Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon's 'Egos' Delaying Big Little Lies Season 2?

Are Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon's "egos" delaying Season 2 of "Big Little Lies"? That's the claim in one of this week's tabloids. Gossip Cop can set the record straight.

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According to Woman's Day Australia, the reason the second season of the HBO series won't be premiering in 2018 is because the two actresses have "vanity projects" they'd rather promote. A supposed source tells the magazine, "Both Nicole and Reese have put their personal projects first and say they don't have time in their schedules to promote 'Big Little Lies,' which has annoyed the lesser members of the cast and crew because there's a real fear they'll lose momentum with fans."

Kidman has been promoting her new movies Boy Erased and Destroyer, while Witherspoon has been hyping her new lifestyle book Whiskey in a Teacup. "Reese and Nicole are both proud of their work, but there's no denying they're vanity projects," says the magazine's supposed source. "Nicole is obviously angling for an Oscar and Reese is busy transforming herself into some kind of Southern lifestyle guru."

The questionable tipster goes on to say that neither actress seems concerned with "how much work everyone's put into 'Big Little Lies,'" while "the show's financial backers fear they can't schedule a release date until their two biggest stars are ready to go full steam ahead down the promotional trail." The seemingly phony source adds, "Crew members are complaining Nicole and Reese's egos are getting in the way of what should be a huge release. The way things are going, it won't be out until late next year – more than two years after the first series, which is pretty ridiculous when you think about it."

None of this is remotely accurate. This past January, HBO programming president Casey Bloys told The Hollywood Reporter that the second season of "Big Little Lies" wouldn't debut this year. "They start shooting in the spring. It's not going to air in 2018," he told the publication. The second season began filming in March and wrapped in August. Post-production typically takes a full year, so the show will likely premiere next spring or summer. The second season was never slated to premiere in 2018, and the HBO exec made that clear before shooting even began.

The magazine's premise also lacks logic. Both Boy Erased and Destroyer went into production long before Season 2 of "Big Little Lies," and Witherspoon had been working on her book beforehand as well. The actress's respective projects were always intended to be released before the second season of their HBO show. Meanwhile, both women are executive producers of "Big Little Lies" and have used their Instagram pages to post behind-the-scenes photos from the set of Season 2,. They're clearly excited about the project.

Additionally, Woman's Day Australia is the same tabloid that has made up multiple stories about Kidman and Witherspoon feuding on the set of the HBO series. In reality, the two actresses are close friends. This latest article about the show being delayed is equally false.

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