Anna Kendrick Avoids Question on Blake Lively’s Lawsuit—Is She Keeping Her Distance?

Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively’s on-screen chemistry has been a twisted treat since 2018’s A Simple Favor, but off-screen, Kendrick’s playing a different game: dodging questions about Lively’s messy legal clash with Justin Baldoni like it’s an Olympic sport. As Another Simple Favor hit SXSW on March 7, 2025, just shy of the current date of March 18, Lively’s December 2024 sexual harassment complaint against her It Ends With Us co-star and director—and his countersuit for defamation—cast a shadow. So, what does Kendrick think? She’s not telling, and her artful sidesteps are stealing the show.

The Lively-Baldoni saga is a doozy. Lively’s filing with California’s Civil Rights Department alleges inappropriate behavior on set; Baldoni’s denial and countersuit, set for a March 2026 showdown in New York, claim extortion and defamation, per Variety’s timeline. It’s a PR wildfire, singeing Lively’s image as Another Simple Favor—their sequel shot in 2024—gears up. Kendrick, who’s navigated rumored tension with Lively since their first film (think 2021 TikTok whispers of “hating each other,” shot down by director Paul Feig as “total BS” in The Independent), isn’t biting the bait this time either.

At SXSW, Variety lobbed a softball: “How does it feel like the movie is being impacted by everything going on in the world?” Kendrick’s reply was a masterclass in deflection: “Why? What happened? I did Ayahuasca and the last year of my life has just gone, but I’ve heard the movie is amazing.” She grinned, walked off, and left the internet buzzing—fans on X dubbed it “Oscar-winning evasion,” per SheKnows. No shade, no support—just a dodge that kept her clean of the fray. Compare that to Colleen Hoover, It Ends With Us’ author, who’s all in for Lively with Instagram love: “@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive.” Kendrick? Silent as a mime.

Speculation’s rife, though. Daily Mail hinted Kendrick’s “upset” the lawsuit’s hogging their sequel’s spotlight, but no quote backs it up. Instagram fans griped—some swore off the film over Lively’s drama—reportedly irking Kendrick, per People. Yet insiders paint a calmer picture: “Anna is not used to being caught up in any drama,” one told People, with another adding, “There really is no drama or rift between Anna and Blake.” Feig’s red-carpet quip to a YouTuber—“Um … you’re wrong”—doubles down: the feud’s a ghost, and Kendrick’s not stoking it.

Her history with Lively’s a mixed bag—2018 promo for A Simple Favor was all laughs, but resurfaced clips (Mirror Online) and a 2021 Lionsgate rumor of photoshopped posters hinted at frost. By October 2024, Kendrick told People it was “lovely” to reunite, their “weird chemistry” a bike worth riding again. Now, with Lively’s legal heat simmering, Kendrick’s coy “Oh, you know” at SXSW (HuffPost) and Ayahuasca quip suggest she’s sidestepping not just tension but entanglement. Lively’s gushing “It’s the best!” (Today.com) contrasts, but their Q&A giggles show the work’s the focus.

Kendrick’s stance? Less is more. She’s not wading into Lively’s fight—smart, given the sequel’s stakes and her own clean slate. “She’s keeping it about the movie,” a source might as well say. In a Hollywood quick to pick sides, Kendrick’s neutrality is her loudest statement—letting the screen, not the courtroom, do the talking.