Blake Lively accused of “exploiting” It Ends With Us with “the worst” products

Fans are slamming actress Blake Lively, accusing her of “exploiting” It Ends With Us with “the worst” products from her personal brand.

Colleen Hoover’s live-action adaption of the widely acclaimed novel It Ends With Us released on August 9 to mixed reviews.

Although the movie was set to be a smash hit thanks to its popularity on social media, It Ends With Us has been bombarded with rumors courtesy of the cast drama pertaining to a supposed feud between Lively and co-star/director Justin Baldoni.

And now, it seems like the rumors are only ramping up as TikToker Bee Better accused Lively of “exploiting” the movie by shoving various products from her personal brand into its marketing.

As part of his “downfall of” series, Bee broke down how he believes the actress went about marketing her new project in a way that could be damaging to her image in the long run.

“The part of the promotional strategy that really took the cake was the fact that she decided to exploit the story to promote her alcohol company, Betty Booze,” Bee said. “They decided to sponsor the premiere with specialized drinks like ‘Ryle You Wait,’ which is the name of the man who abused his wife in the film.”

The New York Times also reported that an email was sent explaining how to make “It Ends With Us-inspired cocktails using Betty Buzz,” Lively’s sparkling soda line, and Aviation Gin, a gin brand owned by her husband, Ryan Reynolds.

Bee also highlighted that Lively launched her new hair care line, Blake Brown, in tandem with the It Ends With Us premiere.

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“It’s so inappropriate,” the creator continued. “It’s an absolute garbage line. It’s getting horrible reviews. It has a 50% return rate. And they’re pretending the product is sold out online, but they’re not, because they’re still stocked at Target.”

However, reports have since revealed that the time of timing of Blake Brown’s launch’s launch wasn’t intended to coincide with the film.

As per a source, Entertainment Weekly stated, “It Ends With Us was originally scheduled for a Valentine’s Day premiere, which would have provided a wide berth between this launch and the launch of Blake Brown. But the film was delayed to June, and again to August, just days shy of Lively’s planned hair-care debut.”

Despite not being planned to come at the same time, some audience members took issue with Lively promoting so many products at once.

The movie is supposed to showcase a sobering tale of how anyone can fall into the dangerous cycle of abuse, but Lively has been quoted describing It Ends With Us as more of a romantic meet-cute project.

“It Ends With Us is in theaters now, so grab your friends, wear your florals and head out to see it,” the actress said during a promo commercial, implying people should dress up to see a movie focused on the effects of domestic violence.

Despite not being planned to come at the same time, some audience members took issue with Lively promoting so many products at once, with one TikToker commenting, “I didn’t know about the drink company, and excuse me, WHAT.”

Another wrote, “I’ve thought a lot about this, and I genuinely feel that the team felt a big pressure after Barbie for this to be a big hit for the girlies, which has heavily impacted the angle they are taking in the press.”

And a third viewer pointed out, “The eloquence of this read is impeccable. 10/10 no notes.”

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