
According to a new source for Life & Style, Lively’s mixed feelings even carried into her birthday celebrations this past weekend. “Blake [was] trying to enjoy her birthday but she’s embarrassed by the scandal surrounding her film and all the backlash at the insensitive way she handled certain interviews in the past,” the insider revealed.
After thinking of not making a big deal out her birthday, her BFF Taylor Swift stepped in. “She celebrated at Taylor Swift’s Rhode Island home which was super special and just what she needed,” the source detailed. “She really tried her best to let go of all the drama and have a good time.”
Among the guests at Swift’s bash for Lively were Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce, Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs teammate Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany as well as Bradley Cooper (and likely his girlfriend Gigi Hadid).
Prior to Lively’s birthday, sources still indicated how delicate the situation surrounding the movie was, especially when it came to talk of its sequel, It Starts With Us. “This is uncharted territory, and nobody has any idea of what a sequel could look like,” an inside told Variety. “There’s probably no world where these two will work together again.”
From the looks of it, Lively won’t be seeing eye to eye with Baldoni anytime soon, even if she’s taking some accountability on her end about how it all went down.
Before you go, click here to see celebrity co-stars who allegedly hated each other in real life.
