File this one under the “life not imitating art†category: It has been widely rumored that Good Wife actresses Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi have had a years-long, hush-hush feud behind the scenes of their hit CBS drama. But that’s all bogus, according to Margulies, who used an appearance at the New Yorker Festival on Sunday to finally dismiss any hostility between the two Emmy-winning actresses.
“Right, I’ve heard about [the feud]. Who says that? It’s totally gossip,†Margulies said. “I heard that question had been asked to Robert King. There’s no story there, sorry … I actually had heard [that rumor] and I feel that it has been talked about and answered. I feel people just like to have gossip or make something into something that isn’t there. There’s no animosity on my part. It’s a shame, because I wonder if it was two men, when one finds out that he fucked his best friend’s wife, if it would get that same attention, you know what I mean?â€
The purported enmity had gained traction every year the two didn’t share a scene — and to add fuel to the fire, their characters, Alicia Florrick and Kalinda Sharma, had a fiery falling out when it was revealed Kalinda had a one-night stand with Alicia’s disgraced politician of a husband — but the drama reached new heights thanks to the show’s season-six finale in May. After airing, it was quickly revealed the two actresses didn’t shoot their onscreen reunion together, but instead used a split screen to capture the bittersweet moments (it was Panjabi’s last episode).Â
Despite fans and critics widely panning the use of the split screen for Alicia and Kalinda’s farewell, with many noting the awkward body language and general disconnectedness between the two, Margulies defended the scene, as well as its technical direction. “It was shot the way Robert wanted to shoot it, and the story line, too,†she said. “You also have to remember, there’s difficulty … [Panjabi] was also doing another show, called The Fall. I went along with whatever Robert asked me to do and I did it happily.â€
Update: After seeing this post, Panjabi took to Twitter:
So, nope, clearly no feuding going on there.