“This film was made to inspire and raise awareness. And not to cast women in a bad role, again!”
If his latest film is a hit in theaters, Blake Lively has been facing a strange bad buzz for a few days now. First, there was talk of tensions between the star and the director of Never Again – It Ends With Us, Justin Baldoni. Then, the web began to get annoyed when it saw that the film was being sold as a romantic dramedy, when in reality it deals with a very serious subject: domestic violence.
It didn't take much more for the canvas to take aim Blake Livelyaccused of having made marketing – for its beauty products among others – on the back of such a heavy subject. A start of fire that Brandon Sklenaranother star of Never Againtry to turn it off by posting a message of support on the networks.
On Instagram, he defends the 36-year-old actress and the entire film crew:
“Writer Colleen Hoover and the women in the cast embody hope, perseverance, and the fact that women choose a better life for themselves. To attack the women who poured their hearts and souls into making this film because they believe in its message is self-defeating. What happened or didn't happen behind the scenes should not affect our intentions in making this film (…) Believe me when I tell you that there is not a single person involved in this film who did not understand the responsibility of such a subject (…) This film was made to inspire and raise awareness. Not to cast women in bad roles, again!”
The web backlash has not really impacted the box office of Never againwhich is doing well beyond expectations, with already 200 million dollars in revenue worldwide.