Photo Illustration: Vulture; Photos: John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images, Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images

Is there behind the scenes drama with the cast of It ends with us? TikTok seems to think so. Blake Lively, Colleen Hoover, and the rest of the main cast didn’t take any photos or acknowledge director and co-star Justin Baldoni at the film’s New York premiere on August 6. Hoover doesn’t even follow the lead of her debut film on Instagram, despite fans insisting she did so during the film’s early promotion. In fact, none of the main cast members follow him, except Hasan Minhaj. Although Hoover and the cast have never outright said there have been any issues with Baldoni, even when they were doing press with him as recently as June, internet sleuths believe there is tension behind the scenes. The theory really took hold after Jenny Slate, who plays Baldoni’s sister and Lively’s best friend in the film, avoided talking about Baldoni’s job as director at the New York premiere, implying that it’s an “intense job” and that she would never want to take on two major roles in one production. As for Hoover, she squeaked out a short, “I think he did a great job.” Extrabut when asked about Baldoni’s direction, she switched to plural pronouns (“I think they all did…”) and did a Victoria Justice to share the praise with the entire cast.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, According to reports, several different versions of the film were shot, including a version commissioned by Lively by Deadpool and Wolverine Editor Shane Reid. However, none of the insiders claim THR that there is bad blood between the two stars. So why is the cast avoiding him?

While social media attempts to piece together events, there is a theory that Lively and Ryan Reynolds were more involved than Baldoni would have liked and that they allegedly had different creative views on how the story should be told.

During the film premiere, Lively told E! News that Reynolds was involved in one of the most iconic scenes in history – Lively is credited as a producer. Reynolds is not. She explained: “The iconic roof scene was actually written by my husband. Nobody knows that, but you know… He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does. So his victories, his celebrations are mine and mine are his.” This was news to the film’s screenwriter, Christy Hall, who had no idea about Reynolds’ involvement in the script – she even said it was the most difficult scene for her. Hall told People“There were a few little things that I thought were improvised. Like when he says, ‘Please, please, with a cherry on top,’ and she’s talking about the maraschino cherries. When I saw a cut, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s sweet. That must have been a sweet improvised thing.’ So when I’m told that Ryan wrote that, that’s great, how wonderful.”

In her recent fashion Profile, Lively shares her passion for analyzing and rewriting a script rather than writing something from scratch herself. “A blank page is not nearly as exciting to me as starting a script and finding something that people have missed. No, no, no, there’s something there! To me, that’s a treasure hunt. And when I can see the treasure, I become an archaeologist. I get to dig it out, I get to carve it out and find this thing and show people its value. That’s what I love.” She must have been exhausted during her dig, because she claimed that the behind-the-scenes work was harder than acting in front of the camera. Perhaps Baldoni wore too many hats as lead actor and director, causing friction on set, and Lively and Reynolds felt they had to step in to save the film—this may be supported by Slate’s comments about him not wanting to do both jobs at once. At the moment, it appears that Hoover has a close bond with Lively while distancing himself from Baldoni, possibly after she became embroiled in production drama.

On the red carpet, Baldoni was moved to reflect on the dark place the film had taken him to. “There were a lot of moments where I had to go into a room by myself and just cry or shake it out and try to get (Ryle) or that energy out of me,” he explained to THR before tears came to his eyes. Perhaps he wasn’t able to make the switch when he had to put on his director’s hat, and he asked the cast to give him some space.

Some Conspiracy theorists Fans think the excitement surrounding the It ends with us The press tour feels like a PR stunt to get people talking about the film – and lands somewhere between Don’t worry, darling And Everyone except you“I don’t know about all these theories, I honestly think it’s just advertising to boost ticket sales,” said one TikToker.

The main story of the novel revolves around domestic violence by Baldoni’s character. So if the original message of the story is meant to ring true, why would Baldoni be so chummy with Lively during the press tour? Ryle is not meant to be romanced in any way, and perhaps the team wants to make that explicitly clear. During the premiere, he told ET“This is not my night. This is a night for all the women we made this movie for. This is a night for Blake, this is a night for Colleen.” But wouldn’t a simple statement from him about the lack of interaction with Lively and Hoover clear everything up? And how many movies are there where bad men are only buddy-buddy with the cast on the carpet. It’s acting, after all.

Other fans have criticized Lively & Co.’s promotion of the film. “Take your friends, put on floral dresses and go see it,” Lively says in a promo video for the film on her official Instagram page. “Take your friends, put on floral dresses… but forget that the sole purpose of this film is to raise awareness about domestic violence? What the f*** kind of press is this getting lol that only Justin is spreading the message is insane,” one commenter wrote on the video.

When asked what message Lively hopes domestic violence victims take away from the film, she hoped they remember that they carry many different things inside of them and that they are not defined by their violence: “This is a story that deals with domestic violence, but it is not about domestic violence.” Some commenters supported Lively’s responses, while others found them insensitive. “I think this answers the reason her co-star doesn’t want to be involved in promoting this movie! Blake Lively wants to make a fluff out of it,” one commenter wrote on the video.

Others questioned why Lively’s new product line came out so soon after the film’s premiere. “Why are we using a movie about (domestic violence) to promote your hair care brand,” asked @Nadiagreads on TikTok, referring to Lively’s Blake Brown hairline that was released last week, presumably to coincide with the film’s premiere. “Why is the PR package fun and fluffy?” “THIS. Justin is the one who speaks the most about the seriousness and importance of this film,” wrote one TikTok commenter.

The real drama may well be that everyone has to sign off. Baldoni had nothing but good things to say about Lively throughout the process. On August 8, Baldoni spoke to Todayand praised her performance. “I don’t know if you know how smart and creative she really is. I think she’s best known as an actress, and of course she’s a fashion icon, but she’s so much more than that,” he shared. “She’s a dynamic, creative person. She was involved in every part of this production, and everything she touched made her better.” He even suggested that Lively be promoted to director for the next film: “I think there are better people for this movie, I think Blake Lively is ready to direct.” Other cast members, like Kevin McKidd, thanked his “good friend” Baldoni on the carpet. Ultimately, we may never know what really happened, if anything happened at all. But don’t be surprised if Hoover’s next book is set on a movie set, where the two leads get into trouble over creative differences while trying to maintain a cool facade in front of fans. It practically writes itself!

This post has been updated throughout.