'Opposite of the point': It Ends With Us star Brandon Sklenar addresses rumoured behind the scenes drama

The It Ends With Us cast has been the talk of the internet for the last few weeks.

Between Blake Lively's floral looks and a rumoured rift between the actress and leading man and director Justin Baldoni, the movie has been making headlines left and right.

Now, one of the movie's main stars Brandon Sklenar, 34, has broken his silence to stand up for the female stars of the film and author Colleen Hoover, asking fans to "be kind".

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"I wanted to take a minute and address all this stuff swirling online," Sklenar began his typed out statement posted to his 307,000 Instagram followers on Wednesday morning.

"Colleen and the women of this cast stand for hope, perseverance, and for women choosing a better life for themselves.

"Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about. It is, in fact, the opposite of the point."

The actor stars in It Ends With Us as the adult version of Lively's on-screen first love Atlas Corrigan.

Colleen Hoover's wildly popular novel of the same name was released in 2016 and follows protagonist Lily Bloom who is a survivor of domestic violence.

Lively stars as Bloom in the 2024 film adaptation, which similarly follows the character's journey of overcoming generational trauma.

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While the film has been a success, the press tour has been shrouded in drama over Baldoni seemingly not being pictured or doing interviews with the rest of the cast who have mostly since unfollowed the Jane The Virgin star.

"What may or may not have happened behind the scenes does not and hopefully should not detract from what our intentions were in making this film," Sklenar said, admitting the online negativity he had seen was "disheartening".

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In his statement, Sklenar revealed someone close to him had experienced a similar struggle portrayed in the book and film, claiming the story had "saved her life".

"There isn't a single person Involved in the making of this film that was not aware of the responsibility we had in making this," he assured.

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While speaking about the domestic violence subject in the story, Sklenar maintained the film's purpose is to "inspire" and "instill hope" as well as "spread love and awareness".

"It is not meant to once again, make the women the 'bad guy,' let's move beyond that together," he addressed fans.

"All I ask is that before you spread hate on the internet, ask yourself who its helping. Ask yourself if your opinions are based in any fact. Or if you simply want to be a part of something," he said, encouraging everyone to be "better together".