Another Simple Favor director defends “amazing” Blake Lively amid Justin Baldoni controversy

A Simple Favor 2 director Paul Feig has gone to bat for the film’s star Blake Lively, calling her “a dream to work with” as the Justin Baldoni controversy rumbles on.

A Simple Favor was one of the sleeper hits of 2018, with Paul Feig directing Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in a black comedy that turned into an even darker crime thriller.

The trio have reunited for a sequel – titled Another Simple Favor – that debuts at the SXSW film festival in March, before dropping on Prime Video on May 1, 2025.

But due to fallout from the war of words between It Ends With Us stars Lively and Justin Baldoni (requests for a gag order have since been denied), Feig has felt the need to defend his star on social media.

Paul Feig calls Blake Lively ” the best” in supportive post

Prime Video

Part of the It Ends With Us controversy revolved around who wrote certain scenes, and how much involvement Blake Lively had in the edit of a movie that Justin Baldoni directed.

When Paul Feig announced Another Simple Favor’s release date, someone responded to the post by asking: “Is it Paul Feig’s cut or Blake’s cut?” to which Feig answered with the following statement:

“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.”

This isn’t the first time Feig has taken to social media to stick up for his collaborator and friend. In December, when The New York Times posted an article about the controversy titled ‘Inside the Hollywood Smear Machine,’ Feig reposted the story with his own take.

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. She truly did not deserve any of this smear campaign against her. I think it’s awful she was put through this. https://t.co/K3vcWN3VfN

— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) December 23, 2024

“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,” writes Feig. “She truly did not deserve any of this smear campaign against her. I think it’s awful she was put through this.”

Another Simple Favor premieres in Austin on March 7, 2025, before that May 1 launch on Prime Video.

For more It Ends With Us drama, here’s how Taylor Swift became involved, plus details of some surprising Ryan Reynolds texts.