Paul Feig asks you do yourself a simple favor and don’t believe everything you see on the Internet.
As a devoted admirer, I’d like to clarify rumors circulating about the delay or cancellation of “A Simple Favor 2” featuring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick. Contrary to some reports on X suggesting that the project was shelved due to Blake Lively’s decision not to publicize the film amid her legal disputes with Justin Baldoni, and escalating friction with Anna Kendrick, I believe it is essential to emphasize that these are merely speculations. The actual circumstances surrounding the potential postponement or changes in the production remain unclear, and it’s important not to jump to conclusions about the feelings of Paul Feig, Anna Kendrick, or the broader Hollywood community.
It appears that the 62-year-old was taken aback by the ludicrousness of those rumors. In response to a tweet on January 10th, he stated plainly, “This is complete nonsense. I’m sorry.” The movie has been completed and will be released soon. These days, it’s best not to trust everything you read on social media.
Why hasn’t the sequel been released yet, even though filming was completed in April 2024? He also has explanations for this situation.
Feig explained that ‘post-production’ is a term referring to the process which typically takes at least six months or more when you consider tasks like editing, adding music and special effects, mixing sounds, creating captions, and ensuring technical quality. Our post-production schedule usually has us wrapping up everything by mid-January.
He added, “Movies aren’t immediately released after they are made because studios spend a whole year determining the optimal release date. Our plan has been to launch it in the spring or summer of this year. That’s just how the film industry operates. I trust this clarifies the situation for you.
Feig assures that the movie is truly worth the anticipation, with outstanding performances by Blake and Anna. Keep an eye out for further updates, as Simple Favor 2 is set to arrive soon!
Speculation about the potential release date of “A Simple Favor 2” arises concurrently with Blake Lively’s ongoing legal dispute with her co-star and director from “It Ends With Us.” Recently, she filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, claiming sexual harassment and suggesting his role in a defamatory campaign against her. In response, Baldoni has refuted these allegations, and his lawyer has indicated plans to counter-sue the actress.
For a full timeline of their legal drama, read on…
Four months post the theater release of the movie adaptation based on Colleen Hoover’s book “It Ends With Us”, Blake Lively filed a complaint with California Civil Rights Department (CRD) against her costar Justin Baldoni and his associates on December 20, as reported by The New York Times.
In the complaint obtained by TopMob News, Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, its CEO Jamey Heath, co-founder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni’s publicist Jennifer Abel, RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace, and Street Relations Inc. were named as defendants.
Lively claimed in her complaint that Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates retaliated against her by initiating a complex press and digital plan following her expressing concerns about alleged misconduct on set, where she and other cast and crew members reportedly faced invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior from Baldoni and Heath.
The actress further asserted that this alleged campaign against her resulted in significant harm to her personally and professionally. The charges listed in the complaint include sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to address harassment, aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, false light invasion of privacy, and interference with prospective economic advantage.
The following day, The New York Times released an article detailing a suspected counterattack smear operation carried out by Baldoni and his allies against Lively – backed up by her CRD complaint. In their coverage, the publication shared messages from Baldoni, Abel (his publicist), and Nathan (crisis communications specialist) that were included in her complaint. The newspaper’s website also made the related court documents available for readers to review. As quoted by the outlet, Lively expressed hope that her lawsuit would unveil such underhanded retaliatory strategies aimed at discrediting individuals who expose misconduct and safeguard others from potential targeting in the future.
Following the disclosure of Lively’s complaint, Bryan Freedman – the lawyer for Baldoni, Wayfarer, and their representatives – strongly refuted Lively’s accusations. He stated in a New York Times article that it was regrettable for Lively and her team to make such grave and undeniably false claims against Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives. These claims, he said, were merely a desperate tactic to improve Lively’s tarnished reputation, which stemmed from her own statements and actions during the film campaign; comments and media interactions that were publicly visible, unedited, and allowed for real-time public opinion. Freedman further asserted that these claims are entirely false, excessively sensational, and deliberately salacious with the intention to harm and perpetuate a negative narrative in the media.
Freedman also defended Wayfarer’s decision to hire a crisis manager, explaining that this was done prior to the film’s marketing campaign. He later added that Wayfarer’s representatives did not take any proactive measures nor retaliate; they only responded to incoming media inquiries to maintain balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity. Notably absent from the selectively presented correspondence, according to Freedman, is the evidence of a lack of proactive measures with the media or otherwise; instead, it shows internal planning and private communication to strategize, which is standard practice for public relations professionals.
After the article published by The New York Times on December 21, the talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) decided to part ways with Baldoni. Ari Emanuel, CEO of WME’s parent company Endeavor, confirmed this to the outlet. However, it was later denied that Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s husband and a client of WME, played any role in the agency’s decision to drop Baldoni. This allegation was made by Baldoni in his lawsuit against The New York Times (more details below). In response, WME stated to The Hollywood Reporter on January 1 that there was no truth to Baldoni’s claim that Reynolds pressured Baldoni’s agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. Furthermore, they added that Baldoni’s former representative was not present at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere and there was never any pressure from Reynolds or Lively to drop Baldoni as a client at any time.
After Lively’s CRD filing and the New York Times article, several well-known figures expressed their support for her accusations against Baldoni. One of these figures was the author of “It Ends With Us,” Hoover.
On Instagram Stories on December 21st, Hoover wrote, “Blake Lively, you have always been honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
Jenny Slate, who played Baldoni’s character Ryle’s sister, also showed her support for Lively. On December 23rd, she stated to Today, “As Blake Lively’s castmate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation.” She added, “Blake is a leader, loyal friend, and a trusted source of emotional support for me and so many who know and love her. What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing, and wholly threatening. I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side.”
Brandon Sklenar, a love interest for Lively’s character Lily Bloom, shared a screenshot of the complaint published to The New York Times’ website and linked out to the outlet writing, “For the love of God read this.”
Lastly, Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn wrote that they stand with her in solidarity.
Liz Plank recently shared a post on Instagram indicating her decision to step down from co-hosting “The Man Enough Podcast” with Baldoni and Heath, as of December 23rd. In her message, she expressed gratitude for the trust placed in her by listeners, the heartfelt stories shared, and the strong community they built together. Although she didn’t provide a specific reason for her departure, it followed closely after Lively’s complaint against Baldoni and his Wayfarer colleagues.
Plank emphasized her continued commitment to the values they upheld as a team, expressing appreciation for the support received over the past four years. She also expressed hope that together, they can work towards creating a better future. She mentioned she would share more insights soon, as she continues to process recent events. Lastly, she reaffirmed her support for those who speak out against injustice and hold accountable those who obstruct progress.
In a lawsuit filed on December 24th in New York, Stephanie Jones, Baldoni’s former publicist, and her agency Jonesworks LLC accused Baldoni, his company Wayfarer, his current publicist Abel, and crisis communications specialist Nathan of secretly conspiring against them for months. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants orchestrated a smear campaign against Jones, breached contracts, and stole clients, all while hiding their actions from Jones. According to the suit, the defendants coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to launch a media attack on one of Baldoni’s film co-stars, then falsely blamed Jones for the smear campaign when it was revealed. The lawsuit also claims that Abel and Nathan have continued to defame Jones in the industry even after their own misconduct has been exposed. In addition, the suit alleges that Baldoni and Wayfarer breached contractual obligations with Jonesworks and refused to settle the dispute privately through arbitration. When contacted for comment, the defendants did not respond.
In a statement to Variety on December 23rd, Lively’s legal team revealed they acquired the text excerpts mentioned in The New York Times article through a subpoena issued to Jonesworks. Freedman, who represents both Nathan, Abel, Baldoni, and their respective associates at Wayfarer, further explained that none of his clients were served with a subpoena regarding this matter. He also expressed his intention to take legal action against Jones for disclosing messages from Abel’s phone to Lively’s attorneys.
On December 31st, Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace, and Street Relations filed a lawsuit against The New York Times. In this lawsuit, The New York Times is accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract for an article about a supposed retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs allegedly conducted against Lively following her concerns about misconduct on set.
The plaintiffs claim the report was untrue and based solely on Lively’s complaint to the CRD. They deny the accusations and assert that messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context. The lawsuit states, “Despite its claim to have ‘reviewed these along with other documents,’ the Times relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives.”
The plaintiffs also allege that Lively, not them, was the one who initiated a calculated smear campaign. Lively has denied this claim. In response, The New York Times has stated it will “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.” The Times added that their story was thoroughly and responsibly reported, based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails they accurately quoted in the article.
On that very day, I took the step to instigate a legal action against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, his company TAG, and Abel, in New York. As stated in the court records acquired by TopMob News, I’m accusing these defendants of sexual harassment, retaliation, failing to address, prevent, or rectify harassment, aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and false light invasion of privacy.
The details of these allegations were initially disclosed in the CRD complaint I submitted earlier that month. In response to this lawsuit, Baldoni and his associates filed a counterclaim against The New York Times – where I am not listed as a defendant. My legal team has issued a statement to TopMob, clarifying that “the content of this lawsuit does not alter the claims in my CRD and federal complaints.”
“The basis for this Wayfarer lawsuit is founded on the patently false assumption that my administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ruse intended to avoid filing a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer, and that litigation was never my ultimate goal,” they continued. “As evidenced by the federal complaint filed by me today, this premise for the Wayfarer lawsuit is false.
In their lawsuit against The New York Times, Baldoni and his team have indicated that they have more legal actions planned. According to court documents, there are other parties involved who are causing harm, and they explicitly state that this will not be the only lawsuit they file. In a January 2 interview with NBC News, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman confirmed their intention to sue Lively as well.
The news about Baldoni and Lively hasn’t ended yet. For example, social media users have suggested that Reynolds may have teased Baldoni in his movie Deadpool & Wolverine through the character Nicepool.
Reynolds has not responded to these rumors publicly; however, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman expressed his opinion on the matter. “In my view,” Freedman stated during an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show (available on YouTube from Jan 7), “if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make jokes about Justin Baldoni. You treat the situation seriously. You file complaints, raise the issue, and follow due process. What you shouldn’t do is laugh it off and turn it into a joke.
In response to your lawsuit, Lively’s legal team asserts there have been further instances of hostile actions against her, rather than mere disagreements or hearsay exchanges. The litigation filed by Lively in the Southern District of New York alleges sexual harassment and retaliation, supported by substantial evidence. These alleged acts of unlawful astroturfing against Lively are retaliatory, as she stood up for herself and others on a film set. Since filing the lawsuit, her legal team claims there have been additional attempts to undermine Lively.
While the legal process unfolds, they urge everyone to recognize that sexual harassment and retaliation are unacceptable in any workplace or industry. A common tactic to deflect accusations of such misconduct is to shift blame onto the victim by implying they invited it, caused it, misunderstood the situation, or even lied. Another strategy is to switch the roles of offender and victim. These strategies serve to downplay and trivialize serious allegations of wrongdoing.
Lively’s legal team emphasizes that media statements do not constitute a defense against her claims and they will proceed with prosecuting them in court.
In response, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman told TopMob, “It is painfully ironic that Blake Lively is accusing Justin Baldoni of weaponizing the media when her own team orchestrated this vicious attack by sending the New York Times grossly edited documents prior to even filing the complaint.”
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2025-01-11 19:18