Anna Kendrick is reportedly furious at Blake Lively for not addressing how her ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni is negatively affecting the promotion of their upcoming film, Another Simple Favor, according to insiders.
Rising Tensions Between Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively
The two actresses reunited for the sequel to their 2018 thriller-comedy A Simple Favor. However, what was supposed to be a seamless promotional campaign is now overshadowed by Lively’s very public legal issues.
The Gossip Girl alum, 37, is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with her former It Ends with Us co-star Justin Baldoni, 41, whom she accused of sexual harassment and defamation in a bombshell lawsuit last year. Baldoni, who also directed the adaptation, has countersued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, for $400 million. Both parties deny the allegations.
Blake Lively’s Silence Sparks Backlash
Despite the controversy impacting early promotions, Lively has reportedly done little to address the matter with the cast and crew.
“There is a giant pink elephant in the room that no one is acknowledging,” a source told DailyMail.com. “The backlash to the initial promo has been brutal. People are protesting and refusing to see it.”
“Blake hasn’t addressed this. She hasn’t called the cast to apologize. She hasn’t done anything. She has stayed quiet and hidden away. She owes Anna an apology. She owes everyone an apology.”
The source continued, “Anna is just over all of it. If Anna were in this position, she wouldn’t let the film suffer because of her personal issues.”
Clash Over Poster Billing
On February 6, the official poster for Another Simple Favor was revealed, alongside the announcement that the film will premiere at the SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas, on March 7. However, another dispute emerged between Kendrick and Lively over name positioning on the poster.
According to an insider, in the original film, Kendrick received top billing over Lively. She expected the same arrangement for the sequel. However, Lively had a different view and fought, through her representatives, for top billing.
After weeks of negotiations, the actresses finally reached a compromise: Kendrick’s name would appear first, but Lively’s name would be positioned above hers on the right-hand side. In Hollywood, this arrangement is considered “equal billing.”
Neither actress was entirely satisfied with the outcome, but both accepted it as a necessary compromise to move forward with the film’s promotion.
Ongoing Speculations About Their Relationship
This isn’t the first time speculation has arisen about tension between Kendrick and Lively. During the press tour for the original film in 2018, fans noticed subtle jabs and sarcastic remarks between the two actresses.
Their co-star Henry Golding previously dismissed rumors that they refused to speak to each other on set. “Definitely no friction that I noticed,” he stated on Watch What Happens Live.
However, fans remain unconvinced, especially after revisiting past interviews where Kendrick appeared to mock Lively’s acting abilities.
In one resurfaced interview, Kendrick said, “I met [Blake] a few times through Ryan [Reynolds] on that film [The Voices], and, you know, I thought she seemed nice, but little did I know.”
Lively once joked that she could never be a Disney Princess without Kendrick’s singing voice. In response, Kendrick sarcastically quipped, “Oh muffin, it’s so hard being you!”
