Blake Lively is once again coming under fire for her alleged behavior.
Barbara Szeman, who worked as an assistant director on Lively’s 2018 movie “A Simple Favor,” posted cryptic comments on social media that appear to accuse the 37-year-old actress of being “cruel” on set.
The Instagram account @barbwiretv — which has since disappeared from the platform — posted a message to the movie’s director, Paul Feig, after it was revealed that the sequel, “Another Simple Favor,” would hit Prime Video in May.
Her alleged comments came after British actor Henry Golding, who stars opposite Lively in the thriller, shared a poster of the sequel.
The actor, 38, had shared a post from Feig, 62, and captioned it, “From my man crush @paulfeig, with love,” to which Szeman allegedly quickly chimed in, per Daily Mail on Friday.
“I worked with you on the first one. My experience with everyone was absolutely amazing, except for a certain someone who is the reason I quit being an AD. Guess who that person is…” she reportedly wrote in the comments section.
Szeman allegedly added to Golding, “I wish you all the best with this though!”
After several people responded to her statement, Szeman reportedly elaborated by writing, “Thanks for the kindness. I want to avoid attention around this but I will say she was cruel to many.”
“I know I cried my way home many nights because you try so hard to please someone who is never pleased and puts you down constantly.”
“I can’t believe it’s actually getting back at her. Karma is real,” Szeman reportedly added, which many assumed referred to Lively.
Szeman is listed on IMDb as fourth assistant director on “A Simple Favor,” which also stars Anna Kendrick.
On Wednesday, a Facebook account with the name Barbara Julianne posted: “Last time I leave a comment on an Instagram post.”
When someone commented on the post and asked, “What did you do?” Julianne replied with a YouTube link to Perez Hilton’s video about her Instagram comments.
She noted, “The video is about me.”
Julianne later wrote on the Facebook post, “Just didn’t want to be dragged into this whole thing to begin with lol.”
The Post has reached out to a rep for Lively.
“Another Simple Favor” is set to open the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, on March 7, amid Lively’s court battle with Justin Baldoni, her former “It Ends With Us” co-star and director.
The “Gossip Girl” alum has accused the “Jane the Virgin” star, 41, of sexual harassment and retaliation, which he has denied.
Feig, who also directed the sequel, has spoken out in support of Lively several times since her legal battle has come to light. He replied to one Instagram commenter under the movie’s poster, “Blake has been nothing but supportive and a dream to work with. She is the best and an amazing collaborator and I’m her biggest fan.”
In a January post, the creative teased that the sequel “is awesome, and Blake and Anna turn in amazing performances. I can’t wait for you all to see it.”
A source, meanwhile, told People that Kendrick, 39, is “not used to being caught up in any drama.”
“The comments on Instagram have upset her, especially the ones saying fans are now refusing to watch the movie because they don’t want to support Blake,” added the insider.
Kendrick and Lively play frenemies Stephanie and Emily in the “Simple Favor” films, with past rumors resurfacing that there was behind-the-scenes tension between the two.
A second source told People there “really is no drama or rift” between the stars.
“There is no feud,” a third insider added. “The film is in the early stages of planning what press will look like, and Blake and Anna will be doing some things together.”
Lively sued Baldoni for alleged sexual harassment. She also accused him of orchestrating a retaliatory public smear campaign against her.
In turn, Baldoni countersued Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, alleging defamation, extortion and more. Both stars have denied the other’s claims through their respective lawyers.
As part of his defense, the actor released never-before-seen text messages and a website outlining the timeline of events while filming the movie, claiming Lively took measures to gain control over the film.
In his legal documents, Baldoni also accused Lively of allegedly blowing the “It Ends With Us” budget by $430,000 on her wardrobe and skipping a meeting with the film’s intimacy coordinator.
Lively and Baldoni’s trial is set for March 2026.
Their respective legal teams met in court earlier this month for a pretrial conference, where the judge instructed all attorneys involved in the case to not make “extrajudicial statements” that could sway potential jurors.
The judge also threatened to move up the March 2026 trial if the drama between the Hollywood stars continues to be “litigated in the press.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
