The bitter legal scandal surrounding the film It Ends With Us has ensnared another cast member, with actor Brandon Sklenar revealing he was subjected to a torrent of vicious online abuse after making a public plea for kindness.
A Call for Compassion Met with Cruelty
Sklenar, 35, who played Atlas Corrigan, the love interest of Blake Lively's character Lily in the controversial adaptation, posted a lengthy statement to his Instagram in August 2024. He urged fans to focus on the film's message about domestic abuse and not to 'vilify' the women involved, as rumours of a rift between co-stars Lively and Justin Baldoni swirled online.
He swiftly disabled comments, but the damage was done. In a new interview, Sklenar has disclosed the horrifying response he received. "You're a piece of s**t,' 'I hope you die,' 'I hope your career ends,' things like that," he told The Hollywood Reporter.
"I wasn't damning anybody," Sklenar explained. "But I was just like, 'Can we focus on the ethos of this whole f**king movie and not be so hateful to anybody?' I thought it was a nice thing to say, but apparently a lot of people did not feel that way."
The Temptation to Listen and a Burgeoning Legal War
Despite advice from his agent to avoid the online discourse, Sklenar admitted his curiosity was overwhelming. "But imagine you're walking down a hallway and there's a door to a room full of a hundred thousand people and they're all saying something about you," he said. "You tell me you're not going to put your ear to the door?"
His plea for calm was made before the full legal storm broke. Later in 2024, Lively formally accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on set and a retaliatory smear campaign, which he denied. Baldoni then sued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and The New York Times for defamation and civil extortion. A judge has since dismissed those lawsuits, but the civil trial is scheduled for May 18, 2026.
The Heartfelt Message That Sparked the Backlash
In his original Instagram post, Sklenar emphasised the film's intent to support survivors. He shared that someone close to him, in a situation mirroring Lily's, credited the story with saving her life. He described the project as a "harsh reality check for the men who need to get their s**t together" and a work meant to "spread love and awareness."
"All I ask is that before you spread hate on the internet, ask yourself who it's helping," he wrote. He concluded with a simple, poignant request: "Lead with love and please be kind." The subsequent wave of vitriol stands in stark contrast to that final message, highlighting the intense and often toxic fan engagement surrounding the high-profile scandal.
