Blake Lively’s brother-in-law is speaking out amid the flurry of drama surrounding the cast of “It Ends With Us.”
“High School Musical” alum Bart Johnson cryptically addressed the rumored feud between Lively and her co-star/director Justin Baldoni in the comments section of a tribute to the actress’ 37th birthday earlier this week.
Johnson — who played the father of Zac Efron’s Troy Bolton in the Disney franchise, and is married to Lively’s half-sister, “Teen Witch” star Robyn Lively — responded to one user who said it was a “shame she’s so set on promoting happiness in a domestic violence setting without any regard for any victims.”
“Disappointing from Blake but also disappointing that daddy Bolton supports it,” that user said.
“I’m really sorry you feel that way,” Johnson responded on Wednesday in defense of his sister-in-law. “I can promise you the truth has not come out yet. Blake worked harder on this film than anything I’ve seen her do my entire life. Because it meant so much to her.”
Johnson then credited Lively for being “the reason the message / this movie / is getting out.”
“Were mistakes made? Yes,” he added. “I make mistakes in life. But they aren’t under a microscope.”
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In the midst of all the controversy, Baldoni, 40, has been praised for highlighting the serious themes of the film, which deals heavily in domestic violence, while Lively has faced widespread backlash for her lighthearted and “tone deaf” promotion of the drama based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 book of the same name.
Many have also speculated that Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds leveraged their celebrity to take control of the production from Baldoni, resulting in two different cuts of the film. Those two cuts were confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter by inside sources.
