In case you haven’t been paying attention the internet has erupted in recent weeks with juicy stories of a feud between the co-stars of A Simple Favor film franchise, Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick. Now both on tour for the global premieres of the sequel, Another Simple Favor, it didn’t take too long for the gossip mongers to swarm and churn up rumours of some serious girl-on-girl drama.
By the time Kendrick muttered, “Oh, you know,” in response to a red carpet question about working with Lively, the internet was already in meltdown. That’s all it took – three tiny words, barely audible, casually tossed off – to reignite rumours of a feud between the two actors. TikToks were made. Body language was dissected. The fan comments came fast: She’s so done with Blake. It’s giving fake friend.
But were they publicly at war? Absolutely not. But when two high-profile women stand next to each other and don’t immediately behave like gushing BFFs on a hen’s night, internet sleuths lose their collective minds.
While it’s true we love a good Hollywood feud, this story is just hitting repeat on a tired old narrative about ambitious and magnetic women who just may be potentially different enough to clash. And when one is embroiled in her own ongoing legal saga, the stars have aligned perfectly for some ferocious frenemy allegations.
The truth is the world is still addicted to the Mean Girl trope, and feminism can’t seem to kick it to the kerb.
The Birth of a Rumour
Rumours of tension between Kendrick and Lively go back to the 2018 press tour for A Simple Favor. Back then, their onscreen chemistry – all razor-sharp one-liners and biting bickering – spilled into real-life interviews, where teasing jabs were read as real dislike. It became a thing. And even when they called it a joke, fans didn’t let it go. That ambiguity gave birth to a mini-industry of internet speculation.
Even Kendrick, who is known for her rapid-fire sarcastic wit, was misjudged with her flippant red carpet interview. And when asked again about reuniting with Lively, she gave the verbal equivalent of a shrug. To some, her silence read as exhausted indifference. To others, it was shade with a twist – a refusal to play the bestie-for-the-press game.
But why are we still asking women to perform closeness as proof of harmony? Why is professional civility between two working women no longer enough?
Not Everything Is a Feud
Let’s be clear: Blake Lively has done everything short of skywriting to dispel the drama. She posted sweet captions calling Kendrick and director Paul Feig “the dream.” She shared videos of them smiling, laughing, linking arms in couture. She posed for photos with Kendrick while being trailed by her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and a parade of famous friends. Feig has also loudly declared the allegations as totally false. And still, the rumours rage.
When every awkward silence on the red carpet is put forward as evidence of conflict and every online reaction is incendiary, the pair have little room to move. No-one is considering that they are two women doing their job, promoting a film, and trying to weather the digital swarm that now accompanies every facial expression.
The Problem With the “Frenemy” Fantasy
The uncomfortable truth is this: we don’t really care if Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively are feuding. We care that we want them to be.
The endless speculation about the megastars isn’t just gossip. It’s a symptom. Our cultural wiring is still set to pit women against each other – in politics, in Hollywood, in our group chats. It’s an old script with new hashtags, and it thrives online.
The world has been trained to see female relationships as high-stakes soap operas. If two women aren’t visibly in love with each other, we assume something must be wrong.
It’s a narrative trap. And it’s one we’re still falling into, even in 2025. If that feels unsatisfying, maybe the problem isn’t Hollywood. Maybe it’s us.
Related articles:
- Female Feuds Sell, But What Does That Say About Us?
- The Toxic Truth To Our Treatment Of Female Celebrities
- The Female Rivalry Complex & Why It Continues
