• These Hollywood feuds offer a glimpse into the sometimes-fraught world of entertainment.
• Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's reported feud has already solidified its place in pop-culture history.
• Though some make up after spats, other celebs never quite get over their friction.

"It Ends With Us," the long-awaited film adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel of the same name, had no shortage of controversies, starting with its subject matter — some critics said the story "romanticizes" domestic abuse.

Still, that's not the only reason you might have seen this movie in the headlines. Internet detectives became convinced there was drama between Justin Baldoni, the director (who also starred in the film), and Blake Lively, who played protagonist Lily Bloom earlier this year.

Those theories were proven right when Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment in December, confirming that the two did not get along during filming.

However, Baldoni and Lively aren't the only director-actor pairing to have reportedly dealt with on-set friction. This feud is frequent in Hollywood history, going back to the 1960s at least.

Here are some of movie history's most infamous feuds between actors and directors.

Melina Glusac contributed to an earlier version of this story.

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively

Whispers of a feud started on social media after it became clear that Baldoni, who both directed and starred in "It Ends With Us," wasn't doing press with the rest of the cast. Then, internet sleuths discovered that while Baldoni follows the entire cast on Instagram, none follow him back.

Over the summer, reports emerged that there were two cuts of the movie: one approved by Baldoni and another done by editor Shane Reid, who has worked with Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, which Lively commissioned, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Rumbles of a feud continued as Lively began getting called out for how she promoted the movie. Baldoni hired Melissa Nathan, a seasoned crisis PR manager, as this happened. Nathan is known for working with Johnny Depp during the Amber Heard trial.

After a quiet few months, their rift returned to the headlines when Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment in December 2024 and said that he worked with Nathan and his publicist, Jennifer Abel, to start a smear campaign against her.

Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in a statement, "It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to 'fix' her negative reputation."

Lively's representative directed Business Insider to a statement she shared with The New York Times: "I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted."

Celebrities have begun to support Lively publicly, including her "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" costars and "It Ends With Us" author Colleen Hoover. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Baldoni has been dropped by his agency, WME.

Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh

Rumors about Wilde and Pugh not getting along began in July 2022, when Page Six reported that Pugh was "displeased" about Wilde's relationship with "Don't Worry Darling's" other costar (and pop music sensation) Harry Styles. Wilde and Styles have since broken up.

Eagle-eyed fans noticed that Pugh did little to no promotion of "Don't Worry Darling" on social media. Pugh also was not involved in any of the film's events besides its premiere at the Venice Film Festival (notably missing the much-memed press conference) and declined to comment about Wilde in a profile on the director in Variety.

At the premiere itself, fans seemed convinced that Pugh refused to make eye contact with Wilde, didn't stand next to her in any photos, and generally seemed unbothered.

Add in the "Miss Flo" comments from a leaked video of Wilde sent to Shia LaBeouf, and we had all the makings of a feud.

"As for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, the internet feeds itself. I don't feel the need to contribute; I think it's sufficiently well-nourished," said Wilde during the Venice press conference.

David O. Russell and George Clooney

Mounting tensions on the set of 1999's "Three Kings" reportedly led to a physical fight between the film's star, Clooney, and its director, Russell.

According to one of the film's producers, Charles Roven, Clooney was tired from working on both "ER" and "Three Kings" simultaneously, and Russell was experiencing budget pressure from the studio. Reportedly, when Clooney saw Russell yelling at a crew member, it was the final straw. The two engaged in a "tussle," per The Hollywood Reporter.

In a 2000 interview with Playboy, Clooney said Russell's aggression was a widespread problem on set, and that the director also made the script supervisor cry, physically pushed an extra, and embarrassed a camera-car driver. 

After the reports about Harvey Weinstein came out in 2017, stories surfaced about Russell, with former co-workers accusing him of on-set abuse, as reported by Vulture.

It's been 25 years since "Three Kings," but the bad feelings have not disappeared. In an August 2024 GQ profile, Clooney said it was "not worth it" to work with a "miserable" person like Russell, who made every person on set's life difficult.

David O. Russell and Lily Tomlin

A video leaked a few years ago shows Russell screaming at Tomlin while filming 2004's "I Heart Huckabees." 

The video is profanity-laden: After Tomlin complains to Russell about his constant re-writing of lines and scenes, he has a complete meltdown. Russell shoves and knocks items over on the set as crew members flee. 

But the episode did not harm Russell and Tomlin's relationship for more than a few hours. She told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015, "We've overcome it. It dissipates and it's gone." The two have said they would gladly work together again.

Joel Schumacher and Val Kilmer

Schumacher told Entertainment Weekly in 1996 that the two even "had a physical pushing match" on set.

"He was badly behaved, he was rude and inappropriate. I was forced to tell him that this would not be tolerated for one more second. Then we had two weeks where he did not speak to me, but it was bliss," he continued.

Kilmer was eventually replaced in the sequel by George Clooney.

Time did not heal this wound, though — in 2019, 24 years after the film, Schumacher doubled down on their beef. In an interview with Vulture, he called Kilmer "psychotic," though he did admit that he was a "fabulous Batman."

It's unknown if the two reconciled before Schumacher's death in June 2020.

Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor

McGregor and Boyle were close friends due to Boyle casting McGregor in his directorial debut "Shallow Grave" and his follow-up, the critically acclaimed "Trainspotting" in 1996.

However, when it came time for Boyle to direct "The Beach" in 2000, he chose Leonardo DiCaprio to be his leading man, instead of McGregor. According to a 2021 interview between McGregor and The Hollywood Reporter, this fractured their relationship for years.

McGregor said the two did not speak for "a long time" and even sat together in a first-class cabin on a transatlantic flight "without exchanging a single word."

"It wasn't handled very well. There was probably both sides to it," McGregor said. "I was upset. But at the same time, it's part of life, it's just part of growing up."

Boyle has said he felt "great shame" about what happened, even admitting that he had given McGregor the impression that the role in "The Beach" would be his.

"I handled it very, very badly, and I've apologized to you," Boyle told McGregor on "The Graham Norton Show" in 2017. "I felt a great shame about it. I was not proud of the way I handled it," Boyle added.

Eventually, the two reconciled and worked together again on the 2017 sequel "T2 Trainspotting."

Roman Polanski and Faye Dunaway

Dunaway and controversial director Polanski apparently clashed on the set of 1975's "Chinatown."

At one point during filming, Polanski was upset by a stray piece of Dunaway's hair that was ruining his shot, so he walked up to Dunaway and yanked it out of her head. One urban legend even said that Polanski's refusal to allow Dunaway bathroom breaks led to her throwing a cup of her own urine at the director.

Dunaway vehemently denied the urine incident to The Guardian but did tell the Sabotage Times that "the friction between Roman and me began from the start" of filming.

Henri-Georges Clouzot and Brigitte Bardot

French director Clouzot was well-known in the horror genre during the '50s and '60s. While filming "La Vérité" ("The Truth") in 1960, he wanted his lead actor, Bardot, to realistically fall asleep and drool for a scene. 

So he apparently gave Bardot sleeping pills, claiming that they were painkillers, The Guardian reported. Bardot took too many and ended up having to get her stomach pumped as a result.

After the fact, Bardot called Clouzot "a negative being, forever at odds with himself and the world around him," according to the outlet.

This was just one of many incidents for Clouzot, however, as he reportedly slapped Suzy Delair while filming "Quai des Orfèvres" in 1947.

Stanley Kubrick and Shelley Duvall

"The Shining" is one of the most iconic films in American history — and the reported feud between  Duvall and Kubrick is just as infamous.

Kubrick's masterpiece took 13 months to shoot, and every bit of it seems to have been torture for lead actor Shelley Duvall. A perfectionist, Kubrick apparently nitpicked her performance, re-shooting scenes and lines and reaming her in front of the crew for missing cues, reported Rolling Stone. To get real desperation out of Duvall, he apparently filmed one emotionally taxing scene 127 times.

After "The Shining" was released in 1980, Duvall said to critic Roger Ebert, "Going through day after day of excruciating work. Almost unbearable ... in my character I had to cry 12 hours a day, all day long, the last nine months straight, five or six days a week."

Later in her career, though, Duvall celebrated the director. In a video posted to X by the Shelley Duvall Archive, Duvall (who died in July 2024) said she "wouldn't trade the experience" of shooting the film "for anything" because of Kubrick. "It was a fascinating learning experience," she said.

Tony Kaye and Edward Norton

"American History X" got off to a rough start: Controversial British director Kaye didn't even want to hire Norton to play the lead, but he told The Guardian in 2002 that he "couldn't find anyone better."

Norton and Kaye reportedly began to clash when the film was being edited. Kaye's 95-minute cut was not favorably received by New Line Cinema and Norton, who both began to offer Kaye some notes — and he did not take the suggestions well, reported Den of Geek.

Entertainment Weekly reported in 1998 that Kaye was so furious with Norton that he punched a wall and broke his hand. Kaye also threatened to replace his director's credit with the name Humpty Dumpty. Kaye even called Norton "a narcissistic dilettante" to the outlet.

Norton has never spoken publicly about Kaye.

Michael Bay and Megan Fox

Bay and Fox openly slammed each other in the press, and the animosity seems to have started on the set of "Transformers" in 2007.

In a 2009 interview with Wonderland magazine, Fox said of her director, "[Bay] wants to create this insane, infamous mad-man reputation. He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is ... He has no social skills at all. It's endearing to watch him. He's so vulnerable and fragile in real life and then on set, he's a tyrant."

Members of Bay's "Transformers" crew retaliated by writing an open letter that year that called Fox "the queen of talking trailer trash and posing like a porn star," reported Deadline.

Fox was then fired from the "Transformers" franchise in 2011 and replaced with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

The two eventually buried the hatchet, and Fox starred in Bay's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" film in 2014.

"I've always loved Michael," Fox told Entertainment Weekly that year. "We've had our battles in the past but even when I've been really outspoken about difficulties we've had, I've always followed up by saying that I have a particular affinity to him."

Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren

Hedren ascended to stardom after scoring lead roles in Hitchcock's "The Birds" and "Marnie." But Hedren later told Variety that the director made unwanted sexual advances on her throughout the filming of "The Birds" in 1963 — and threatened her career if she didn't comply. 

Hedren repeatedly rebuffed his advances. She said, "When he told me that he would ruin me, I just told him to do what he had to do. I went out of the door and slammed it so hard that I looked back to see if it was still on its hinges."

According to Hedren, the inappropriate behavior continued on the set of "Marnie." At one point, Hitchcock and Hedren were in the back of a limousine, and she said he lunged at her, begging her to kiss him.

"It was absolutely awful, and as soon as the movie 'Marnie' was over, I was out of there," Hedren said. "That was the end of the Hitchcock relationship."

Judd Apatow and Katherine Heigl

In a now-infamous Vanity Fair interview from 2008, Heigl insulted her "Knocked Up" director, Apatow, by calling the movie "a little sexist." 

Heigl went on to express discontent with her character's personality in the film: "It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight," she told the magazine. "It paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys."

Both Apatow and Heigl's costar, Seth Rogen, did not take this critique well. Apatow commented on Heigl's lack of an apology on "The Howard Stern Show" in 2009, saying, "[You'd think] at some point I'll get a call saying, 'Sorry, I was tired ...' and then the call never comes." 

The incident dampened Heigl's career, leading her to apologize (via the press) in 2016. In 2017, Apatow told Vulture he still hasn't spoken to Heigl since the Vanity Fair interview came out a decade ago.

In 2021, Heigl spoke to The Washington Post about being branded as "difficult" in Hollywood after her "Knocked Up" comments.

"I may have said a couple of things you didn't like, but then that escalated to 'she's ungrateful,' then that escalated to 'she's difficult,' and that escalated to 'she's unprofessional,'" she said. "What is your definition of difficult? Somebody with an opinion that you don't like?"

Kevin Smith and Bruce Willis

Smith discussed the making of the 2010 film "Cop Out" on an episode of "WTF with Marc Maron" in 2011, almost a year after its release. He told the comedian that one of the stars of the film wouldn't sit for a poster photo shoot — and once Maron pressed the director for a name, he let loose.

The "Mallrats" director confirmed that it definitely wasn't Tracy Morgan," who he called "a dream" and said he would "lay down in traffic for."

"Were it not for Tracy, I might've killed myself or someone else in the making of that movie," Smith said. "It was difficult. I've never been involved in a situation like that where one component is not in the box at all." He added it was "soul-crushing."

Wills, for his part, kept it simple in his response. "Poor Kevin. He's just a whiner," he told Time Out in 2013.

However, the two seem to have squashed their beef. Almost a decade later, in 2019, Smith told a story on his podcast, "Fatman Beyond," about the action star texting him to ask for his address, as Willis had some pictures he wanted to send Smith.

"Reach out to an old friend or to someone you never thought would be a friend again. You never know what bridges you can mend," said Smith.

In 2022, Willis' family announced the actor was stepping back from acting after he was diagnosed with aphasia, and the director had some kind words to say on X. "Long before any of the Cop Out stuff, I was a big Bruce Willis fan - so this is really heartbreaking to read," he wrote. He also expressed regret for his previous comments.

Harold Ramis and Bill Murray

Murray and Ramis were longtime friends and "Ghostbusters" costars, but they had a bitter falling out on the set of Ramis' 1993 film "Groundhog Day."

Murray was the star of the film, and, according to Ramis' daughter Violet's book "Ghostbuster's Daughter: Life With My Dad, Harold Ramis," his behavior became increasingly erratic while shooting —  he was repeatedly late to set and threw many a tantrum. The issue came to a head when Ramis, at one point, is said to have grabbed Murray by the collar and shoved him against a wall.

Ramis' daughter also wrote that "Bill was going through a difficult time in his personal life, and he and my dad were not seeing eye to eye on the tone of the film."

She added, "Eventually, Bill just completely shut my dad out ... for the next 20-plus years."

Ramis became terminally ill in 2010, and it was then that Murray extended an olive branch, arriving at Ramis' house with a police escort and a dozen doughnuts. The two were friends until Ramis' death in 2014.

Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski

Kinski was known for being a difficult actor to work with, and this seemed to prove true for director Herzog on the set of "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" in 1972. 

Kinski and Herzog began to disagree about how Kinski should play his character, and Kinski became defiant. He reportedly threw wild tantrums on set and constantly threatened to quit the production. In one of the latter instances, Herzog is said to have held Kinski at gunpoint in order to make him stay, reported Indiewire.

The two went on to work together four more times, and Herzog made a documentary about their mercurial, decadeslong friendship called "My Best Fiend" in 1999.

Lars von Trier and Björk

Both Björk and von Trier won many awards and accolades for their 2000 indie film "Dancer in the Dark." But in light of the #MeToo movement, Björk claimed in 2017 that von Trier made unwanted sexual advances at her during filming. 

In a series of Facebook posts, Björk alleged that von Trier made "unwanted whispered sexual offers from him with graphic descriptions," and he threatened to "climb from his room's balcony in the middle of the night with a clear sexual intention." 

Von Trier denied the claims, saying that sexual harassment was "not the case. But that we were definitely not friends, that's a fact," reported The Guardian.

John Carney and Keira Knightley

Carney blasted Knightley in a 2016 interview with The Independent after their film "Begin Again" was released, calling her a "supermodel" who was unable to capture the essence of her musician character.

Carney said, "Keira's thing is to hide who you are and I don't think you can be an actor and do that ... being a film actor requires a certain level of honesty and self-analysis that I don't think she's ready for yet, and I certainly don't think she was ready for on that film." 

Directors rallied to defend the Oscar-nominated actor on Twitter (now X), calling her "utterly spectacular" and "a joy" to work with. Carney then issued an apology on X in 2016, saying, "Keira was nothing but professional and dedicated during that film and she contributed hugely to its success." 

In 2019, Knightley revealed in an interview with the Irish Times that Carney had privately apologized to her, and she had accepted it.

"It was a very difficult shoot. We didn't get on. It's just a thing that happens sometimes and I say that with no blame. It takes two to tango," she said. "I think we can both be very proud of ourselves for the film that we made because it's difficult when a lead actor and director don't get on. And I don't think you could tell that from watching the film."

Paul Thomas Anderson and Burt Reynolds

Anderson hit it big with his critically adored second film, "Boogie Nights," in 1997. But Reynolds, who won a Golden Globe for his performance, never saw the film.

Reynolds told GQ in 2015 that he and Anderson clashed on set, personality-wise. He found Anderson to be too pleased with his own ability, saying they butted heads "mostly because he was young and full of himself. Every shot we did, it was like the first time [that shot had ever been done]." 

Anderson extended an olive branch by offering Reynolds a part in his next film, "Magnolia," but Reynolds told The Guardian he declined the offer, saying, "I'd done my picture with Paul Thomas Anderson; that was enough for me."

Adrian Lyne and Kim Basinger

Basinger spoke to The New York Times in 1986 about the grueling experience of shooting the erotic drama "9 1/2 Weeks."

Basinger was reportedly bullied by director Lyne, who also convinced costar Mickey Rourke to completely ignore Basinger off-camera in order to add to the duo's intensity on-screen. Lyne said to the Times, "In order for her to be angry I would rage at her and she would rage back at me."

It wasn't until after "9 1/2 Weeks" was released that Basinger realized the level of manipulation that was happening on set. She reflected, "Mickey was egging me on — I hated him sometimes. I got confused. I didn't know who I was after a while. My husband [Ron Snyder] and I had a bad time during this movie."

Even though Basinger said there were times she was ready to quit the movie, she holds firm that the experience — and the final product — were worthwhile.

Bernardo Bertolucci and Maria Schneider

Though the scene depicting the rape of Schneider's character was in the script for "Last Tango in Paris," director Bertolucci created a disturbing last-minute addendum.

Bertolucci and actor Marlon Brando had the idea of using a stick of butter as a lubricant for the scene, but they apparently didn't warn Schneider beforehand because Bertolucci wanted "her reaction as a girl, not as an actress," he said in 2013.

In 2007, a few years before her death in 2011, Schneider told The Daily Mail that the scene felt real to her. "Marlon said to me: 'Maria, don't worry, it's just a movie,' but during the scene, even though what Marlon was doing wasn't real, I was crying real tears," she said.

Bertolucci said Schneider hated him for years after the film, and "Last Tango In Paris" received renewed media attention in 2016 before the #MeToo movement, as celebrities — both actors and actresses — rallied to defend Schneider on X.

• This summer, controversies around 'It Ends with Us' overshadowed the film's press tour.
• Fans criticized Blake Lively's promotion methods and speculated she and costar Justin Baldoni had fallen out.
• Four months later, Lively filed a sexual-harassment complaint against Baldoni.

The "It Ends With Us" press tour this summer was overshadowed by rumor and speculation.

Ahead of the film's release in August, fans suspected a feud between lead star Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, her costar and director.

Some blamed Lively without knowing what caused their apparent falling out and criticized her on social media.

The film survived the backlash and became one of the biggest hits of the summer, grossing $350 million worldwide.

Over the weekend, Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni.

Here's everything we know about the situation.

Baldoni did not interact with other cast members at press events.

Fans suspected that something was amiss when Baldoni and Lively didn't interact during the press tour, despite playing partners in the film.

Lively teamed up with costars Brandon Sklenar and Isabela Ferrer for press events and with Colleen Hoover, the author of the book the film is based on, for interviews and TV spots. Meanwhile, Baldoni did a lot of solo press.

Even when they both attended the New York premiere on August 6, they were not photographed together.

Lively posed with her castmates, Hoover, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and Hugh Jackman, his "Deadpool & Wolverine" costar. Meanwhile, Baldoni was only photographed with his wife and some of the other producers who worked on the film.

While speaking to Entertainment Tonight on the carpet at the New York premiere, Baldoni explained why he was stepping back from the limelight.

"This isn't my night — this is a night for all the women who we made this movie for," he said." This is a night for Blake, this is a night for Colleen. I'm just so grateful that we're here, five years in the making."

Regardless of his comments, fans theorized about the potential drama between the two on social media.

This speculation intensified after a user on the r/ColleenHoover subreddit posted on August 6 that Lively and Hoover do not follow Baldoni on Instagram. Fans also noticed that the film's other stars, including Sklenar, Ferrer, and Jenny Slate, did not follow Baldoni.

Business Insider could not verify whether they previously followed him.

For his part, Baldoni followed all of them except Hoover.

Fans wondered if the apparent beef was one-sided or if Baldoni was at the center of a wider fracture, especially since, during pre-production, Hoover and Baldoni appeared on each other's Instagram feeds multiple times.

Adding to this theory was a clip of Slate seemingly sidestepping a question about Baldoni at the movie's New York premiere. Asked about having Baldoni as both a scene partner and a director, she responded by not mentioning Baldoni and instead speaking about how "intense" it must be to do both jobs.

News reports fueled the speculation.

The Hollywood Reporter on August 8, citing unnamed sources, reported that the feud on set originated when two movie cuts emerged during the postproduction process.

Multiple sources told the outlet that Lively commissioned one of the cuts to be done by "Deadpool & Wolverine" editor Shane Reid. He was the same editor Lively previously used when she directed the music video for Taylor Swift's "I Bet You Think About Me."

However, the film's final cut was credited to editors Oona Flaherty and Robb Sullivan.

It's unclear if Reid's cut was used in the film version that showed in theaters, but according to one source who spoke to THR, the team agreed on the final cut.

A day later, Page Six reported, citing an anonymous source, that the two stars didn't see eye-to-eye while shooting the movie. Page Six reported that one source said Baldoni made Lively feel "uncomfortable" about her postpartum body during filming. Another source said Baldoni created an "extremely difficult" environment for the entire cast.

"It's not just Blake. None of the cast enjoyed working with Justin," the source was quoted as stating. "They certainly didn't talk to him at the premiere."

On August 13, People reported that a source close to the set said, "All is not what it seems," and that the principal cast and Hoover didn't want anything to do with Baldoni.

Fans turn on Lively.

Many fans blamed Lively for the feud, accusing her of trying to take over the film.

This theory was supported by Baldoni and Lively's interviews in the lead-up to the movie's premiere.

On August 9, Baldoni told Today that Lively and Reynolds, who was not a producer on the film, contributed significantly to it.

"You can't summarize Blake's contribution in a sentence, because her energy and imprint is all over the movie and really, really made the film better, and from beginning to end," Baldoni said.

Baldoni also said he struggled to balance allowing collaboration and having his voice drowned out entirely.

He said: "You don't have to listen to everybody, and that didn't happen all the time, but there were just moments where I would get out of the way too much."

Baldoni said Lively should take over as director to adapt the sequel to the "It Ends With Us" novel, "It Starts with Us."

Meanwhile, Lively told E! News on August 7 that Reynolds helped pen the opening scene of "It Ends With Us."

The film's screenwriter Christy Hal told People a day later that she wasn't aware that Reynolds had written some of the dialogue used in the final version of the script.

"When I saw a cut, I was like, 'Oh, that's cute. That must have been a cute improvised thing,'" Hall said. "So if I'm being told that Ryan wrote that, then great, how wonderful."

Fans' other grievance was about how Lively promoted the movie.

The film is about a florist whose husband becomes abusive, and fans criticized Lively for speaking about the film's romantic elements during the press tour and less about the domestic abuse plot. This was in line with the film's marketing.

Baldoni was the only cast member who consistently spoke about the domestic abuse element.

Baldoni recruited a PR crisis manager who represented Johnny Depp against Amber Heard.

The Hollywood Reporter reported on August 13 that the actor hired veteran PR crisis manager Melissa Nathan, who represented Johnny Depp during the Amber Heard trial in 2022.

Nathan launched her agency in 2024, specializing in crisis communications and reputation management.

A clip of Lively acting hostile toward a reporter in a 2016 interview resurfaced amid the 'It Ends With Us' drama.

Journalist Kjersti Flaa 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."

"It actually took me a while to get over the experience," Flaa told Business Insider in an email on August 19.

"Every time I entered a room after this I got nervous that something similar might happen again," she wrote.

Lively's costar put out a statement asking people to stop focusing on 'what may or may not have happened.'

Sklenar, who plays Lively's other love interest in "It Ends With Us," spoke out about the backlash toward the film in an Instagram post on August 20.

"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," he said.

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

Representatives for Baldoni, Lively, Reynolds, Hoover, and Sklenar did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment.

On December 20, Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, inflicting "emotional distress," and conspiring to damage her public reputation.

The complaint also named Wayfarer Studios, Baldoni's production company, and Jamey Heath, the company's CEO, as two of the 11 defendants in a legal complaint.

In the complaint, Lively said an all-hands meeting about Baldoni and Heath's behavior on set was held in January 2023. She accused him of showing her nude videos and images of women, improvising kissing scenes or intimate scenes, and entering her trailer while she was naked.

Lively said she held the meeting for all the female cast members and requested that an intimacy coordinator be hired.

Lively said Heath and Baldoni responded by orchestrating a "multi-tiered" plan to "destroy" her public reputation and stop her or anyone else from speaking out about what happened on set.

Lively said Baldoni hired the crisis PR, Nathan, and a Texas-based contractor named Jed Wallace, both defendants in the complaint, ahead of the film's premiere to carry out this plan. She said it involved feeding theories on social media to shift the narrative against Lively.

She also claims in the complaint that the cast agreed to a marketing plan created by the film's distributor, Sony Pictures Entertainment, to avoid talking about the sad parts of the movie, which Baldoni broke away from.

"What the public did not know was that Mr. Baldoni and his team did so to explain why many of the Film's cast and crew had unfollowed Mr. Baldoni on social media and were not appearing with him in public," the complaint said.

Baldoni's attorney said Lively blamed Baldoni in the hope of improving her reputation.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, told BI in a statement: "It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to 'fix' her negative reputation, which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions."

Freedman said Nathan was hired because Lively made multiple demands and threatened not to show up to set or promote the film if they were not met.

A representative for Lively referred BI to a statement shared with The New York Times on Saturday: "I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted."

In the following days, Hoover and other stars react to the lawsuit.

Lively's costars from 2005's "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" — America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Bledel — shared a joint statement supporting Lively after she made the complaint.

Hoover and Sklenar, who worked on "It Ends With Us," seemed to both throw their support behind Lively by sharing her links to her allegations on their Instagram stories.

"@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met," Hoover wrote in her story post. "Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt."

The complaint has affected Baldoni's career.

On Saturday, The New York Times reported that Ari Emanuel, chief executive of the parent company that owns Baldoni's talent agency, William Morris Endeavor, said the agency had stopped representing him.

On December 9, before the complaint was released, Vital Voices, a nonprofit organization that supports women leaders, awarded Baldoni the Voices of Solidarity Award to honor his advocacy work for women.

On December 23, Vital Voices said in a statement on their website that they had rescinded the award.

"The communications among Mr. Baldoni and his publicists included in the lawsuit – and the PR effort they indicate – are, alone, contrary to the values of Vital Voices and the spirit of the Award," the statement read.

Baldoni's lawyer said the actor plans to file a counter-suit that will 'shock everyone.'

On Saturday, The Daily Mail reported that Baldoni and Heath, the Wayfarer Studios CEO, and publicists identified in Lively's complaint planned to file a countersuit on January 2. The outlet reported the countersuit would claim that Lively's PR team in fact smeared Baldoni, and WhatsApp messages used in the complaint were taken out of context.

Leslie Sloane, founder of Vision PR that represents Lively, told Deadline: "It's clear that Mr. Baldoni and his Wayfarer Associates are suggesting that I originated press stories about HR complaints on set, which is false. Please read Ms. Lively's Complaint and the Complaint filed by Jonesworks LLC and Stephanie Jones, which provides the details of the campaign against my client."

Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's attorney, told Deadline on Saturday: "I am not going to speak to when or how many lawsuits we are filing but when we file our first lawsuit, it is going to shock everyone who has been manipulated into believing a demonstrably false narrative.

"It will be supported by real evidence and tell the true story. In over 30 years of practicing, I have never seen this level of unethical behavior intentionally fueled through media manipulation."

Freedman and Sloane did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

Baldoni and others filed a lawsuit against The New York Times

Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and others mentioned in a New York Times story that detailed Lively's accusations against Baldoni filed a lawsuit against the newspaper on December 31, Variety first reported.

The lawsuit, which was obtained by BI, said the Times' story, which was published December 21, "relied almost entirely on Lively's unverified and self-serving narrative." It also accused the Times of "disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives."

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, contained screenshots of messages that it said contradicted the Times' reporting.

In a statement provided to BI, a Times spokesperson said the paper stood by its reporting and would "vigorously defend against the lawsuit."

"Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article," the statement said.

The spokesperson also said Baldoni and other subjects of the article "have not pointed to a single error" and that the outlet published their full statement responding to the allegations.

In a statement provided to BI after Baldoni's lawsuit was filed, Freedman, the plaintiffs' lawyer, said Lively had orchestrated a "vicious smear campaign" and that the Times "cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood elites."

Freedman also said that in addition to the Times they would sue "those individuals who have abused their power to try and destroy the lives of my clients."

In a statement provided to BI about Baldoni's suit against the Times, lawyers for Lively said: "Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively's California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint, filed earlier today."

Lively filed her own lawsuit in New York

The same day Baldoni filed his lawsuit against the Times, Lively filed a lawsuit against him, Wayfarer, and others in New York federal court, The Hollywood Reporter first reported.

Representatives for Lively said the lawsuit, which was obtained by BI, was based on the legal complaint Lively previously filed with the California Civil Rights Department. The lawsuit accuses Baldoni and his PR team of engaging in a campaign to retaliate against her for speaking out about sexual misconduct.

"Unfortunately, Ms. Lively's decision to speak out has resulted in further retaliation and attacks," her lawyers said in a statement provided to BI. "As alleged in Ms. Lively's federal Complaint, Wayfarer and its associates have violated federal and California state law by retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns."

Representatives for Baldoni and Wayfarer did not address the lawsuit filed by Lively when reached by BI.

Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour confirmed on a podcast interview that his employees asked social media influencers to promote memes about the FBI’s raid on the home of his archrival, the CEO of Polymarket.  Both companies offer competing events-betting markets, a new kind of betting industry where people wager about the outcomes of events ranging from […]

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• Drake and Kendrick Lamar have exchanged nine diss tracks since "Like That" dropped in March.
• Hip-hop writers and critics favor Lamar in the feud, praising his songs as more persuasive.
• Lamar has extended his victory lap by surprise-releasing a new album, "GNX."

Drake and Kendrick Lamar were once considered collaborators, perhaps even friends.

Both rappers lent features to the other's 2011 albums ("Take Care" and "good kid, m.A.A.d city," respectively) and even teamed up with A$AP Rocky for the 2012 hit "F**kin' Problems."

Over the years, however, Drake and Lamar came to represent very different versions of hip-hop greatness: the former is a commercial juggernaut, racking up No. 1 albums and breaking chart records set by The Beatles, while the latter is a Grammy darling and acclaimed lyricist who's won a Pulitzer Prize.

Today, their separation is more apparent than ever: Drake and Lamar have become all-out foes.

In March, the Compton rapper used one simple line to reheat their long-simmering beef: "Motherfuck the big three, it's just big me."

The avowal appeared in Lamar's guest verse for "Like That," the sixth track on Future and Metro Boomin's collaborative album "We Don't Trust You."

When the album was released, attentive rap fans noted Lamar's sneaky reference to J. Cole's guest verse in the 2023 Drake hit "First Person Shooter."

"Love when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? / We the big three like we started a league," Cole rapped, referencing Lamar's nickname "K-Dot" and Drake's birth name, Aubrey Graham.

While Cole backed down from the challenge, Drake did not. He released a pair of diss tracks aimed at Lamar, "Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle."

In the former, Drake mocks Lamar's height with a reference to his latest Grammy-winning album, "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers." ("How the fuck you big steppin' with a size-seven men's on?") The latter track opens with AI-generated advice from Tupac Shakur, whom Lamar has frequently been compared to. This strategy backfired, drawing criticism and legal threats from Shakur's estate; Drake removed the song from his social media.

Lamar finally responded after 11 days of silence, dropping an explicitly anti-Drake diss called "Euphoria."

The song contains layered insults about his rival's roots ("I'd rather do that than let a Canadian n**** make Pac turn in his grave"), Drake's track record as a dad ("I got a son to raise, but I can see you don't know nothin' 'bout that"), and long-stewing plastic surgery rumors ("Tell 'em where you get your abs from").

Even the title is likely a reference to Drake's role as executive producer on HBO's "Euphoria," a show that's been criticized for objectifying and sexualizing young girls. (None of the actors depicted having sex are actually teenagers.)

The drama didn't stop there. Less than 72 hours later, Lamar released "6:16 in LA," which sparked another response from Drake ("Family Matters"), which provoked two more jabs from Lamar ("Meet the Grahams" and "Not Like Us"), which finally led Drake to address criticism head-on ("The Heart Part 6").

As of writing, the rappers have exchanged a total of nine diss tracks (including "Like That") in a matter of weeks. It's the latest in a long, storied history of rap feuds, but even so, there's a lot to unpack here.

We broke down the key takeaways from hip-hop writers and culture critics.

After 'Euphoria,' critics said Lamar took round one

The unbridled energy of "Euphoria" has been widely praised by critics, even though Lamar's rebuttal came later than fans expected.

"Drake's 'Push Ups' and 'Taylor Made Freestyle' were solid efforts, but for my money, they didn't hit as hard as the 'Like That' verse or 'Euphoria,'" Angel Diaz wrote for Billboard. "This response was well worth the wait."

Similarly, music journalist Sowmya Krishnamurthy commended Lamar's patience, writing on Medium, "There's a reason that he's known as hip-hop's reigning boogeyman."

"What's so great about 'Euphoria' is that it's six minutes and 24 seconds of rapping. Straight bars," Krishnamurthy wrote, comparing Lamar's "vicious" lyrical skill to Drake's "penchant for social media trolling and gimmicks."

"This is a rap battle," Krishnamurthy added. "The victor needs to showcase actual skill, wit, wordplay, and flow in order to take it."

In a track review for Pitchfork, Alphonse Pierre argued that Lamar's humor and passionate delivery help to sell the song — despite its underwhelming production and its lack of a "knockout blow."

"He sounds like he's been waiting years for this moment. 'I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk / I hate the way that you dress,' he raps; cliché, but it works because he sounds like he really means it," Pierre wrote.

Lamar declared, 'I'm the biggest hater,' and people are loving it

Drake is no stranger to diss tracks. Back in 2018, he was eviscerated by Pusha T's "The Story of Adidon," which Pierre said "set the bar for all future Drake teardowns."

Pusha T promoted the release with an old photo of Drake in blackface. In the song, he revealed that Drake had quietly fathered a child with an adult film star.

By contrast, "Euphoria" isn't especially specific or revelatory. Instead, what delighted critics is the sheer level of contempt that Lamar has been harboring for the Canadian chart-topper.

"This ain't been about critics, not about gimmicks, not about who the greatest / It's always been about love and hate, now let me say I'm the biggest hater," Lamar raps.

The lyric is probably a reference to a Breakfast Club interview with DMX in 2012 in which the rapper declared, "I don't like anything about Drake. I don't like his fucking voice. I don't like the shit he talks about. I don't like his face. I don't like the way he walks, nothing."

Pop culture writer Hunter Harris applauded Lamar's catty "war cry" in her newsletter "Hung Up," noting, "The meanest thing you can possibly do is to hate someone just because."

Zoe Guy echoed this sentiment in an article for Vulture, saluting Lamar for his "blatant honesty."

"We can only hope Lamar never relinquishes the hate in his heart, because we could go for another fiery verse or two," Guy wrote.

Music journalist Andre Gee agreed, contending that Lamar didn't need a big reveal or accusation for the song to land — he only needed to be energized by his own personal disdain.

"Some diss songs make listeners perceive an artist differently, but other disses say things people are already thinking in ways that they can't convey," Gee wrote for Rolling Stone. "The Cardo and Kyuro-produced 'Euphoria' is the latter. Kendrick doesn't say many new things, but the way he lobs his insults makes it a haymaker."

Social media users also put Lamar in the lead

Producer and DJ Marseel said on X that Drake "lost the culture" after the "Euphoria" drop, while culture critic Shamira Ibrahim wrote, "I'm actually shook at how disgusted Kendrick is with Drake."

The rapper and singer Tiger Goods celebrated Lamar's Gemini spirit, writing, "Real haters are detailed."

"Drake is responding because he has to," wrote Todd in the Shadows, a popular YouTube music reviewer. "Kendrick is doing this because he actively dislikes Drake."

Plenty of others noted Lamar's solo writing credit for "Euphoria," compared to three writing credits for Drake's "Push Ups," citing this as evidence of Lamar's superiority. (Drake has long been accused of using ghostwriters for his hits, a claim that Lamar has now repeated.)

"Kendrick absolutely ethered Drake," culture critic Ira Madison III wrote on X. "But as the male Taylor Swift, he is Teflon. His career will be just fine even if people hate him."

Critics praised Drake's rapping on 'Family Matters,' but Lamar's quick comeback gave him the upper hand again

Three days after Lamar released "Euphoria," Drake hit back with "Family Matters," a seven-minute song paired with a music video.

Drake begins the song with a disclaimer: "I was really, really tryna keep it PG." Then he goes after Lamar's family, accusing his opponent of infidelity and abuse: "They hired a crisis management team / To clean up the fact that you beat on your queen." (Lamar seemed to admit to having affairs in his latest album, "Mr. Morale," but as of writing, the domestic violence allegations are unsubstantiated.)

Drake also claims that one of Lamar's children with his fiancée, Whitney Alford, was actually fathered by Lamar's manager, Dave Free.

Journalists called the song "eviscerating" and "really real." Several opined that Drake rose to Lamar's challenge and delivered an impressive performance.

"In a vacuum, this song would be one of the strongest diss records of all time," David Dennis Jr. wrote for Andscape. "'Family Matters' is some of the best rapping Drake's done in his career. He knew he was up against the premier lyricist of our era, and he stepped up tremendously."

However, Drake's triumph was short-lived. Mere minutes later, Lamar countered with "Meet the Grahams," an open letter to members of Drake's family.

Throughout the song, Lamar addresses Drake's 6-year-old son ("Dear Adonis, I'm sorry that man is your father"), his mom ("Sandra, sit down, what I'm about to say is heavy, now listen / Your son's a sick man with sick thoughts"), his dad ("You raised a horrible fucking person, the nerve of you, Dennis"), and a mysterious 11-year-old daughter that he alleges Drake is hiding. (Drake denied this final point via Instagram.)

The brutal tone of the track, paired with the speed of its delivery, quickly returned the edge to Lamar.

As Charles Holmes wrote for The Ringer, "The quality of the most recent diss tracks became irrelevant the minute Kendrick outmaneuvered Drake by releasing 'Meet the Grahams' about an hour after 'Family Matters' dropped."

The next morning, Lamar stayed on the offensive with "Not Like Us," in which he explicitly accuses Drake of pedophilia and harboring sex offenders in his OVO camp. (Back in 2010, Drake did kiss a teenager onstage during a concert. He has also been criticized for questionable relationships with minors, including Billie Eilish and Bella Harris, though he has never faced official accusations of sexual misconduct.)

During a live-streamed reaction, music reviewer Anthony Fantano described the one-two punch as a "terminal case" for Drake.

"Drake could throw in the towel. It's starting to look like that might need to happen," Fantano said, adding, "This is pretty devastating."

Indeed, writers and editors at The Ringer have since crowned "Not Like Us" the seventh-greatest diss track in history.

"A fire can melt snow, but it's got no chance against an avalanche. That's effectively what it felt like watching 'Family Matters' go up against this Kendrick onslaught," Justin Sayles wrote. "This thing is over. Kendrick's legacy is secure. The only question now is what happens to Drake's."

Drake shot back with 'The Heart Part 6,' but it didn't sway public opinion in his favor

On Sunday night, Drake released another diss track, named in the style of Lamar's long-running "The Heart" series. (Lamar's latest installment was the Grammy-winning single "The Heart Part 5," released in 2022.)

Drake uses the song to address Lamar's accusations of pedophilia, explicitly denying any inappropriate behavior. He even name-drops "Stranger Things" actor Millie Bobby Brown, whom Drake befriended when she was 14 years old, though Lamar has never mentioned her.

"Just for clarity, I feel disgusted, I'm too respected / If I was fucking young girls, I promise I'd have been arrested," Drake raps. "I'm way too famous for this shit you just suggested."

The Toronto native also claims that his own team leaked false rumors of a secret daughter to bait Lamar: "We plotted for a week and then we fed you the information," he raps. "You gotta learn to fact-check things and be less impatient."

In the spoken-word outro, Drake calls Lamar a liar and implies that he's done with their back-and-forth.

However, spectators online don't seem impressed with Drake's defensive maneuver. Some have compared "The Heart Part 6" to a scene from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," in which a character says, "There is no quicker way for people to think that you are 'diddling kids' than by writing a song about it."

Many also noted that Drake's core argument — that he's "too famous" to get away with criminal behavior — contradicts well-documented evidence that fame and wealth can help people evade consequences.

"Drake's argument against the pedophilia allegations is 'if I was really fucking young girls I promise I'd have been arrested' UHHH WHAT??? Rich famous men don't get away with such crimes everyday???" lawyer and political commentator Olayemi Olurin wrote on X.

Critics broadly agreed that "The Heart Part 6" did not improve Drake's image.

Pitchfork contributor Evan Rytlewski wrote on X, "This is one of the worst songs I've ever heard, extremely ugly shit." Krishnamurthy opined that Drake's "credibility and integrity need work," whether or not Lamar's accusations are true.

"He sounds beaten-down and cold, spending nearly six minutes calling Kendrick a bad investigative journalist, attempting to mock the molestation story in Kendrick's 'Mother I Sober,' and disputing claims that he's had relationships with underage girls in the worst way possible," Pierre wrote for Pitchfork. "It's a miserable song. He sounds washed and exiled."

But even as critics declare Lamar as the victor, several have called for the cutthroat exchange to end here — especially given the dark accusations of misogyny and depravity that have been thrown in both directions.

"Drake and Kendrick don't have the politics to be doing all this," Holmes wrote. "As with most hip-hop beefs, we've ended up where we were always destined to — men using women, wives, baby mothers, parents, and children in increasingly gross and depraved ways to satisfy their rabid egos."

Lamar never responded to "The Heart Part 6."

Lamar seemed to cement his victory with a Juneteenth concert and a music video for 'Not Like Us'

"Not Like Us" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Family Matters" debuted at No. 7 — a devastating blow to Drake, whose biggest leg up on Lamar was thought to be his commercial appeal.

Lamar flexed the popularity of his diss tracks during a one-night-only Juneteenth concert in Inglewood, California, dubbed "The Pop Out: Ken and Friends," which he opened with "Euphoria."

To close the show, Lamar performed "Not Like Us" five times in a row — six including an instrumental-only version. He was joined onstage by a huge array of guests, including West Coast rappers, athletes, and dancers. "This is unity at its finest," Lamar told the crowd.

The event was widely celebrated as Lamar's victory lap, cementing his support from both fans and members of the hip-hop community. According to NBC News, "SIX TIMES" began trending on X shortly after the concert ended.

"It was hard to overlook the fact that the thing unifying the coast in this moment was not love but hate, and Kendrick, the self-proclaimed biggest Drake hater, was primarily operating in his capacity as speaker for the culture in his personal war with the Toronto high roller," Sheldon Pearce wrote for NPR. "If the matter wasn't settled before, then it certainly is now."

But Lamar wasn't finished there. On July 4, he released an official music video for "Not Like Us," co-directed by Lamar and Free, which is packed with unsubtle references to Drake and their feud.

In one scene, Lamar repeatedly whacks an owl-shaped piñata while a disclaimer flashes across the screen: "NO OVHOES WERE HARMED DURING THE MAKING OF THIS VIDEO." Of course, the logo for Drake's brand, October's Very Own, is an owl.

The video ends with Lamar leaving an owl trapped in a birdcage.

The visual also serves as an indirect rebuttal to Drake's claims about Lamar's home life. Lamar's fiancée and their two children make a rare appearance, dancing along to "Not Like Us" and standing together as a family, both literally and symbolically.

Once again, the video was treated as a "victory lap" in headlines and on social media. It has also been described as "triumphal" (Pitchfork), "celebratory" (Complex), "the most anticipated video of the year" (Billboard), and "the cap on Lamar's definitive victory over Drake" (The Hollywood Reporter).

But Lamar's victory lap seems to have no finish line. In the following months, he continued to shore up support from the music industry, clinching a spot as the headliner for the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show and racking up seven Grammy nominations, including both record and song of the year for "Not Like Us."

Lamar surprise-dropped a new album, which includes his own version of 'The Heart Part 6'

Lamar released his new album "GNX" one hour after sharing a teaser on YouTube.

The opening track, "Wacced Out Murals," doesn't name Drake but seems to double down on Lamar's brutal feud strategy: "I never peaced it up, that shit don't sit well with me," he raps. "Before I take a truce, I'll take 'em to Hell with me."

Lamar also calls out Snoop Dogg for sharing "Taylor Made Freestyle," Drake's ill-fated diss track from April, on his Instagram Story: "Snoop posted 'Taylor Made,' I prayed it was the edibles / I couldn't believe it, it was only right for me to let it go."

Most notably, the tracklist includes the next installment in Lamar's "The Heart" series, titled "Heart Pt. 6." The song doesn't reference Drake directly, but the near-identical title serves to eclipse Drake's final diss track.

Shortly after "GNX" arrived, critics and fans were already celebrating "Heart Pt. 6" as a "special song" and another of Lamar's brilliant chess moves — though others joked that Drake should be thankful that his version will be forgotten.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.