Chicago-based reporter Jake Hamilton is responding to his now-viral It Ends With Us interview with Blake Lively.
In the clip, which has been shared “over 100,000 times” on TikTok, Hamilton asked Lively, 36, what she would tell a fan who approached her to talk about domestic violence, a major theme in the movie. Lively gave an odd, sarcastic reply about fans wanting personal information from her.
“After she made those comments about my initial question, she did go on to answer the question,” Hamilton, 36, said during a local Chicago news broadcast on Wednesday, August 14. “That part isn’t necessarily ending up in anyone’s viral TikTok videos, but it does just yield a bigger conversation of an actor who does press for a movie about such a serious topic. You gotta talk about it.”
Hamilton noted that during press junkets, interviewers and actors “love doing fun interviews” but sometimes it can’t be like that.
“I always use the bar of, let the tone of the movie set the tone for the interview,” he explained. “If you’re doing an interview for a movie about domestic violence, you shouldn’t be looking for that fun, funny viral moment. You gotta have a real honest conversation because it is something that affects people every single day.”
Hamilton’s interview with Lively was from earlier this month and also included her costar Brandon Sklenar.
“If someone understands the themes of this movie and comes across you in public and they want to really talk to you, what’s the best way for them to be able to talk to you about this? How would you recommend they go about it?” he asked.
Lively, sitting back on the couch with her legs crossed, has since received widespread backlash for her reply.
“Maybe asking for, like, my address, or my phone number. Or, like, location share?! I could just location-share you and then we could …” she replied, trailing off. Fans have shared this portion of the clip, which also includes cuts to Sklenar looking puzzled.
“Are we talking logistics? Are we talking emotionally?” she continued in the interview. “What’s been beautiful about this movie is that, unfortunately, we all know at least someone … who have experience[d] this. The beauty of this has been to see people and to see this movie alongside women who haven’t experienced this — thank goodness — go, ‘Woah. I fell in love too.’”
Lively added: “The story is told with such empathy that I feel like this movie can be healing, it can be a cautionary tale, and it can also be inspiring. … If anyone ever comes up to you and says that your work meant something to them outside of just having that collective experience in a theater … what a blessing.”
Justin Baldoni appears to have nothing but positive things to say about his It Ends with Us costar, Blake Lively, as reports of an on set feud continue circulating online. As the drama officially hits theaters on Friday, August 9, Baldoni, who both directed and starred opposite Lively, has heaped praise on his onscreen partner. […]
Lively has since shared domestic violence resources via social media.
“Thank you to everyone who came out to show that people WANT to see films about women, and the multitudes we hold,” she wrote via Instagram Stories on Tuesday, August 13. “It Ends With Us is a story of the female experience. All the highest highs, and lowest lows. And we are so proud of it.”
A second slide offered the domestic violence hotline.
“1 in 4 women aged 18 and older in the US alone have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime,” she wrote. “Intimate partner violence affects all genders, including more than 12 million people every year in the United States. Everyone deserves relationships free from domestic violence.
If you or someone you know are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
