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Director Paul Feig is openly standing behind Blake Lively amid the ongoing online chatter about her legal battle with Justin Baldoni and rumors swirling around the making of the film Another Simple Favor. In a recent interview with Esquire, Feig praised Lively’s work ethic and professionalism while also addressing some of the misunderstandings people have about how movies actually get made.
Feig described Blake as an “amazing collaborator” and expressed his frustration that so many people don’t really understand the filmmaking process. He also took a jab at the online outrage culture, pointing out that a lot of the anger people show on social media is misplaced or uninformed.
“Outrage is honestly the most boring emotion these days,” Feig told Esquire. “It’s great when people get fired up about something important. But these days, people seem to get angry about everything. Like, seriously — is this what you’re upset about? There are way bigger problems in the world. If you’re going to be angry, go do something good with that energy and help make the world better.”
His comments come after months of speculation about Blake’s legal dispute with Justin Baldoni, who co-starred in and directed It Ends With Us, a film adaptation of the popular Colleen Hoover novel.
Back in December, Blake Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment during the filming of It Ends With Us. She also claimed that Baldoni started a smear campaign against her just before the film was released in August.
Following those allegations, Baldoni filed a lawsuit against The New York Times, Blake Lively, and her husband Ryan Reynolds. The case has attracted a lot of public and media attention, but many people in Hollywood have chosen to stay quiet about it. Not Paul Feig, though—he has consistently shown his support for Blake.
Feig has worked closely with Lively on both A Simple Favor movies, and he’s been very vocal about his respect for her. In December, he posted on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “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.”