Blake Lively was accused of beefing up the crowd at the South By Southwest Film Festival premiere of her new film Another Simple Favor over the weekend.
The 37-year-old actress — who was greeted on Friday by the sight of an incensed female fan bearing a sign reading, 'Justice for Justin Baldoni. Blake lied' — was seen posing for a selfie with Laurie Feig, the wife of Another Simple Favor director Paul Feig.
Some of the star's most overzealous critics became convinced based on photos of the selfie that Laurie Feig 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 who has been critical of Lively, who is wrapped up in dueling lawsuits with her It Ends With Us costar and director Baldoni.
'Watch how many PR bots reply that “this is normal”, “internalized misogyny”, and “why do you care”?' the poster — whose claims about bad blood between Lively and her costar Anna Kendrick were shut down by Feig — added.
However, the post appears to be the result of some embarrassing misapprehensions related to the geography of the SXSW premiere.
One photo shows Blake leaning against a railing to pose for a selfie, while Feig's wife is behind the barrier, as if she is just part of the crowd separated from Lively.
But behind the filmmaker's wife is a yellow SXSW backdrop of the red carpet — which her husband and the actors walked.
Rather than being 'in the crowd waiting for Blake on the red carpet,' it was Feig who was in the area leading up to the red carpet, while the Gossip Girl star appeared to have left the red carpet area to go chat with fans and sign memorabilia.
Other photos from the event confirm as much, as Blake had put her translucent pink jacket on when she met with fans, who appeared to be corralled on the other side of the street that she was standing on, opposite from the VIP area where Feig was standing.
Feig's place in a selfie was also used as evidence that she was 'pretending to be a fan,' but it wasn't her or Blake who snapped the photo.
Instead, it was a man with a badge indicating that he was a festival attendee who took the photo, and it's unclear if Feig had anything to do with the photo, or if he was just trying to snap a photo of a nearby A-list actress.
Other photos show the man posing for photos while Blake talks to Laurie in the background without paying him any attention.
When Blake does turn toward him for a photo, Feig continues to face her, as if she was interrupted mid-conversation by the fan.
The same YouTuber was roasted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday after calling out Lively for doing a 'costume change' on the red carpet.
'Is she serious? The delusion and narcissism is egregious. No one else did this,' the poster claimed, adding: 'I know Anna Kendrick is soooo tired.'
However, commenters were quick to let her know that Blake had simply removed her jacket on the red carpet, rather than changing her outfit, though the original poster continued to defend herself relentlessly in the replies.
The outfit likely felt like a portable sauna, as the actress wore what appeared to be a vinyl dress and covered up with a latex coat — neither of which would have been particularly breathable.
Last month, Lively unleashed a new salvo in her ongoing legal back-and-forth with Justin Baldoni by claiming that she was not the only woman he made uncomfortable on the set of It Ends With Us.
An amended version of her complaint filed late in New York federal court alleged that she has corroboration of her original claims, and a spokesperson for the 37-year old actress claimed that 'other women confided in Blake about their discomfort,' according to People.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Balondi's attorney Bryan Freedman said: 'Our clients have been transparent in providing receipts, real time documents and video showing a completely different story than what has been manipulated and cherry picked to the media. Our clients have taken this matter and these issues very seriously notwithstanding the jokes made publicly by the plaintiff and her husband.
'Her underwhelming amended complaint is filled with unsubstantial hearsay of unnamed persons who are clearly no longer willing to come forward or publicly support her claims,' he continued. 'Since documents do not lie and people do, the upcoming depositions of those who initially supported Ms. Lively’s false claims and those who are witnesses to her own behavior will be enlightening. What is truly uncomfortable here is Ms. Lively’s lack of actual evidence.'
Lively previously filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in December against Baldoni, who costarred in and directed her hit romantic drama It Ends With Us.
Baldoni followed up by launching a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, her publicist and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
He also filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against the New York Times for its reporting on Lively's allegations.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Lively's attorneys Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb said the amended complaint 'provides significant additional evidence and corroboration of her original claims.'
They added that it 'includes previously undisclosed communications' Lively had with Sony Pictures, Baldoni's production company Wayfarer Studios and 'numerous other witnesses.'
The new version of the complaint reportedly includes an added defamation claim against Baldoni that was not part of the initial document, which was filed on New Year's Eve.
According to Hudson and Gottlieb, Lively is suing for defamation 'based on the repeated false statements the defendants have made about Ms. Lively since she filed her original complaint...'
She has also expanded her complaint to add Jed Wallace and his Texas-based crisis PR firm Street Relations, Inc., as a defendant.
Wallace, who has denied playing any part in a smear campaign against the Gossip Girl star, previously filed a $7 million lawsuit against her in response to Lively's allegation in her initial complaint that his firm 'weaponized a digital army' against her on behalf of Baldoni.
She had requested Wallace be deposed in her initial complaint, though he revealed in his subsequent lawsuit earlier in February that the request had been rescinded.
Lively's new filing alleges that others on the set of It Ends With Us can corroborate her claims.
It claims that Baldoni and his co-defendants' 'false narrative crumbles under the indisputable truth' that the actress 'was not alone in complaining about Mr. Baldoni...'
The filing also tries to establish that she 'raised her concerns contemporaneously as they arose in 2023, not in connection with some imagined power play for control of the film in 2024.'
According to a spokesperson for Lively, the amended filing 'details the corroboration that backs up Blake’s original sexual harassment and retaliation concerns.'
They allege that the document proves that 'other women confided in Blake about their discomfort and fear of coming forward, and their concern about the current public vitriol.'
Despite the escalating legal battle between the two parties, there's no end in sight for Lively or Baldoni.
In January, a judge scheduled a trial date for their lawsuits in March of 2026, and both parties have already decided to skip any attempt at mediation.
Lively and Reynolds recently made light of the situation when they returned to the spotlight at the SNL50 anniversary special last month.
In one segment featuring questions from the star-studded audience, Reynolds alluded to the dueling lawsuits.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler set off the exchange by calling on it and asking, 'How's it going?'
'Great. Why, what have you heard?' the Deadpool star responded nervously while clasping his hands together.
Lively then looked up at him with a painfully over-the-top expression of concern, before relaxing into her normal smile.
Insiders later told DailyMail.com that some attendees of the SNL anniversary special were 'apprehensive' about chatting with the A-list couple.
‘Some producers were concerned that the show was being used to “endorse” Blake and Ryan because they seem desperate to prove that they’re still in with the Hollywood crowd,’ the insider continued.
‘Their team worked with SNL to create the joke but the truth is, people there weren’t really feeling it. To many it felt like cheap damage control. But it was included as the network knew the appearance would grab ratings and make headlines.'
They continued: 'Some people thought it was weird that they were so eager to crack jokes about it because the accusations are serious. It felt like Ryan was desperate to stick with the funny guy act which was almost at the expense of Blake. She seemed on edge backstage.'
Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman later slammed the joke, despite the fact that it never explicitly referenced the Jane The Virgin actor.
'I’m unaware of anybody, frankly, whose wife has been sexually harassed and has made jokes about that type of situation,' he said on an appearance on Hot Mics with Billy Bush.
'I can’t think of anyone who’s done anything like that. So it surprised me.'
Earlier in February, Lively's legal team sent subpoenas to the cell carriers to produce 'receipts for her legal battle against Baldoni.
'Ms. Lively has initiated discovery that will expose the people, tactics, and methods that have worked to "destroy" and "bury" her reputation and family over the past year,' her attorneys Hudson and Gottlieb told Deadline.
'We will now receive all of the “receipts” that, unsurprisingly, are nowhere to be found on Mr. Freedman’s website, and like Ms. Lively, those "receipts" will have their day in court,' they added, referencing Freedman's allegation that Baldoni's team had 'receipts' backing up his claim that Lively had been a bully on the set of It Ends With Us.
Baldoni's legal team later said the subpoenas went 'flagrantly overboard' in a letter to US District Judge Lewis J. Liman.
'If they have so many receipts why are they so afraid to produce them,' Lively's attorneys responded in a statement to People.
