Don't ask Colleen Hoover to name the most popular novel of her career.
The best-selling author, 45, admitted in a revealing new Elle profile that she's embarrassed to say she wrote her wildly popular book "It Ends with Us" due to the controversy surrounding its movie adaptation starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
"I can't even recommend it anymore," Hoover said. "I feel like [the lawsuit] has overshadowed it. I'm almost embarrassed to say I wrote it. When people ask what I do, I'm just like, 'I'm a writer. Please don't ask me what I wrote.'"
Lively starred in the 2024 movie version of "It Ends with Us" as a woman, Lily, who begins a romantic relationship with a man named Ryle, played by Baldoni. The film and book explore themes of domestic abuse, though in both cases, the handling of the subject matter was controversial. Critics have accused Hoover of glamorizing abuse with her novel, which was originally published in 2016.
But the movie adaptation sparked controversy of its own after Lively accused Baldoni of inappropriate sexual conduct during its production. The two stars have been engaged in an ongoing legal saga that has been playing out in court for the past year, with Lively suing for sexual harassment and Baldoni alleging defamation. The dispute is headed to a trial in March.
