Blake Lively Returns to the Red Carpet for ‘Another Simple Favor’ Premiere at SXSW
Amid ongoing legal drama over , is moving on with her next project.
The star walked the red carpet at the 2025 SXSW premiere of in Austin, Texas on Friday, appearing alongside co-stars , Henry Golding, Michele Morrone, Bashir Salahuddin, Alex Newell and Andrew Rannells, as well as director .
Even before Lively arrived, though, there were reminders of her dispute with It Ends With Us director and co-star . A protester in front of the theater carried a sign that said, “Justice for Justin Baldoni. Blake lied.”
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Kendrick stopped talking to press and walked off of the red carpet after reporters asked about releasing the film amid the lawsuit.
Feig and Lively’s co-stars all arrived early, with the group and reporters waiting for the star.
Lively arrived around 5 p.m. local time, about 30 minutes after the carpet opened and took photos on the carpet as well as with fans lining the street and Morrone in front of the theater.
Lively did interviews with the SXSW house crew and Amazon Prime social team before heading inside, not speaking with other reporters on the carpet.
When asked about why he has wanted to be so supportive of Blake publicly, Feig told The Hollywood Reporter, “I love Blake. I love working with Anna; I love working with Blake, and that’s all I can say. She’s a great collaborator, and I just love working with her.”
Morrone, who plays Lively’s love interest, also backed her during his interviews, saying, “We have an incredible friendship, we’ve become such great friends. She’s an incredible artist; she’s a great actress and it was a blast.”
The appearance marks Lively’s first return to Hollywood life since December, when she initially accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and an attempt to destroy her reputation — though she and husband Ryan Reynolds made an appearance at the SNL 50 anniversary special in February. In the two-plus months since the initial complain, the Lively and Baldoni sides have launched into a full-scale legal battle, with the actress formally filing a lawsuit and Baldoni responding with a $400 million suit against Lively, Reynolds and Leslie Sloane — the actress’ public relations representative at Vision PR — alleging extortion, defamation and claims related to breach of contract, among several others.
Another Simple Favor, premiering as the opening night title of the SXSW festival, is a follow-up to 2018’s and sees Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Lively) heading to the island of Capri for the latter’s lavish wedding. Emily is set to marry a wealthy Italian businessman, with murder and betrayal finding their way onto the agenda. Though the first film was released in theaters, the sequel will only be available on streaming, and is set to debut May 1 on Prime Video.
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