Latest / Mini Scroll / MINI SCROLL: It Ends With Us drama, MrBeast's ex-girlfriend speaks on being 'mistreated' + Addison Rae's Diet Pepsi
Transcript
- 0:00Hi everyone, welcome to Mini Scroll, the daily Internet
- 0:03culture podcast bringing you the biggest stories from social
- 0:06media, the creator economy and the digital space.
- 0:09Every Monday through Thursday. I'm your host, Lauren Meissner,
- 0:13the founder of the youth digital media brand Centennial World.
- 0:17Welcome back to Mini Scroll, everyone.
- 0:19Hopefully you can't hear the rain.
- 0:21I have to keep my camera and my mic and everything like propped
- 0:24up with my window open so that there's enough distance between
- 0:28my bed and the camera and it is like torrential downpouring.
- 0:32I think that we are getting the tail end of Debbie, which was a
- 0:35big tropical storm. I think that was hitting the US
- 0:38Anyways, I think it should be fine.
- 0:40So let's get into the stories for today.
- 0:43I have three fairly big stories. The first one is really big.
- 0:47So first I wanted to cover all of the drama going on with It
- 0:52Ends With Us. So by now I'm sure a lot of you
- 0:55guys have seen the IT Ends With Us drama that is all over
- 0:58TikTok, all over social media. But for a very high level recap,
- 1:03It Ends With Us as a film that was adapted from the Colleen
- 1:06Hoover book. It's about, again at a very high
- 1:08level, domestic violence and ending the cycle.
- 1:11It stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, and Justin also
- 1:15directed the film and he apparently fought to make this
- 1:19film for about 5 years. So it premiered this week.
- 1:22And speculation that there was drama amongst the cast really
- 1:26started when fans realized that no one at the premiere,
- 1:29including Colleen Hoover, took photos with Justin.
- 1:33So this led to more realizations that he did very few press
- 1:37interviews or anything like that with any of the cast.
- 1:41And then Internet sleuths off the back of this discovered that
- 1:45everyone on the cast again, including Colleen Hoover,
- 1:48unfollowed him on Instagram or maybe had just never followed
- 1:51him to begin with. But he follows most of them.
- 1:54Alejandra Guillarte writes for Vulture.
- 1:56Quote. The theory really took hold
- 1:58after Jenny Slate, who plays Baldoni's sister and Lively's
- 2:01best friend in the film, avoided discussing Baldoni's job as the
- 2:04director at the New York premiere, implying that it was
- 2:07a, quote, intense job and that she'd never want to take on two
- 2:11important roles in a production. As for Hoover, she briefly
- 2:14squeaked quote I think he did a great job to extra, but when
- 2:17pressed on Baldoni's directing, she switched to plural pronouns.
- 2:21As in I think they all did pulling a Victoria Justice to
- 2:25share the praise for the whole cast.
- 2:28OK, So what is going on? There are a few main fan
- 2:32theories that I will talk to you guys about.
- 2:34So the first is people think that maybe Blake Lively and Ryan
- 2:38Reynolds, her husband, took over.
- 2:40So people, this is all like speculation.
- 2:43So this is not like my opinion. This is what I'm like
- 2:45reiterating what other people think.
- 2:46So they wanted to make this Blake's kind of like Oscar
- 2:49moment. So they sunk some cash into this
- 2:52film. And we know that Blake Lively
- 2:53was a producer on this film. Blake also said at one point
- 2:56that Ryan wrote one of the scenes like this rooftops, and
- 3:00that he was highly involved in the making of this film.
- 3:03But it's kind of like, why? Like, why would her husband be
- 3:08involved in the making of this film that he's not actually
- 3:11involved in? So people were kind of like, OK,
- 3:13did they almost like push Justin out to push their own kind of
- 3:17agenda with this film? People especially thought this
- 3:20when Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman walked the red carpet
- 3:23with Blake to promote their film Deadpool and Wolverine during
- 3:26the premiere of It Ends With Us, which are like unrelated films.
- 3:30And then Blake also had a promo stand or something like that for
- 3:34her new hair care line at the premiere.
- 3:37So everyone's like this is just becoming like the Blake Lively
- 3:39Ryan Reynolds like commercial opportunity.
- 3:43It feels like they are Co opting this moment for Justin and DV
- 3:48survivors and the making of this book in general.
- 3:51However, Colleen Hoover is like, quote, UN quote, like on Blake's
- 3:55side, Like, I'm sure there's not actually sides in real life, but
- 3:58you know what I mean? Like, she is like standing with
- 4:00Blake. She's taking photos with Blake.
- 4:01As I read before, she is kind of like avoiding talking about
- 4:05Justin's directing. So another theory is that
- 4:08possibly it was too much for him to take on both roles and the
- 4:12cast and crew were not happy with, you know, his work as a
- 4:15director. And then another main theory is
- 4:18that there were a lot of differences in kind of how they
- 4:21wanted to promote the film. So if you listen to how Blake
- 4:24talks about the film versus how Justin talks about it, it's
- 4:27quite different. So there's this one quote that
- 4:29Blake says that like everyone keeps referring to.
- 4:31And she was basically like, grab your girlfriends, you know, put
- 4:34on your florals and come down to the movies to see it ends with
- 4:37us. And everyone's like, this is
- 4:40quite literally a film about domestic violence and ending the
- 4:43cycle. And you should be using this
- 4:45press tour to, like, advocate for victims, which is what
- 4:48Justin Baldoni is doing. And you'll see in a lot of
- 4:51interviews, he, like, tears up when he talks about how he had
- 4:53to play this, like, abusive character.
- 4:55And he is using this moment to really advocate.
- 4:59So the way that they're approaching the PR and, like,
- 5:02promo around this campaign is so wildly different.
- 5:07So people are like, OK, is Blake trying to make this like a
- 5:09Barbie moment? I will say, OK, so I haven't
- 5:12read the book and haven't seen the movie yet.
- 5:13And I don't really know anything about Justin Baldoni.
- 5:15I don't have a horse in this race, OK.
- 5:17Because I also don't care about Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
- 5:19I think as a couple, they're kind of cringe.
- 5:22I think they are like kind of overrated as like an IT
- 5:26Hollywood couple. And I will say that having being
- 5:30like quite an outsider on this, I thought the film was a ROM
- 5:33com. I did not know that it was about
- 5:35domestic violence until all of this discussion where people are
- 5:37like, there's such a difference between how they're promoting
- 5:40this film. And I was out to dinner with my
- 5:41parents and some of their friends the other night.
- 5:43And one of my mom's friends was like, I'm so excited to see that
- 5:46new Blake Lively movie. I love Blake Lively.
- 5:48I heard she's married to a neurosurgeon.
- 5:51And I'm so excited to watch this, like romantic comedy,
- 5:54basically. And I was like, I don't think
- 5:57you know what this movie is about.
- 5:58And that's because, to be honest, like the marketing
- 6:01around this movie has been very confusing.
- 6:03So it does feel like Justin has been trying to, like, rein it
- 6:06back to the purpose and the point also so that people don't
- 6:09go to the film and like, actually are taken aback or
- 6:12triggered possibly by, like, the content that they end up
- 6:15watching. And then, of course, as always,
- 6:16one of the theories is that this is all just for PR.
- 6:20I don't believe that. I do think the idea that they
- 6:23had different concepts of how to promote the movie is maybe not
- 6:27quite right. I think there's definitely some
- 6:30truth to it. There's probably some truth to
- 6:32honestly all of these theories. But I think when it comes to
- 6:34that one, the reason why I don't fully buy it is because if they
- 6:39were all on good terms together and this really was like a
- 6:41collaborative effort and everyone was happy with
- 6:44everyone's work and whatever, then they would just compromise.
- 6:47You know, they would have done both Like they would have, you
- 6:49know, allowed the marketing to be a bit like fun and exciting
- 6:53and Barbie ask while also having that element of gravity to it.
- 6:58And it seems like they're on two completely different press
- 7:00tours. So that's why I feel like there
- 7:02was no compromising there because they're not on good
- 7:05terms enough to even compromise. I know the vast majority of the
- 7:08Internet is on Justin's side with this.
- 7:10I think people have found the way that Blake has used this
- 7:12press tour to like talk about her hairline and talk about
- 7:15Deadpool and Wolverine and all these other like business
- 7:18ventures that she and Ryan Reynolds have.
- 7:20I know they find that quite distasteful and I find it
- 7:22distasteful to like, this is not Barbie.
- 7:25You know, this is not like like a light hearted film.
- 7:28However, I wanted to read a different perspective because I
- 7:31think, you know, it's interesting to consider this.
- 7:33So Lily Mead on Twitter wrote like it would be one thing if
- 7:36Jess Ryan was there, but Hugh is also there.
- 7:39It's like they've made a mutual decision as friends to be there
- 7:42for Blake's comfort over further press for their film that
- 7:44advertises to pretty much the opposite demographic as hers
- 7:48does. Also, not to swifty brain rot
- 7:50everything, but it's also interesting that Taylor has not
- 7:52acknowledged the premiere either, despite her music
- 7:55featuring in in this film and going out of her way to promote
- 7:58Deadpool's release earlier. But this could be unrelated due
- 8:02to the terror threat. I wanted to read that because
- 8:05there are of course some people that are like, we are just
- 8:08making Blake Lively into like the woman of the week to hate on
- 8:12the Internet, to hate in Hollywood.
- 8:14And if seemingly everyone else on the cast, including the
- 8:17author of the book, who's, you know, her work has been
- 8:20interpreted into this movie, like if they're all kind of like
- 8:23standing by Blake and refuse to speak about Justin, like, does
- 8:28that not speak more to possibly how Justin acted on set versus
- 8:33what Blake is doing in this PR campaign?
- 8:35I don't know. I think that's an interesting
- 8:37perspective and definitely a possibility.
- 8:39Although, of course, people are like, well, she didn't get along
- 8:41with Leighton Meester and that's a red flag.
- 8:44I don't know. I think as with everything in
- 8:46Hollywood, there is truth to all of it.
- 8:49I think it's very clear from what other cast members have
- 8:51said that it seems like Justin was possibly like, overwhelmed
- 8:55by directing and starring in it. He also said in an interview
- 8:59that if there was going to be a sequel, he's like, I think Blake
- 9:01would direct that. Like, I think she's ready to
- 9:04direct. He's being very sweet about the
- 9:07way that he is talking about the cast members and things like
- 9:09that. But yeah, I think there's
- 9:11probably an element of truth to possibly all of the theories.
- 9:15OK, the next story that I have for you guys is that Mister
- 9:17Beast's ex-girlfriend has spoken out amid all the recent
- 9:22controversy. So amid the controversy
- 9:24surrounding Mr. Beast, his ex-girlfriend Maddie Spidel made
- 9:27an Instagram post last week speaking out against him,
- 9:31although she didn't name him. But it's pretty obvious that's
- 9:34about him. So Maddie and Jimmy dated from
- 9:37around 2019 to 2022, and she featured in a couple of his
- 9:41videos. So on Instagram, she wrote.
- 9:44I've spent years, years being quiet, never acknowledging that
- 9:48time in my life, just quietly cheering on those who I saw
- 9:51mistreated. I don't want drama, I don't want
- 9:54anything. I just want to speak up for my
- 9:5519 year old self. 19 to 21 are formative years.
- 9:59And as a young woman, it impacted the way I saw myself,
- 10:02the way I interpreted my future, and how I trusted men.
- 10:05There was no user manual. There was no instructions on how
- 10:08to deal with gaining a following quickly.
- 10:10No CHEAT SHEET on dating someone famous.
- 10:12I did the best I could, but I was not OK.
- 10:14Months of therapy, so many journal entries, long talks with
- 10:18my mom. Why do I still feel like it was
- 10:20all for nothing? I believe I should be used as
- 10:22cautionary tale. If something is too good to be
- 10:24true, it probably is. How he treats other women will
- 10:27ultimately be how he treats you. You are smart, beautiful, and
- 10:30capable of a career, life, and relationship you are proud of.
- 10:33I do not aim to take anyone down simply and explicitly tell you
- 10:37that there are scary people out there, people who will hurt you,
- 10:39use you, spit you out, and then tell you it's your fault.
- 10:42That is tea. And I mean, look, I'm not that
- 10:46surprised. I'm not that surprised because
- 10:50you guys know I feel like Mr. Beast is very power hungry.
- 10:53I think he has narcissistic tendencies.
- 10:56I mean, I think to be honest, anyone that posts themselves
- 11:00online, including me, OK, has a bit of narcissism in them, you
- 11:04know, of narcissistic traits at least.
- 11:06But yeah, I think this is quite telling.
- 11:09And Mr. Beast's current girlfriend actually like spoke
- 11:12out. She made a comment on YouTube.
- 11:14She basically said, I don't have it here in front of me, but she
- 11:17basically was like 50% of what is being said is not even true.
- 11:20I'm looking forward to the truth coming out or something like
- 11:22obviously defending him. But yes, I thought that this was
- 11:24very telling. And of course, now there are
- 11:26more and more people who used to work for Mr. Beast or have been
- 11:29involved with Mr. Beast in some way making all these videos.
- 11:32Unfortunately, one of the most recent videos, this guy made a
- 11:36video and it was doing well, but then he made a GoFundMe for,
- 11:40like, getting justice on, like the stuff that Mister Beast did
- 11:44to him. I don't know if he's going to
- 11:45sue him or what he's going to do with that money.
- 11:47I didn't look too closely into it.
- 11:49But he is facing a lot of backlash because he put the
- 11:52GoFundMe at $1.7 million. That's what he's trying to
- 11:56raise. And everyone's like, OK, this is
- 11:59just like a cash grab, OK. And the last story that I have
- 12:03for you guys is I forgot to talk about yesterday that Addison
- 12:08Ray's new single Diet Pepsi came out and everybody is so obsessed
- 12:12and there is not really much else to say except for like
- 12:14everyone is obsessed with it. This has solidified her so much
- 12:18as like a pop girly now. I mean, we've all been
- 12:20anticipating this and I feel like it's been bubbling up.
- 12:23I feel like it's been like a year or even 2 years of this
- 12:27almost moment of her like coming out as this like grungy
- 12:31alternative, cool pop girly. And I know that people don't
- 12:34like when I say that about Addison Rae because she feels
- 12:36like the most mainstream girly ever.
- 12:39And I understand why because obviously she was like a tech
- 12:41talker. But her new aesthetic, her
- 12:43rebrand, Go listen to the episode.
- 12:45I did a full deep dive onto her rebrand.
- 12:47And you know, I think that this is like her moment and I'm so so
- 12:51excited. The music video was like so sexy
- 12:53and hot. I love that she is just rocking
- 12:56this more like natural, cool laid back look.
- 12:59I don't know, it's such a vibe. So anyways, guys, that is it for
- 13:04today. Thank you so much for listening
- 13:06to Mini scroll. Please remember to rate review
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- 13:10It helps me grow. I love you guys and I will talk
- 13:12to you tomorrow. Bye.