Los Angeles, California - Author Colleen Hoover has broken her silence on the legal battle still raging between the co-stars of the 2024 movie adaptation of her bestselling book, It Ends With Us.

In an interview with Elle published on Thursday, the 45-year-old writer admitted she finds the court drama between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni "unfortunate" and "disappointing."

"It feels like a circus," Hoover said. "When there are real people involved, with real feelings and emotions."

"This actually truly has impacted some of the actors' careers in huge ways. And I just find it all around sad," she continued.

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The case began when Lively sued Baldoni, her co-star and the director of It Ends With Us, for sexual harassment and retaliation in December 2024. Baldoni countersued his 37-year-old co-star for defamation and extortion, but his claim was tossed by a judge over the summer.

The 41-year-old filmmaker recently filed a motion to have Lively's lawsuit dismissed, and the actors are currently expected to go to trial next year.

"I'm just trying to stay removed from the negativity. I have my own story I could tell… but I don't want to bring attention to it, and I don't want to have to put someone else down to lift myself up," Hoover said.

The author explained further that the novel was inspired by her mom's real-life experience with domestic abuse, and the high-profile fallout of its movie adaptation has "tainted" their view of the book.

"I can't even recommend it anymore. I feel like [the lawsuit] has overshadowed it," Hoover said. "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.'"

The outlet revealed that Hoover was preparing for a deposition in the case scheduled for a few weeks later. Though this is her first major comment on the legal battle, she initially praised Lively when the A Simple Favor star first sued Baldoni.

"@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met," she wrote on Instagram. "Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt."

As the It Ends With Us drama continues to play out, several of Hoover's other novels are also hitting the big screen, including her psychological thriller Verity – which will star Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson – as well as her romantic drama Regretting You, which hit theaters in October.