Blake Lively isn't the problem.

Warning: This post deals with domestic violence.

Despite controversy surrounding Blake Lively's promotion of her hit movie, It Ends With Us, domestic violence survivor, Cat Dunn, says it's time to shift focus away from the actress, and onto the important themes highlighted within the movie. 

It Ends With Us, is based on Colleen Hoover's bestseller of the same name, and centres around Lively's character, Lily Bloom who finds herself in an abusive relationship. 

Watch: It Ends With Us trailer. Article continues after the video.

Some commenters have questioned Lively's light-hearted responses to questions about the film, but Cat says continuing to focus on Lively will only drown out the film's important message even further. 

"Obviously the director, Justin Baldoni, really cares about this issue and is doing his bit to raise awareness, but technically, Blake doesn't owe us anything," says Cat. 

"We expect celebrities to have big opinions on the world, but they're just doing their job. If she has no lived experience, which it's evident that she doesn't, how can we expect her to take a stand. "You want her to be a character on her press tour, but she's just being herself — whether you like her or not."

Cat Dunn is a victim-survivor of domestic violence. Image: Supplied.

The problem with this, says Cat, is that the commentary around the film continues to feed into the narrative of making everything about the actor, and not about the issue of DV. 

"Now, when you search the movie online, you'll find the drama around Blake, not DV. All the hard work the director is doing is being drowned out by the narrative about Blake. The harder he tries, the more it becomes about their so-called feud, rather than DV.

"The conversation has gone wrong, and we're making it worse by going on and on about Blake."

Cat says movies like It Ends With Us serve an important role in helping women identify their own abuse, as many victim-survivors aren't able to recognise it from within. 

"It could be a penny drop moment. That happened to me, when I was listening to a podcast, I was like, OMG, this is what my boyfriend is like. That's going to happen to someone at the cinema, watching this movie," she says. 

"We need to raise awareness of what this movie is about. This shouldn't be about her, it should be about everyone else whose story this actually is."

Cat believes the film should be used as a catalyst to dig deeper into how the domestic violence crisis can be improved, and what conversations we need to be having to make that happen. 

"It's not Hollywood that's going to fix it. They're not going to take responsibility or any of this, but we can for the way we're responding to it. Let's stop gossiping and start helping. 

"People forget that 1 in 3 women have, are or will experience domestic violence throughout their lives. Why don't we focus on getting that number to zero and having the conversation with everyone in our lives. 

"Let's look at the conversation this movie is trying to start. The main character is charming and good looking, and (many perpetrators) are. Abuse is so insidious, and that's what the movie is trying to show you. Go and see it with an open mind and you might recognise this relationship as your own home or that of someone you know."

Lively appeared to address the criticism in an Instagram post. Image: Instagram/@blakelively.

Following the criticism, Lively published a domestic violence PSA to her Instagram story. 

"Thank you to everyone who came out to show that people WANT to see films about women and the multitudes we hold. It Ends With Us is a story of the female experience. All the highest highs, and lowest lows. And we are so proud of it," she wrote. 

"We have been in celebration of this film and of getting a message so important out there to the masses. Thank you all for embracing @itendswithusmovie with the same love, pain and joy we had sharing it with you all."

In a subsequent post, Lively shared statistics relating to domestic violence in the United States and provided fans with a link to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.

Mamamia is a charity partner of RizeUp Australia, a national organisation that helps women, children and families move on after the devastation of domestic and family violence. Their mission is to deliver life-changing and practical support to these families when they need it most. If you would like to support their mission you can donate here.

Feature image: Sony.