UPDATE 3/19/25 at 4:11 p.m. ET:
Hoover seemingly reacted to her headline-making video — which had some fans expressing concerns for her on social media — in an Instagram Story on Wednesday, March 19. Hoover shared a photo of a Diet Pepsi bottle and wrote, “Such disturbing content.”
Original story continues below:
It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover is discussing Diet Pepsi and her current financial status via social media.
“This may be either a new rock bottom for me or the best thing that’s ever come out of my brain,” the 45-year-old writer said in a video shared via Instagram Stories on Tuesday, March 18. “Look at this, I poured Diet Pepsi into my ice cubes, so that I will have the best Diet Pepsi I’ve ever had in my life.”
A second video showed Hoover filling up a bottle with Diet Pepsi plus the ice cubes. (The clips have since expired on Instagram but fans have reposted them on various social media platforms.)
“Do you think other people do this? We put water in our water. Do y’all put wine in your wine? I guess you don’t drink wine with ice cubes,” she wondered. “I’ll do anything not to drink coffee.”
She noted that the drink tasted “just like every other Diet Pepsi I’ve ever had” before telling her 1.9 million Instagram followers that it was going to be “a great day.” However, she quickly backtracked on that statement.
“Remember, like, five minutes ago when I ended the last video with, ‘It’s gonna be a great day?’” she asked before explaining that all of the merchandise sold on her website has since been marked down to $10 an item. (Hoover claimed that her “boss” was the one who changed the pricing.)
“That’s, like, five times cheaper than what I paid for each item, which means by the end of the day today I’m going to be broke as s—,” Hoover added, noting that her boss “better be careful” before referring to a January report from Instagram gossip blog DeuxMoi which alleged that the author had let go all of her employees and retired from writing.
“Well, I can’t retire now because now I’m gonna be in the hole by 5 p.m.,” she concluded. “Even if you hate me, you should go buy a piece because it’s a very, kind of, bad thing. Anyway, at least I have my Diet Pepsi. It’s still gonna be a great day because you guys get almost free merch, congrats.”
Blake Lively was blooming into her own as protagonist Lily Bloom in the upcoming It Ends With Us adaptation, but many devoted book fans criticized her outfits. The Gossip Girl alum, 35, and costars Justin Baldoni, Jenny Slate and Hasan Minhaj kicked off filming last month in New Jersey, where Lively’s outfits quickly raised eyebrows. The actress — who plays the […]
Hoover’s video comes nearly two months after she deactivated Instagram in late January amid legal drama surrounding Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s film adaptation of her It Ends With Us novel.
When Hoover returned to the social media platform last month, she appeared to scrub all traces of Lively and Baldoni from her profile along with any mention of It Ends With Us, which hit theaters in August 2024.
Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni in December 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment on the film’s set. Baldoni has filed two lawsuits of his own and continues to deny the allegations. Hoover initially showed support for Lively, but she has since stayed quiet when it comes to commenting on the legal drama.
