Paul Feig is setting the record straight on A Simple Favor 2.
The director, 62, addressed rumors circulating online that the film — which stars Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick — would not be coming out amid the ongoing legal battle between Lively, 37, and her It Ends with Us costar Justin Baldoni.
“The movie is finished and coming out soon,” Feig wrote on X. “Don’t believe anything you read on social media these days.”
His post was made in response to another viral post on X which claimed that Amazon “indefinitely” shelved the film due to Lively’s “refusal to promote” it amid her legal battle and alleged “growing tensions” between the movie’s two main stars.
Addressing the allegations, Feig wrote in his post, “This is total BS. Sorry.”
Feig previously voiced his support for Lively last month on X after she filed a sexual-harassment complaint against Baldoni, 40, alleging that he engaged in misconduct during the production of It Ends with Us by showing her explicit images and videos and asking her about her personal sex life, entered her trailer “uninvited” while she was undressed or “vulnerable,” and engaged in a retaliatory smear campaign, among other claims — which Baldoni has denied.
“I’ve now made two movies with Blake, and all I can say is she’s one of the most professional, creative, collaborative, talented and kind people I’ve ever worked with,” Feig wrote on X.
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“She truly did not deserve any of this smear campaign against her,” he added. “I think it’s awful she was put through this.”
Baldoni has since filed his own lawsuit on Dec. 31 against The New York Times — which broke the story of Lively’s lawsuit — alleging libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract.
Feig reunited with Lively, Kendrick, 39, and Henry Golding in early 2024 to film the sequel to 2018’s A Simple Favor, which is about widowed mother Stephanie (Kendrick) investigating the disappearance of her glamorous new friend Emily (Lively).
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Kendrick teased the film while chatting with PEOPLE in October, saying that getting the “gang back together” for a sequel felt “a little bit like riding a bike.”
“And I’ll say after making the first one, I was fully like, ‘This is the craziest movie I’ve ever been a part of.’ I think it’s really fascinating that Paul Feig is the guy who’s arguably best known for Bridesmaids, and the darkness and craziness that is inside of his brain, it’s impressive,” the actress said. “You’re like, ‘Oh, my God.’ ”
“So the second movie is nuts. I know I’m going to say that, like, ‘Oh, it’s crazier than the last one,’ but girl, it’s a lot,” Kendrick added.
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