Guy Pearce denies Twitter 'feud' with Cate Blanchett after now-deleted posts
Fans were left shocked at an apparent "beef" between Australian movie stars Guy Pearce and Cate Blanchett.
The pair are two of the biggest Hollywood stars from Down Under and hadn't previously took aim at each other - publicly at least.
But that seemingly changed when the LA Confidential star shared a number of negative tweets following Cate's Critics' Choice Awards win for her performance in Tar.
Fans were quick to call out his actions on the social media site, leading him to delete his words and follow it up with a statement to assure fans they pair weren't embroiled in a feud.
His first tweet appeared innocent enough after he openly sided with Ana De Armas for the award for what he called was an "incredible performance".
Heartbreaking death of Richard E Grant's wife and how he's struggled to move onWhile nothing seemed out of the ordinary in that interaction, Guy followed it up after Cate's win, sarcastically writing: "Fascinating choice...".
He followed it up by saying "Ah no thanks" after a post from a Cate Blanchett fan account that included images of the actress posing for a bondage-inspired photo shoot.
Fans quote tweeted his response, seemingly baffled by his "beef". On wrote: "Why does Guy Pearce have beef with Cate Blanchett lol," following by a crying emoji.
Another user asked: "Dying to know why Guy Pearce has such passive aggressive beef with Cate Blanchett."
And a third said: "Guy Pearce is in a one-sided feud with Cate Blanchett and the internet is confused."
However, after he deleted his words, Guy moved to deny any rift, writing: "Fear not. No beef at all. I was merely being sarcastic. I adore Miss CB. She's incredible... One of our best!"
However, some fans weren't buying his denial and decided to dig into the pair's past.
One found an article from 2008 in which Guy appeared to have an issue with Cate's salary. Referring to the comments, 9Honey said Guy was set to star in the Melbourne Theatre Company's production of Poor Boy at the time, but refused to take on the same role for the Sydney Theatre Company.
He reportedly said he would only do it if the actress, who was at the helm of the STC at the time, offered him the same wage as she received.