Blake Lively was reportedly blindsided by the backlash

However, it felt near impossible to ignore the drama when so many were outraged by Lively's offensive press tour behaviour.

The waves of people calling her out on being 'tone deaf' are understandable. The way Lively behaved during the press tour for a movie about domestic violence was awfully off-putting, but sources close to the star say the public's response blindsided her.

An insider told People: "During the promotion of the movie, not one day went by when she was not in the news in an unfavourable light.

The insider confirmed the Gossip Girl star was surprised by how people reacted to the marketing campaign.

She was "pretty surprised at the backlash and drama."

"She initially felt very vulnerable and upset," they added.

Lively felt like things were "out of control"

They continued: "She's just not used to this kind of drama."

Lively felt like the public's response was "out of control" but the source said this backlash won't stop her from pursuing other projects she cares about.

Despite the waves of backlash, It Ends With Us has become the highest-grossing movie of Lively's career so far.

Following the film's opening week, Blake Lively thanked her supporters for embracing the movie.

She wrote on Instagram: "It Ends With Us is a story of the female experience. Al the highest highs, and lowest lows. And we are so proud of it."

"We have been in celebration of this film and of getting a message so important out there to the masses. Thank you all for embracing It Ends With Us with the same love, pain and joy we had sharing it with you all," she added.

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