A Simple Favor Director Responds to Blake Lively Rumors in Light of Lawsuit
Blake Lively’s upcoming film, A Simple Favor 2, has not been canceled despite her ongoing legal issues, according to the director of the movie.
Paul Feig addressed circulating online rumors on Friday, January 10, which suggested that Amazon had decided to postpone the project indefinitely due to Lively’s lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni.
“This is total BS. Sorry. The movie is finished and coming out soon,” Feig, 62, stated on X. “Don’t trust everything you see on social media these days.”
In a subsequent post, Feig commended Lively and her co-star Anna Kendrick for their exceptional performances in the film.
“The movie is fantastic, and Blake and Anna deliver amazing performances,” he enthused. “I can’t wait for everyone to see it. Stay tuned for more updates. A Simple Favor 2 is on its way!”
Feig directed Lively, 37, and Kendrick, 39, in the 2018 film A Simple Favor, which follows a mommy vlogger named Stephanie as she investigates the mysterious disappearance of her friend Emily. Kendrick plays Stephanie alongside Lively as Emily.
Almost six years later, in 2024, Lively and Kendrick came together again to film the sequel. In the same year, Lively also collaborated with Baldoni, 40, on the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us. Baldoni not only directed the film but Lively also served as an executive producer.
In December 2024, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni for alleged sexual harassment, claiming that the Jane the Virgin actor created a “hostile work environment” on the film set. She also alleged that Baldoni attempted to orchestrate a “social manipulation” campaign to damage her career and reputation. Baldoni has strongly denied these accusations and has filed a $250 million lawsuit against the New York Times regarding their reporting of Lively’s claims.
“In this malicious smear campaign fully orchestrated by Blake Lively and her team, the New York Times yielded to the desires of two powerful ‘untouchable’ Hollywood elites, neglecting journalistic integrity and ethics that once characterized the esteemed publication by utilizing manipulated texts and deliberately omitting information that contradicts their chosen narrative,” stated Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, in a statement last month. “In doing so, they influenced the outcome of their story and contributed to their own damaging PR smear campaign aimed at rehabilitating Lively’s self-induced tarnished public image against the organic criticism rising from the online community. The irony is abundant.”
In response, Lively denied the allegations in her own statement.
“This lawsuit is built on the evidently false premise that Ms. Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a facade based on her refusal to pursue litigation against Baldoni and Wayfarer, and that pursuing litigation was never her true intention,” the actress told Us Weekly in a statement.
