Guy Pearce appears to take savage dig at Cate Blanchett in ‘joke’ tweets

Fans are convinced of a secret rivalry between Aussie stars Guy Pearce and Cate Blanchett after curious tweets began to circulate this week.

Are two of Australia’s biggest stars locked in a secret feud?

An unlikely celebrity clash has left fans confused this week, after Guy Pearce appeared to sledge Oscar nominee and fellow Aussie star Cate Blanchett in a series of feisty tweets.

But while Geelong-raised Pearce assured followers he was merely making a “sarcastic” joke about his industry peer, reports of past tensions between him and Blanchett may suggest otherwise.

The actor has since deleted his initial tweets about Blanchett, adding fuel to the fire.

Guy Pearce confused fans over bizarre behaviour on Twitter. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty

… But he assures followers he ‘adores’ Blanchett. Picture: John Sciulli/Getty Images

It all kicked off after Blanchett won Best Actress for her performance in Tár at the Critics’ Choice Awards earlier this month, with Pearce declaring her win a “fascinating choice”.

He had earlier thrown his support behind Ana De Armas over the Aussie star for the Best Actress accolade this awards season, for a different gong.

Retweeting a post by Twitter account Celebrity Film Awards that announced the nominees for Best Actress: Blanchett, Ana De Armas, Michelle Williams and Margot Robbie, Pearce wrote, “Please be Ana De Armas! Incredible performance!”

But his curious behaviour didn’t stop there.

Retweeting a post from a Cate Blanchett fan account including images of the actress in a bondage-inspired photo shoot, he wrote: “Ah, no thanks.”

The potshots prompted confusion from followers.

“Dying to know why Guy Pearce has such passive aggressive beef with Cate Blanchett,” one Twitter user wrote.

“Why does Guy Pearce have beef with Cate Blanchett?” another said along with screenshots of the tweets.

Dying to know why Guy Pearce has such passive aggressive beef with Cate Blanchett pic.twitter.com/QcILIopg0W

— Krista (@KristaCoffin) January 22, 2023

Why does Guy Pearce have beef with Cate Blanchett lol 😭 pic.twitter.com/uSEiQ55n0g

— Chris🏳️‍🌈 (@Proofpoochie) January 22, 2023

After deleting the evidence, Pearce responded: “Fear not. No beef at all. I was merely being sarcastic. I adore Miss CB. She’s incredible … One of our best!”

Perplexed by the backflip, social media sleuths unearthed evidence that it’s not the first time Pearce has taken a “passive aggressive” swipe at Blanchett.

In an interview published by The Age in 2008, reports 9Honey, Pearce alluded to a salary gripe with the Elizabeth star in her role as the head of the Sydney Theatre Company.

Pearce was due to appear in a production of Poor Boy as a part of a joint project between the Sydney Theatre Company and the Melbourne Theatre Company.

When asked whether he would fulfil the role in Sydney, Pearce told The Age: “I’d certainly do it if I didn’t have any other projects coming forward but it’s way too early to tell.

“If I’m not at home I might as well be doing something like a movie that pays a decent amount. I mean it would be hard to say: ‘Sorry, I don’t want to do your movie because I want to work for nothing in Sydney for another three months.’”

He added: “Ms Blanchett’s fantastic, absolutely, but I’ve got to make a living.

“Unless she wants to pay me what she earns. If she does it’ll be the most the STC ever paid an actor, I guarantee.”