Copyright Us Weekly
Andy Cohen mentioned Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s ongoing legal battle while speaking with another star of a Colleen Hoover big-screen adaptation, Regretting You’s Allison Williams. “Did you read Regretting You, the book, before you shot the movie?” Cohen, 57, asked Williams, 37, during the Tuesday, October 21, broadcast of his Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “I’m assuming you did.” Williams, who plays Morgan Grant in the feature-film adaptation of Regretting You, revealed that she read Hoover’s 2019 novel “a couple times” before production began. (In Regretting You, Morgan and teen daughter Clara grapple with the death of Clara’s father and aunt that led to even more secrets.) “It’s intimidating because everyone pictures something very specific when they read it,” Williams said. “And you’re like, ‘We’re going to decide.’ It’s a lot.” Cohen, meanwhile, quipped back that “no one pictured Justin Baldoni and what’s-her-name when they read that book.” “Anyway, love bringing that up!” he added, to which Williams sarcastically agreed. Cohen continued, “I’m sure you do.” Cohen swiftly turned the reminder of WWHL back to Williams’ insight on Regretting You and fellow guest Meredith Marks’ hot takes about the latest episode of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Regretting You is Hoover’s second best-selling novel to be adapted for the big screen. The first was 2016’s It Ends With Us, in which Baldoni, 41, and Lively, 38, portrayed a couple in an abusive relationship based on the book of the same name. The movie, which was released in August 2024, initially sparked fan backlash that both Ryle (Baldoni) and Lily (Lively) had been aged up to be in their mid-30s instead of being 20-somethings. Baldoni, Lively and Hoover, 45, all defended the onscreen tweak, citing that it made sense given Ryle’s career as an accomplished neurosurgeon. After filming wrapped, Lively named Baldoni — who also directed It Ends With Us — in a lawsuit, accusing the Jane the Virgin alum of sexual harassment, fostering a hostile work environment and attempting to ruin her reputation. Baldoni vehemently denied the accusations before filing a $400 million defamation suit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. The married couple denied Baldoni’s accusations and filed respective motions to dismiss. A judge ruled to dismiss Baldoni’s case in May. Lively’s suit, meanwhile, is still ongoing. News broke on Friday, October 17, that Hoover herself was reportedly among the witnesses called to give a deposition. The author has not publicly addressed the legal battle and is currently focused on the promotion of Regretting You, as is Williams and the rest of the cast. “The Hoover Hive,I would call it, is strong,” Williams said on the Wednesday, October 22, episode of Live With Kelly & Mark about joining Hoover’s book universe. “This is a community that loves reading her work, and I understand why. Her stories and her characters are unbelievable [and] it’s a little intimidating.” Regretting You, directed by Josh Boone, also stars McKenna Grace, Mason Thames, Dave Franco, Scott Eastwood and Willa Fitzgerald.
