This article contains brief references to abuse and racism.

Spoilers for It Ends With Us are ahead!

Summary

• It Ends With Us movie adaptation changes the Ellen journal to traditional flashbacks, offering context in a new way.
• By removing controversial references and adjusting the storytelling, the movie adaptation hopes to resonate with audiences.
• Leaving out the Ellen DeGeneres journals helped the movie avoid further controversy and adapt to current times.

The movie adaptation of It Ends With Us changes parts of the book because of the differing needs between a novel and a movie. However, this specific adaptation also had added challenges because of the controversy surrounding the source material.

One of the defining characteristics of the book by Colleen Hoover is that it’s part traditional fiction and part epistolary fiction – the latter genre tells the story through letters. Because Lily thought she was above writing in a diary as a teenager, the It Ends With Us character formatted all her diary entries as letters to Ellen DeGeneres. These letters, woven into the story, provide important context for the reader on Lily’s upbringing, her abusive father, and her history with Atlas. However, the movie removes almost all references to the comedian, a choice that is for the better.

It Ends With Us' Movie Changed The Ellen DeGeneres Journal To Traditional Flashbacks

The Flashbacks Provide The Same Context As The Ellen Journal In It Ends With Us

Rather than showing Lily’s past through the Ellen DeGeneres journal, the movie adaptation of It Ends With Us includes her background through traditional flashbacks that are strategically placed throughout the movie. The only reference to the journals occurs in the first flashback to Lily’s childhood. The movie adaptation shows Lily writing an Ellen letter in her journal for 2 seconds – an Easter egg for fans of the book. However, the journal is never addressed through the dialogue.

Additionally, Lily is only shown watching The Ellen Show, her favorite show in the book, for a moment when Atlas first comes over to Lily’s house. The movie also provides zero references to Finding Nemo, despite it being a movie Lily and Atlas bonded over as teenagers. Lily and Atlas watch the movie together in the source material. Lily even goes so far as to give her daughter the middle name Dory in the It Ends With Us book, which doesn’t happen in the movie adaptation.

Why Leaving Out Lily's Journal In The Movie Makes Sense

It Ends With Us Avoided Controversy By Minimizing Lily's Ellen Journal

Though it may disappoint some fans, the choice to leave out almost all the references to Ellen DeGeneres in the movie adaptation of It Ends With Us was ultimately the best choice that the creative team could have made. The controversial 2016 book by Colleen Hoover already had enough problems that the movie needed to overcome to win over skeptical readers. They didn’t need to add to their problems.

The Ellen DeGeneres references weren’t considered controversial by most readers because the book was published before the 2020 allegations about Degeneres’ racism, toxic workplace, and intimidation. Still, many reviews after Colleen Hoover became big on BookTok noted that the references aged like milk. It would have been in poor taste and controversial if the creative team behind the movie adaptation of It Ends With Us kept the Ellen journals and references in the story knowing the allegations.