Rumors have circulated that Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively had a hostile relationship on set, with some sources even claiming they "hated" each other.
While "A Simple Favor" premiered in 2018, rumors of a nasty feud between Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick didn't surface until April 2021. A popular TikTok user named celebrity memoir bookclub posted a video reporting claims that, when the movie ended, these two stars "didn't speak to each other," "were basically enemies," and "their press tours had to be booked separately."
When fans questioned the allegations, TikToker posted another clip, saying that he got the tea from "someone who worked at the studio." He then showed a screenshot of a direct message he had since received from another person who claimed to have worked at the film's production company, Lionsgate, claiming that "the rumors are true." This anonymous source wrote: “They hated each other. The studio even had to talk to them to make it seem like they liked each other on press tours because it was starting to become obvious." They continued: "Anna, in particular, was very competitive with Blake and was constantly asking her to make sure she got more promotion than Blake and she even PHOTOSHOPPED HER NECKLINE on the 'Simple Favor' poster to make it as big (or bigger). than Blake's.
The TikTok star went further by pulling up some interviews Lively and Kendrick did together, where they apparently shared some awkward moments. The speculation even took over a Reddit thread. As of this writing, neither Lively nor Kendrick have publicly commented on the rumored feud.
But these two often talked about each other in interviews
Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively may have been on the receiving end of feud rumors in 2021, but during their press tour for "A Simple Favor" three years earlier, they actually seemed to really like each other. Lively even recalled in a joint BuzzFeed interview that she was "nervous" to meet Kendrick when they were teenagers, after seeing her in 2007's "Rocket Science."
"You were so good and I was like, 'Oh, you're so funny and charming.' I was like, 'Wow, this girl is really cool,'" Lively told Kendrick, adding, "When someone's that smart, that funny, and that smart...you can tell that it's coming from their mind and not from the script.". Kendrick seemed so fond of Lively and admitted they hit it off even better than she expected, revealing to Harper's Bazaar: "I thought she was incredibly sweet and kind. Then, getting to know her a little better, it was nice to discover her sense of humor. » Kendrick gushed, “She has a dark side, a sarcastic side, and that's great because. how are you going to get along with them for a whole movie when you have my brain? So that was fantastic."
With this tendency to congratulate each other in public, at this point there seemed to be nothing but love between the two. Kendrick even told Lively during her BuzzFeed appearance: "It was great to have that kind of partner-in-crime vibe with you."
Were Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively's sarcastic interview misinterpreted?
Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick definitely had a witty and sarcastic banter while promoting "A Simple Favor," which some may have misinterpreted as the tension between the two. However, it seems like it's just a dry sense of humor, which both actors share, that came out during their press tour.
In her interview, Lively recounted a story about how her time on set was delayed once while Kendrick's was not, something she felt was "so mortifying" since it turns out Kendrick got her. Had been waiting. "That was the day I decided I hated you," Kendrick quipped, adding, "We were all talking bullshit about you."
Sure, some might read that as a hint at Lively, but it sounds like it was all in jest, especially considering Kendrick was also seen making fun of Lively in a meeting with MTV News, where he quipped, "[I] thought she seemed nice, and I didn't know," before turning away from her co-star and saying with a smile, "Don't touch me." In another joint interview, Likely jokingly called Kendrick "an egomaniac" and suggested that she blocked her on Instagram. He also mocked Kendrick during her BuzzFeed interview, saying that when he found out he would be working with her, "[I was] a little disappointed because they told me Dame Judi Dench was going to be her vlogger mom."
