NEWSBlake Lively's 'A Simple Favor' Assistant Director Hints Star Was 'Cruel to Many' and 'Put Her Down' Constantly
Blake Lively starred in 'A Simple Favor' in 2016.
Blake Lively allegedly caused a former assistant director to quit her job after her "cruel" behavior on set.
Barbara Szeman, who worked on Lively's film A Simple Favor, implied the Gossip Girl star put her down "constantly" in a series of social media posts.
Blake Lively is in a heated court battle against Justin Baldoni.
The back-and-forth began when Szeman commented on actor Henry Golding's Instagram update promoting the sequel, Another Simple Favor, which is set to premiere later this year.
"I worked with you on the first one," she wrote. "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… I wish you all the best with this though!"
Szeman, who also got the job as an assistant director on Suicide Squad (2016) and Flatliners (2017), has previously worked as a producer, an actress and an on-set health and safety administrator, according to her IMDb.
Anna Kendrick costarred with Blake Lively on 'A Simple Favor.'
Szeman eventually deleted the comment after it quickly sparked rumors she'd been talking about Lively, who is currently embroiled in a legal battle against It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni.
"Thanks for the kindness. I wanted to avoid attention around this but I will say she was cruel to many," the assistant director said in another comment. "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."
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Barbara Szeman also worked as assistant director on 'Suicide Squad' (2016) and 'Flatliners' (2017).
This comes as Lively and Baldoni's court battles continue to intensify. As OK! previously reported, the actress filed a bombshell lawsuit against Baldoni in December 2024, accusing him of harassment on set and attempting to "destroy" her career with a smear campaign.
The following month, Baldoni and his production company hit back with a $400 million countersuit against Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane and Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation, civil extortion, false light invasion of privacy and more.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds were both named in Justin Baldoni's lawsuit.
"Had Lively chosen to merely ride out the self-inflicted press catastrophe she faced in August 2024, the public would likely have moved on and never known the truth about her," the lawsuit claimed. "They would have never known that she deliberately and systematically robbed Plaintiffs Justin Baldoni ('Baldoni') and Wayfarer Studios, LLC ('Wayfarer') of their movie."
