Anna Kendrick had a simple — and shady — answer when asked about reuniting with Blake Lively for the sequel to “A Simple Favor” amid the latter’s enduring legal battle with Justin Baldoni.
The “Woman of the Hour” star and director, 39, was signing autographs at Friday’s SXSW premiere of “Another Simple Favor” when “Entertainment Tonight” asked the $400-million question: “What does it mean to be working with Blake again?”
“Oh, you know…” Kendrick said, avoiding the question as she quickly walked off to take a selfie with fans.
Lively, meanwhile, took a slightly different approach when “ET” asked what it meant to be back working with Kendrick.
“Oh, it’s the best. I’m so happy to be here,” she said — though it’s unclear whether “the best” was in reference to the actress’ working relationship, the excitement around the film or the fact that fans were still clamoring to get their photos taken with the former “Gossip Girl” star amid her headline-grabbing drama with Baldoni.
Lively in late December filed a lawsuit accusing her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star of sexual harassment on the film’s set and a retaliatory smear campaign — allegations highlighted in a deep dive by The New York Times. Baldoni then hit the paper with a $250 million libel lawsuit, claiming they “cherry-picked and altered” the communications included in the report.
The video player is currently playing an ad. In January, Baldoni filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane, accusing them of civil extortion and defamation.
The two sides have continued to sling insults and allegations in the weeks since, with Lively claiming other actresses can back up her claims of a “toxic set.” Baldoni and his lawyers — who have said it was Lively who created a hostile work environment — amended their initial lawsuit with claims that metadata proves she was plotting with The New York Times on its“well-calculated hit piece.”
News broke last month that “Another Simple Favor” would have its world premiere at the Austin, Texas-based media festival on March 7, nearly a year to the day before the dueling lawsuits are slated to head to trial.