New court documents have shed light on how Colleen Hoover felt amid the headline-making lawsuit between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Although the popular author has mostly stayed out of the legal battle surrounding her first movie adaptation, a new declaration filed by the Wayfarer co-defendants earlier this month includes an alleged text she sent to the *Jane the Virgin* alum, expressing that she felt “forced” to pick a side in the multi-million dollar lawsuit.
According to *People*, Justin, who recently missed a deadline to file an amended complaint in his defamation lawsuit against Blake—leading to the dismissal of the case—copy-pasted a text allegedly sent to him by Colleen and forwarded it to his PR team on August 15, 2024.
The text began with Colleen saying, “It just feels like I’m on an island.” She went on to express that “the hate” was being “directed at” her and told Justin:
> “You guys posting that article and allowing it to fuel the comments is hurtful. And the timing of it just feels like you’re worried about your image but not the women who are behind this story.”
The movie *It Ends With Us*, which Justin directed and produced, centers on the story of a woman experiencing domestic abuse.
Colleen continued in the text:
> “I know things took an awful turn. And I felt forced to choose when I did not want to. But the back and forth articles from both camps are just so upsetting and ridiculous. It’s making everyone working on this movie look immature. Everyone is out there trying to save themselves and now this has turned into a huge mess. And I know you guys think I’ve made decisions for certain reasons but I have felt the rift from long before I ever was in contact with Blake.”
In the alleged texts, Colleen also hinted at Justin’s apparent dishonesty, providing insight into the creative process of adapting her book for the screen and how she was excluded from it.
She revealed:
> “It started with me not being allowed to read the script until I was sat with readers. But then all the interviews made it seem like you included me in the script from the beginning. Then the whole documentary thing where I said no so very many times. And the book.”
The text went on to discuss requests Colleen made regarding donations:
> “When I asked you guys to at least donate a portion of the proceeds to DV [domestic violence] and then I was told the only way a donation would be made is if I took 1% and donated that myself. Then the whole tattoo thing. All the texts of you blaming Blake for that and reiterating that she didn’t read the book every time I’d just try to ask you what to say to readers.”
She added:
> “I have been disappointed personally by your actions many times. I appreciate that you haven’t directly said anything negative. That’s how it should be. But you are grown men with a platform. You know how to use it to protect your image. Please don’t continue to use it to harm me or mine. That’s all I’m asking.”
Colleen previously expressed her support for Blake, as did many of her castmates when Blake’s first complaint against Justin came to light. On her Instagram Stories, Colleen wrote:
> “You have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
https://www.hellomagazine.com/us/867782/unveiled-colleen-hoover-texts-reveal-disappointment-justin-baldoni/
