Justin Baldoni has spoken out about the recent It Ends With Us issue involving co-star Blake Lively, and his thoughts are even more powerful than we expected.
Late on Friday night, the 40-year-old director-slash-star of IEWU turned to Instagram to offer a very important message to all of the survivors of domestic violence and abuse who inspired the film (based on the world-famous Colleen Hoover novel). And his statements were profoundly poignant, even as he carefully avoided his continuing spat with Blake and the rest of the IEWU ensemble.
Baldoni dedicated his open letter to those survivors on IG who follow the Survivor Love Letter community organization and the No More Foundation, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of domestic and 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual violence. He began his letter “Dear Survivor,” and wrote:
“Dear Survivor, You embody resilience and courage, qualities that shine bright even on the darkest days. In the tapestry of your life, each thread tells a story of endurance, strength, and hope. Every step forward you take, no matter how small, is a declaration of your unyielding spirit and an inspiration to others. You may not always see the impact you have, but your journey encourages and motivates, lighting the path for those of us still searching for the light.”
He then went on:
“While I can never fully understand your pain and all you have endured, I want you to know that you are never alone in this fight. We are with you. You are not just surviving; you are thriving, and in your thriving, you inspire us all. May your journey forward be filled with moments of profound peace. And may you remember that as you fight for joy… you are liberating us all. Sending you gratitude, strength, and love.”
You can read the full letter for yourself (below):
Talk about a powerful message. Obviously, there’s nothing in it that has to do with his apparent break from Lively’s side of things on the IEWU set. And obviously, anything alluding to that would have been inappropriate considering the tenor and tone of this message. So, he hit the proverbial nail on the head with this one. Kudos, Justin.
TBH, we just kind of wish that Blake had gone all-in on her promotion of the film with this same angle. Perhaps that would have been much better received by victims, survivors, and advocates alike than what she tried to do for far too long in the promotional run-up to the movie’s release. Just saying…
