Behind-the-scenes controversy prompts It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover’s response: “I feel for everyone”

Speaking with Variety alongside director Michael Showalter, Colleen Hoover finally addressed the off‑screen fallout around It Ends With Us and where it left her as the book’s author. She said she watched a finished cut before any tensions surfaced and that the work itself remains what she holds onto.

“I feel for everyone, you know? As the author, I was — and am — so proud of that movie. I think they did a great job.”

Hoover also singled out the film ’s leads for praise, noting that Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni and Brandon Sklenar “all delivered” in their performances. As she put it, she first saw the movie without any awareness of what was brewing behind the scenes — and her feelings about the film haven’t changed.

“I saw the completed film before any of that happened, or I knew it was happening, so I was proud of the film! And I still am,” she said, adding that she focuses on its status as a massive box‑office hit.

The comments come after the legal fight between Lively and Baldoni — co‑stars on the adaptation — was settled earlier this year. Despite the headlines, the movie drew huge crowds, a point Hoover returned to as she reflected on the experience.

Looking ahead, Hoover described a very different headspace for her next adaptation, Verity, saying she feels closure from the last rollout and pure excitement about the new one — not nerves.

The next adaptation

Showalter is directing Verity, a psychological romantic thriller based on Hoover’s bestseller. Here’s who’s playing whom:

• Dakota Johnson — Lowen, a struggling writer
• Josh Hartnett — Jeremy, who makes Lowen a life‑changing offer
• Anne Hathaway — Verity Crawford, a famed author left in a wheelchair after an accident

In the film, Lowen is hired to finish Verity’s hit book series after the accident — until a hidden manuscript suggests Verity may have done something far worse than anyone imagined. The project leans into throwback erotic‑thriller territory, with Hoover closely involved from script to set.

Showalter said Hoover was instrumental in refining the screenplay and compared her behind‑the‑curtain guidance to “the Wizard of Oz, ” noting they were in constant contact during pre‑production and filming to unpack character psychology — work he says comes through in the footage.

The trailer is out now, and Verity opens October 2.