Daily Times

LOS ANGELES:Reese Witherspoon is allegedly ‘furious’ with long-time best friend Nicole Kidman.

According to reports, the American actress is unhappy at her Aussie co-star’s failure to promote the HBO series in the run-up to its debut in February, claiming Nicole used too much her airtime to discuss her latest Hollywood hit, Lion.

An insider claims, “Reese is furious that Nicole hasn’t done more to support Big Little Lies. All she’s talked about in interviews is Lion. Had Reese known that Nicole would put the show so far on the backburner, she would have cast some random.”

In Australia, Big Little Lies’ debut outranked any HBO series broadcast on Foxtel in a launch week – more than doubling the audience that tuned in to see Game of Thrones’ first ever episode.

According to the publication, frosty relations between the pair manifested themselves at the Oscars last month. “You could cut the tension with a knife at the Oscars. Nicole was telling her people to keep Reese away from her,” claimed the source.

News of the pair being involved in “some tense arguments” during filming were also reported by the publication, which alleged that the Hollywood heavyweights may never work together again.

An insider claimed, “If the show doesn’t make any waves or get better ratings, it will probably mark the end of Reese and Nicole’s joint ventures.”

However, an Australian media representative says the story is completely incorrect. “Everyone is thrilled to the back teeth with Big Little Lies. They’re (Reese and Nicole) great friends, they love each other and they love the way each other works.”

Another source has denied claims that Nicole had not been promoting the show as much as fellow cast members, saying that the 49-year-old did a ‘shed load’ of publicity both in America and abroad.

The report comes just two months after she spoke about the actresses’ friendship in California. “We’re very, very close friends. We’re able to talk about everything,” she said.