As rumors of a feud between Blake Lively and her “Another Simple Favor” co-star Anna Kendrick continue to circulate online after the duo’s appearance at the South By Southwest film festival over the weekend, the movie’s director is addressing the elephant in the room.
On March 7, social media personality Melanie King speculated that Lively and Kendrick were at odds ahead of promoting their film, a sequel to the 2018 movie, “A Simple Favor.”
“Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick before they walk the red carpet at the sxsw Another Simple Favor premiere. I just reported on Blake being terrified to walk the carpet as Anna is pissed and never wants to work with her again,” King wrote on X.
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Paul Feig, the movie’s director, responded by writing,”Um … you’re wrong.”
During the red carpet premiere, Kendrick seemed to give a cryptic response when asked what it was like working with Lively again.
“Oh, you know,” Kendrick said in a video, shared by Entertainment Tonight.
In another video shared by Variety, the “Pitch Perfect” alum was asked how the release of “Another Simple Favor” has been affected by everything going on in the world – seemingly referring to the legal drama between Lively and her former “It Ends With Us” co-star Justin Baldoni.
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Kendrick quipped, “Why, what happened? I did ayahuasca, and the last year of my life is just gone.”
In December, Lively filed her lawsuit against Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath for sexual harassment, retaliation and emotional distress. She first filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights department and later filed one in federal court in December.
In response, Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of civil extortion and defamation.
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In addition to releasing a website detailing the timeline of events that allegedly occurred, Baldoni’s team also shared unedited footage from the set of “It Ends With Us.” Both Lively and Baldoni have claimed the footage bolsters their respective claims.
After the release, Lively’s legal team demanded a gag order be issued against Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman.
“As Ms. Lively’s counsel have attempted, repeatedly, to caution Mr. Freedman, federal litigation must be conducted in court and according to the relevant rules of professional conduct,” court documents state. “His conduct threatens to, and will, materially prejudice both the Lively Case and the Wayfarer Case by tainting the jury pool, because his statements are deliberately aimed at undermining the ‘character, credibility, [and] reputation’ of numerous relevant parties.”
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On Jan. 23, Baldoni’s lawyers filed a response, calling Lively’s gag order attempt an “intimidation tactic” and “tactical gamesmanship.”
A judge later ordered that both sides follow the New York Rules of Professional Conduct, which limit speaking to the press.
Neither party will be permitted to make statements to the press that have a “substantial likelihood” of prejudicing a jury. However, the legal teams will be allowed to defend their clients in the media against publicity not created by either side.
Last week, Lively and Baldoni’s legal team battled over a proposed protective order during a 90-minute hearing.
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Lively’s lawyers argued for an “attorney’s eyes only” designation for evidence in the case, seemingly pushing for text messages with “high-profile individuals” to be kept hidden from the public.
Freedman said it was offensive to suggest the team would disregard a protective order from the court. The lawyer pushed back against the “attorneys’ eyes only” designation, stating his concern that Lively’s legal team was shifting the burden to the defense.
Judge Lewis Liman noted that if something relevant to the case was discussed, the defense should be able to discuss and use it. However, the judge did not make a decision on which protective order would be put in place during Thursday’s hearing.
Fox News Digital’s Lauryn Overhultz, Stephanie Giang-Paunon and Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
