Blake Lively Subtly Thanks Colleen Hoover for Support Amid Lawsuit

It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover doubling down on her support to Blake Lively in the midst of the actress’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.

Hoover’s lengthy message was accompanied by screenshots of a statement from Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars “This statement from these women and Blake’s ability to refuse to sit down and ‘get buried’ has been nothing short of inspiring,” Hoover, 45, announced in an Instagram post on Monday, December 23. Seeing these three women stand up for their friend when they know full well they’re going to be ripped apart by the people who choose not to accept or read receipts is inspiring.”

Hoover explained that she initially planned to share the “beautiful” statement she had written America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn a Alexis Bledel through his Instagram Stories in case of negative comments.

“I wanted to show support, but I had anxiety at the thought of putting my post about Blake in my feed and sending myself into a mental spiral of the inevitable comments,” the author wrote. “They can be disgusting, and over the last year or so, there’s been a huge change in my attitude towards social media. I used to share so much of my life, every day, but that all changed when I noticed that people weren’t necessarily following me out of interest, but rather tearing me down.”

Hoover admitted that things got “dark” for her, so she retracted what she posted.

“Instead of standing up for myself and for the truth, I allowed and still allow people to blindly judge me without rebuttal, because that’s what we’re told to do,” he added. “I’m done being afraid to post in case the comment section hurts my reputation. I am not worried about my future inheritance. I never have. I care about the people in my life right now, who I love and know and trust. And I care about the readers who have supported me along the way, and who reach out daily to ask where I’ve been and why I haven’t released a book in years.”

In closing his post, Hoover appeared to promise a greater online presence.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. And the day after,” she wrote. “Because I like it here and I miss you.”

Us Weekly can confirm that Lively “liked” Hoover’s Instagram statement on Monday. Previously, Hoover showed support for Lively after news broke of her lawsuit against him It Ends With Us costar Baldoni, who she accuses of sexual harassment. Lively further claimed that Baldoni launched a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” her reputation following rumors of tension between the two leaders. Baldoni’s lawyer denied the “outrageous” accusations in a statement to Uscalling the lawsuit “completely false” and “deliberately salacious.”

Hoover spoke out first on Saturday, December 21, urging Lively to “never change” and “never fade.” A similar message was shared by Ferrera, Tamblyn and Bledel, who starred alongside Lively in two Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies.

“As friends and sisters of Blake for over twenty years, we stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign to destroy her reputation,” they wrote in a joint statement on Sunday, Dec. 22.

“Throughout the filming of It Ends With Uswe saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace for herself and her colleagues on set, and we are horrified to read the evidence of a deliberate and vindictive effort that followed to discredit her voice,” their statement continued. “The most disturbing thing is the unannounced exploitation of the stories of survivors of domestic violence to silence a woman who asked for safety. The hypocrisy is astounding.”

The actresses added: “We are struck by the reality that even if a woman is as strong, celebrated and resourced as our friend Blake, she can face powerful retaliation for daring to ask for safe working environment. We are inspired by our sister’s courage to stand up for herself and others.”