Blake Lively was captured in an awkward interaction with Anna Kendrick at a London photocall for Another Simple Favor on Tuesday after a string of painful press interviews.
The pair looked to be in a tense exchange at the Corinthia Hotel as they promoted the new film ahead of its launch on Prime Video on May 1.
Blake, 37, wore a black cardigan with gold trim, adding dark tights and knee-length black boots for the shoot.
She toted a black and gold Chanel handbag and accessorised with a range of golden jewellery, letting her long blonde tresses loose.
Co-star Anna, 39, sported a bright red vest with gold bottoms, teaming the item with a matching mini-skirt and completing the look with some sparkly gold heels.
The pair were joined by fellow stars Paul Feig, Laura Fischer and Henry Golding as they posed for photos in front of the London Eye.
Blake Lively was captured in an awkward interaction with Anna Kendrick at a London photocall for Another Simple Favor on Tuesday after a string of painful press interviews
The pair seemed to be having a tense exchange at the Corinthia Hotel as they promoted the new film ahead of its launch on Prime Video on May 1
The shoot comes amid swirling rumours of tension between Blake – who has also been locked in a legal battle with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni – and Anna ahead of the A Simple Favor sequel.
Its South By Southwest premiere last month was overshadowed by controversy including a protestor brandishing a ‘Justice for Justin Baldoni, Blake lied’ sign and a seemingly icy reunion with Anna.
Despite the drama, the Gossip Girl star gushed about the event, comparing it to a ‘rock concert’ on in an Instagram post.
In the caption she wrote: ‘Watching @asimplefavor opening night @sxsw felt like a rock concert. Thank you to the very best audience. Texas turns it out.
‘Making this movie was already the gift, every element of it. To share it with you all and feel the love returned to us was the best feeling. Thank you for having us Austin.’
In March, Blake was accused of beefing up the crowd at the premiere after she was seen posing for a selfie with Laurie Feig, the wife of Another Simple Favor director Paul.
Some of the star’s critics became convinced based on photos that Laurie was pretending to be a fan in the crowd, despite being married to the filmmaker.
‘Why is the director of Another Simple Favor’s wife pretending to be a fan in the crowd waiting for Blake on the red carpet to take a selfie?’ wrote a YouTuber critical of Blake.
Blake, 37, wore a black cardigan with gold trim while her co-star sported a bright red vest with gold bottoms, teaming the item with a matching mini-skirt
The It Ends With Us star toted a black and gold Chanel handbag and accessorised with a range of golden jewellery, letting her long blonde tresses loose
The shoot comes amid swirling rumours of tension between Blake – who has also been locked in a legal battle with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni – and Anna ahead of the sequel
The pair were joined by fellow stars Paul Feig, Laura Fischer and Henry Golding as they posed for photos in front of the London Eye
The pair have reunited for the much-anticipated film, which follows Stephanie Smothers (Anna) and Emily Nelson (Blake) as they ‘head to the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman,’ per IMDB.
The leading stars have been hit by rumors of a ‘secret feud’ after reuniting on set – five years after the original movie came out.
‘Watch how many PR bots reply that “this is normal”, “internalized misogyny”, and “why do you care”?’ the poster added.
The premiere also started off on the wrong foot, as Blake was greeted by a protestor.
Proving that the PR disaster of It Ends With Us is far from over, a woman was seen wearing a shirt that said ‘Blake lied’ and held a sign that read: ‘Justice for Justin Baldoni. Blake lied,’ as the star walked the red carpet nearby.
To make matters worse, there were more excruciating moments as Blake’s co-star Anna had an awkward response to a question about working with her on the film.
‘Oh you know…’ Anna cryptically said on the red carpet when asked what it was like to work with Blake again.
There were also no photos of Blake and Anna posing solo together, aside from a picture with their director.
The film’s South By Southwest premier last month was overshadowed by controversy including a seemingly icy reunion with co-star Anna
Last month, Blake was also accused of beefing up the crowd at the premiere after she was seen posing for a selfie with Laurie Feig, the wife of Another Simple Favor director Paul
It was previously reported that Anna is less than thrilled that her co-star’s legal drama is overshadowing their film
The actress previously filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in December against Justin Baldoni, who also co-starred in the hit romantic drama It Ends With Us
It was previously reported that Anna is less than thrilled that her co-star’s legal drama is overshadowing their film.
Inside the event, the stars were pictured awkwardly standing next to each other, with Anna holding her head down as she listened to the Gossip Girl star speak.
Blake excitedly recounted the filming of the movie in Capri, Italy, as her colleague stood by and only glanced over once in a video shared by Variety.
While talking to Variety, Anna shared a vague response when questioned about how the movie has been affected by ‘everything going on in the world.’
‘Why, what happened? I did ayahuasca and the last year of my life is just gone,’ the star replied, referencing to the plant-based psychedelic.
The actress then continued, ‘But I’ve heard the movie is amazing,’ before walking away.
Blake and Anna were also seen on the red carpet together in March, but director Paul Feig noticeably stood in between the pair for the photos.
The filmmaker reflected on working with the stars once again following the 2018 film A Simple Favor and gushed to People that it was ‘too much fun.’
Meanwhile a fan asked the Gossip Girl star: ‘Blake, what does it mean to be back with Anna?’
‘Oh, it’s the best! I’m so happy,’ she gushed before being guided to take additional photos during the festivities.
A source told People last month: ‘The comments on Instagram have upset her, especially the ones saying fans are now refusing to watch the movie because they don’t want to support Blake.’
They further explained that the Pitch Perfect star is ‘not used to being caught up in any drama’.
However another insider shared: ‘The film is in the early stages of planning what press will look like, and Blake and Anna will be doing some things together.’
A separate source explained to DailyMail.com: ‘These movies are basically all Anna and Blake have in common. They have a working relationship, by no means a close friendship or bond.
‘Last-minute talks are underway with execs as Anna would prefer to distance herself from Blake going forward.’
The insider added: ‘It was originally planned that the two would do much of the promotion together. That’s what the studio requested, and Anna and Blake agreed to it. But Anna could go it alone over fears she will get caught up in the drama.’
Anna and Blake are also rumored to have clashed over their billing on the sequel and Lively failing to address the effect of her lawsuit on the movie.
In regards to the position of their names when it came to the billing, another source shared, ‘In the original film Anna got top billing over Blake. She thought it was a no-brainer that the same would happen this time around. But Blake didn’t see it that way.
‘She fought, through her reps to get top billing over Anna, who refused to bow to Blake’s demands. Finally, after weeks of negotiations a deal was struck between the actresses.
‘They agreed on staggered billing, which meant Anna’s name would read first and Blake’s would be above hers but on the right-hand side. In the business that’s considered equal billing,’ the source explained.
