After her seemingly tone deaf promotion threatened to overshadow It Ends with Us, Blake Lively has been given a private coach to ‘school her’ in a bid to prevent the fallout from negatively impacting her upcoming film, Another Simple Favor.
The actress, 37, is gearing up to return to the spotlight weeks after she filed a lawsuit against her former costar Justin Baldoni in which she accused him of sexual harassment, before he countered her claims in a blistering counter suit.
Frantic plans are now in the works to get Lively ready for the premiere on March 7 at SXSW Film and TV Festival in Austin, Texas, with her costar Anna Kendrick, 39, reportedly reluctant to promote the Paul Feig directed sequel which will air on Prime Video.
Executives are working with Feig, 62, to try to make sure everything centres on the movie and not Lively’s ongoing legal saga, after the release date announcement prompted a flurry of scathing comments.
‘Blake will be getting private coaching from an expert on how to handle any questions that could be thrown at her about her Baldoni feud while she’s there,’ an insider told DailyMail.com.
‘Other screenings and appearances will follow which Blake will need to attend, so the training she will get from a professional is of major importance.’
Blake Lively has been given a private coach to ‘school her’ in a bid to prevent the fallout from her legal feud with Justin Baldoni impacting her upcoming film, Another Simple Favor
Frantic plans are said to be in the works to get Lively ready for the premiere on March 7 at SXSW Film and TV Festival in Austin, Texas, with her costar Anna Kendrick reluctant to promote the movie (pictured together in 2018)
Festival organisers and those working on the film have reportedly discussed foregoing a Q&A session at the event, or alternatively making an announcement after the screening requesting that all questions be focused solely on the film.
The cast and crew got their first taste of what to expect on Tuesday when Prime Video released a promotional poster for the comedic thriller and asked: ‘We have Another Simple Favor to ask you… can you save the date?’
People flooded the Instagram post with comments referring to allegations made by Baldoni in court filings and on an adjacent website he launched in a bid to clear his name.
Feig also posted the image, but unlike the original, he tagged everyone but Lively.
He jumped to her defence as he responded to one user: ‘It’s my cut. There is no other cut. Blake has been nothing but supportive and a dream to work with.
‘She is the best and an amazing collaborator and I’m her biggest fan. Just wanted to clear that up.’
‘The movie is a passion project for Feig,’ the insider said. ‘Everyone is worried that Blake’s “mean girl” image and all the negative comments about her on the post could ruin the excitement for the film.’
A second insider said the drama is taking a toll on Kendrick, whose own Instagram account was inundated with comments about Lively when she shared the news.
Prime Video released a promotional poster for the comedic thriller on Tuesday with the comments section inundated with scathing posts about Lively’s legal saga
A second insider said the drama is taking a toll on Kendrick, whose own Instagram account was inundated with comments about Lively when she shared news of the premiere
‘Did Ryan rewrite a scene?’ asked one user in reference to Lively’s rewrite of a scene in It Ends with Us.
Another said: ‘Nope nope nope. Sorry Anna, will watch the next one. Not supporting this movie or anything with Blake Lively in it.’
A third echoed: ‘Love you Anna, but I can’t stand Blake more. Will not be watching this movie.’
Kendrick is reportedly ‘reluctant’ to promote the film, which comes seven years after the original.
‘This entire situation is deeply upsetting for everyone involved, including Anna,’ the insider said. ‘The cast and producers feel as though their worst nightmare has come true.
‘They’ve realised just how badly Blake’s current predicament could hurt the project.
‘People are already vowing to boycott the film, and Anna is reluctant to promote it because she doesn’t want to face a backlash for supporting a project she is genuinely proud of.
‘For weeks leading up to Prime Video’s official announcement, they all feared the worst. No one knows what to do.’
Feig, who posted the image but didn’t tag Lively, jumped to her defence claiming she has been ‘nothing but supportive and a dream to work with’
Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment in December after starring in It Ends with Us together. He fired back with a scathing counter suit (pictured)
Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment in December.
At the same time, the New York Times released a story based on her legal filing that accused him of orchestrating a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni hit back by suing the Times for defamation before launching a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds earlier this month in which he accused the Hollywood pairing of conspiring to trash his reputation with the allegations.
He also accused Lively of hijacking the filming of the movie, which he directed, and claimed she forced him and his family to wait in a basement holding area at the premiere so she did not have to see him.
Both parties and the New York Times have denied the claims levelled against them.
