Blake Lively felt supported at the SXSW premiere of her upcoming movie, Another Simple Favor.
On Tuesday, March 11, the A Simple Favor actress, 37, posted a social media recap of her time in Austin, Texas, as her comedic-thriller sequel opened the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival over the weekend.
“Watching @asimplefavor opening night @sxsw felt like a rock concert. Thank you to the very best audience,” Lively began as the caption to a 20-photo Instagram carousel, which showed off some of her favorite red carpet moments.
She also gave the Lone Star State some credit, adding, “Texas turns it out.”
“Making this movie was already the gift, every element of it. To share it with you all and feel the love returned to us was the best feeling. Thank you for having us Austin,” Lively added.
The Gossip Girl alum ended her caption with a cheeky confirmation about her wardrobe for the special event: “And yes. It’s latex 👗😊.”
Another Simple Favor — which sees Lively and her costar Anna Kendrick reprise their A Simple Favor roles of Emily Nelson and Stephanie Smothers, respectively — is Lively’s first movie to premiere since her ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni began.
Lively and her It Ends With Us director-costar Baldoni, 41, are currently in the middle of a highly publicized legal battle. In December, Lively sued Baldoni, accusing him and others of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign, which he denies. Baldoni countersued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and their publicist in January, alleging defamation and extortion.
The SXSW premiere for Another Simple Favor was Lively’s first big movie event amid the legal drama. However, the Age of Adaline actress and Reynolds, 48, did attend Saturday Night Live‘s 50th anniversary special in February. Their situation was mocked on SNL during the March 1 episode after Reynolds briefly referenced it during SNL50.
“Blake felt a bit anxious about attending the SNL anniversary. She still thought it was the perfect opportunity to ease back into the spotlight,” a source told PEOPLE after SNL50 aired. “They had many friends attending, and as soon as they arrived, they received a warm welcome. It was a great event.”
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“Blake wouldn’t mind staying out of the spotlight for longer, but she has to get back to work with Anna Kendrick soon anyway,” the insider added, referring to the Another Simple Favor promotional tour. “She feels more ready now. She knows it will be a long year with continued drama, but she’s just trying to focus on the good things. Her family is everything to her.”
Another Simple Favor will be released on Amazon Prime Video on May 1.
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