Justin Baldoni's “Freak Out” Incident Before the Screening of “It Ends With Us”

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Justin Baldoni surprised his fans with an unexpectedly dramatic appearance at a film screening of It ends with us in Los Angeles.

On Friday, August 23, the 40-year-old director and his wife were stuck in an elevator outside their AMC Century City event. He documented the incident with a video that he shared on his Instagram account. In the video, he is seen joking about his wife Emily “trying not to freak out.”

“You want to know something really funny? We were just stuck in an elevator,” Baldoni told the audience. There were about six other people in the elevator at the time, one of whom was trying to turn the elevator's main switch on and off in hopes of resetting it.

In the video, Baldoni can also be seen saying: “AMC Century City is going to love this. Hilarious!” Baldoni, who in addition to directing and producing, also It ends with ussurprised fans at various screenings of the film. In addition to the funny clip, Baldoni expressed his gratitude for the fans' support of the film.

“Thank you to everyone who came to see @itendswithusmovie. These movie theater surprises were one of my favorite experiences and meeting you all in person and hearing your stories means more to me than you could ever imagine,” he wrote. He also thanked the “amazing teams” at AMC Theaters for “being so kind and getting us out of the elevator.”

“I hope you continue to share your stories and help us spread awareness and hope for the survivors and victims of domestic violence. Please go to @nomoreorg (link in bio) if you need help or resources,” continued Baldoni, who plays Ryle Kincaid in the film and has struck a much more serious tone throughout the promotion. It ends with us.

His leading lady and co-star Blake Lively was criticized for her rather cavalier promotion of the film. “Grab your friends, put on floral dresses… but forget that the sole purpose of this film is to raise awareness about domestic violence? What the f*** kind of press is this lol just Justin [Baldoni] “Sharing the message is wild,” one person wrote in the comments section of a video promoting the film on Instagram.

Meghan McCain also sharply criticized her and described her PR strategy in her podcast “Citizen McCain” as “very insensitive and, frankly, strange.”

“When you take on the responsibility of telling the story of a woman who is a victim of domestic violence, you have to be respectful of the fact that you represent millions and millions of women and men who are victims of domestic violence,” she said.

Other fans have defended Lively despite the ongoing backlash. “I'm tired of people on the internet acting like they are morally superior and that somehow it's not enough for someone to do the right thing because you didn't decide they should have done it,” one fan shot back at those who criticized Lively's decision to post hotlines and other information for victims of domestic violence.

The negative press surrounding It ends With Us has also led to the resurfacing of a slew of old interviews with Lively, such as the one that Norwegian-born journalist Kjersti Flaa said made her want to “quit her job.”

It ends with us is now in theaters.