'It Ends With Us' Author Wipes Blake Lively's Photos From Instagram After Initially Supporting The Actress

Amid Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's legal drama, Colleen Hoover, the author of the book on which their movie "It Ends With Us" was based, returned to Instagram after a short hiatus.

However, Hoover, who once publicly supported Lively, made major changes to her account by scrubbing all traces of the actress and Baldoni.

The legal feud began after Blake Lively accused Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment, prompting him countersued for $400 million, claiming the actress manipulated Colleen Hoover.

According to the Daily Mail, Hoover, the bestselling author of "It Ends With Us," has returned to Instagram after a brief hiatus.

She quietly reactivated her account and deleted all posts related to Lively, including a photo of the actress tagged in it.

Hoover's move comes as tensions rise between Lively and Baldoni, who directed and co-starred in the film.

The two are embroiled in a high-profile legal dispute over the 2024 movie adaptation, with Lively accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment in a December lawsuit.

Baldoni fired back, alleging in a $400 million countersuit that Lively manipulated Hoover into taking her side with her superior star power.

Before the legal drama, Hoover had strongly supported Baldoni, even calling him the perfect fit for the film in past emails.

However, after Lively's allegations surfaced, the author issued a public statement praising the actress in December 2024.

Hoover described Lively as an "honest, kind, supportive, and patient" person at the time, adding that she should "never change" and "never wilt."

A few weeks after her statement, Hoover's entire Instagram account was deactivated as the feud between the co-stars intensified, with her name being dragged into it more after Baldoni's countersuit.

Now back online, Hoover has erased all content featuring Lively and Baldoni, including promotional photos from the film's August premiere, seemingly attempting to distance herself from the duo's legal issues.

Meanwhile, Lively and her legal team encountered a minor hurdle in their legal battle with Baldoni.

Last week, during a hearing in New York, Lively's attorneys announced plans to file an amended complaint by Valentine's Day to introduce new parties to the case.

However, Lively's attorney, Michael Gottlieb, requested an additional two weeks to finalize the changes in a letter to Judge Lewis Liman on Monday.

Despite no opposition from Baldoni's legal team, the request was largely denied. Instead, Judge Liman granted only a one-day extension, setting the new deadline for Monday, February 17.

A source close to Lively remained unfazed by the ruling, telling the Daily Mail: "We are pleased with the Court's ruling, which granted most of the relief we had sought. Adjustments to the parties' scheduling requests are not controversial—they are typical and inevitable in litigation."

They added: "We have no concerns with filing Ms. Lively's amended complaint on or before February 18. We will be adding additional evidence to the amended complaint."

The legal feud between Lively and Baldoni has now stretched on for nearly two months, beginning just before Christmas when Lively filed a lawsuit accusing her former co-star of sexual harassment.

Shortly after, the New York Times published an explosive report detailing the allegations, including leaked text messages that seemingly revealed Baldoni's publicists discussing a plan to undermine Lively's credibility.

In response, Baldoni filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the publication. Last month, he escalated matters further by filing a $400 million countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.

The 240-page filing accused the couple of trying to "hijack" the "It Ends With Us" film project and manipulating conversations to fit their narrative.

One of the more sensational claims in the lawsuit involves a text exchange in which Lively allegedly compared herself to the "Game of Thrones" character Khaleesi and referred to Reynolds and famous singer Taylor Swift as "my dragons" and "beautiful monsters."

In her initial complaint filed in December, Lively claimed Baldoni orchestrated a smear campaign against her to ruin her reputation.

However, Baldoni's lawyers, led by Bryan Freedman, swiftly replied, claiming  that the actress's suit was only done to fix her "negative reputation."

They also added that Lively's allegations were "false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious, with an intent to publicly hurt," per The Blast.

Now, in a bid to expose the actor's alleged smear campaign, Lively has reported subpoenaed cell carriers Cloudflare and AOL, as well as from Jed Wallace, a crisis consultant who was linked with launching a "digital army" against the actress on Baldoni's behest.

According to Deadline, the actress seeks "receipts" that could help her expose Baldoni's alleged smear campaign tactics.