Nickelodeon star Alexa Nikolas calls out Blake Lively for using music by her alleged abuser and groomer
It turns out that all of the drama and controversy surrounding the It Ends with Us press tour was actually nothing compared to the rollout of the movie. Every week online sleuths have uncovered another juicy detail that intensifies the rumours of a behind-the-scenes feud between actress Blake Lively and director and leading man Justin Baldoni. And now, the entire production is facing criticism from someone in the industry who is not very pleased about the film’s soundtrack.
Amid all of the ongoing scandals, Baldoni hired a crisis PR manager to clean up the mess—only to then land himself in hot water when it was revealed that the very same manager had previously worked on Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against Amber Heard. Even so, it’s beginning to look like it was a good shout to bring in backup because there’s more scandal afoot. Former Nickelodeon actor Alexa Nikolas has just piled onto the dumpster fire by calling It Ends with Us out for including the music of an alleged “groomer and abuser.”
Alexa Nikolas calls out Blake Lively for using alleged abuser Mike Milosh’s music
Alexa Nikolas is best known for portraying Nicole on Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101. Recently, she called out Lively and the It Ends With Us ensemble in a new Instagram post, in which she critiques the Gossip Girl star for using the song ‘Hymn’ by band RHYE in the movie soundtrack.
The group was founded by Nikolas’ ex-husband Mike Milosh, a Canadian musician who is professionally known as Milosh. He was married to Nikolas from 2012 to 2016. In 2021, the former actor came forward to accuse him of sexual abuse and grooming.
Nikolas claimed that Milosh groomed her starting at age 16 after the two connected on MySpace when she sent him a compliment. The now 32-year-old went on to file a lawsuit for sexual battery, gender-based violence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Milosh has denied the allegations, calling them “absurd and outrageous false claims.”
View this post on Instagram
In her Instagram statement, the actor wrote: “I can’t say enough how disappointed I am in Blake Lively and ‘It Ends With Us’—not only has your rollout of this film been a complete disaster and shame but you also put my known abuser/groomer’s music in your film. There is physical evidence of him grooming me when he was 33 and I was 16. It’s easily accessible on the internet sadly since I had to also take on the emotional labour of exposing RHYE with evidence.”
Why is there so much drama with ‘It Ends with Us’?
Although the story of the film covers some uncomfortable themes such as sexual abuse and domestic violence, the marketing interestingly zoomed in on the romantic love triangle and flower theme throughout the story. According to the internet, this was completely missing the point and the culprits of this damning choice were Blake Lively and Colleen Hoover.
Rumours started to emerge that this creative difference over how to film and market the movie gave rise to the feud between Baldoni and Lively.
Apparently, there were two different cuts of the movie: one was championed by Baldoni and focused on the domestic violence aspects and another one which was focused more heavily on Lily’s journey and was favoured by Lively. In the end, the cast allegedly sided with the actress, effectively kicking Baldoni’s version to the curb.
@matthewhappy24 Blake Lively And Justin Baldoni Cared About Their Characters🏖✨💕#fyp #foryoupage #blakelively #justinbaldoni #kingmatthew24 #matthewhappy #celebrity #fame
♬ my tears ricochet - Katelyn
@pickle_plants Was there really a battle of the film cuts for This Ends With Us? Which edit is in theaters?? #itendswithus #blakelively #justinbaldoni #ryanreynolds #trending #news #ReleasetheBaldoniCut #greenscreen
♬ original sound - Christina - Christina
What followed was a promotion tour and several interviews with Lively that fans deemed as tone-deaf and offensive because she struggled to acknowledge the darker themes of the movie, or provide any information about surviving domestic violence.
The actor’s cheery invitation to “grab your friends and wear your florals” to go watch the film notably also lacked a trigger warning and was ridiculed throughout the internet.
@gabschase What is going on with the marketing for this movie??
♬ original sound - Gabrielle
@evie.magazine Just a fun little movie night! 💖🌸💘 #itendswithus #itendswithusmovie #itendswithusbook #blakelively #justinbaldoni
♬ Summer - Croquet Club
@sboshmafu Florals and friends🌺🌺🌺 #itendswithus #itendswithusmovie #blakelively #film #filmtok #films #movie #movietok
♬ original sound - Sibongile Mafu
@calabasaswings Not a fan anymore. ALSO THE SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST JUSTIN BALDONI IS UNFAIR AND RUDE. Why does she want to take over this film so much?#blakelively #itendswithus #marketing #annoying #ryanreynolds
♬ original sound - Stefano
On top of this, the actress also used the movie as a vehicle to promote her drink companies Betty Booze and Betty Buzz.
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This included premium cocktails named after the abuser with no acknowledgement that alcohol frequently incites people to violence.
So, the Milosh incident is just the latest scandal to add to a growing avalanche of publicity nightmares. Given how things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if Baldoni’s crisis PR manager is billing by the hour, she’s probably clocking some serious overtime.
