It Ends with Us Author Colleen Hoover Deactivates Instagram amid Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Legal Drama

Colleen Hoover is stepping back from social media amid the ongoing legal drama between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

Fans of the author realized that her Instagram account is currently inactive. Hoover’s decision to step back from Instagram follows the current legal battle between Lively, 37, and Baldoni, 40, the stars of the film adaptation, It Ends with Us.

The movie was based on Hoover’s best-selling 2016 novel about Lily Bloom (played by Lively) and how her boyfriend Ryle Kincaid (played by Baldoni) turns abusive in their relationship. The film was directed by Baldoni and hit theaters in August 2024.

Months after the film’s summer release, Lively filed a sexual-harassment complaint against Baldoni on Dec. 20, 2024. Lively alleged that Baldoni engaged in misconduct during the film’s production.

Additionally, per her complaint, the A Simple Favor star met with Baldoni and several of the film’s producers, alongside husband Ryan Reynolds as her representative, to establish protections before production resumed following two Hollywood strikes. The complaint alleged that after his production company agreed to the protections, Baldoni later hired crisis publicists to begin a retaliatory smear campaign against her.

The day after Lively filed her complaint, Hoover posted a supportive Instagram Story.

“@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met,” Hoover wrote alongside a photo of herself and Lively hugging at a screening of the film. “Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”

Since the initial complaint, Baldoni has denied Lively’s allegations. On Dec. 31, 2024, he filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times for libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract regarding the article the outlet published titled “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.” The Times stands by its reporting and said it will defend against the lawsuit.

On Jan. 6, Lively’s legal team told PEOPLE in a statement that her “serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation” are “backed by concrete facts.” Adding, “This is not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences’ or a ‘he said/she said’ situation.”

The following day, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said on behalf of his client that they are “releasing all of the evidence which will show a pattern of bullying and threats to take over” the film.

That same day, Baldoni’s lawyers sent a litigation hold letter to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger, demanding they hold onto documents that mention Baldoni for potential use in court — including communications made about Reynolds’ Deadpool & Wolverine character Nicepool, in an attempt to show it was used to “bully” Baldoni.

On Jan. 16, Baldoni countered Lively’s initial claim with a $400 million lawsuit against her, Reynolds and their publicist, claiming defamation, extortion and more. 

On Jan. 21, Baldoni’s lawyer released production footage showing Lively and Baldoni speaking out of character while filming a dialogue-free scene to joke about his nose and her spray tan. The scene in question is referenced in both of their lawsuits.

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Lively’s legal team subsequently called it a “stunt,” saying that “every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter,” what Lively included in her lawsuit about that scene.