Fans are going wild over a viral clip of Aubrey Plaza and Margaret Qualley at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
Last Friday, Plaza, 40, and Qualley, 30, attended the world premiere of their new film Honey Don’t! during the French festival.
It marked Plaza’s first red carpet appearance since her husband Jeff Baena tragically died by suicide in January at the age of 47.
And Qualley did her best to quell Plaza’s nerves as they braved photographers together at the glitzy event in France.
She even got a laugh out of Plaza as a now-viral clip from the premiere shows her playfully grabbing the star’s rear end on the red carpet.
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Fans are going wild over a viral clip of Aubrey Plaza and Margaret Qualley at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival
Last Friday, Plaza, 40, and Qualley, 30, attended the world premiere of their new film Honey Don’t! during the French festival
In the footage, the co-stars are seen posing side by side with their arms wrapped around one another for photos.
Next, Qualley begins to slowly move her hand down Plaza’s back until she reaches her bedazzled bottom.
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Aubrey Plaza makes first red carpet appearance since husband's Jeff Baena's tragic death
Once the photo op is over, both Qualley and Plaza burst into laughter before moving down the red carpet with the rest of the cast and crew of Honey Don’t!.
The hilarious moment quickly gained traction online, with fans jokingly calling Plaza and Qualley a ‘superb couple.’
While Plaza is believed to be single, Qualley is married to Taylor Swift’s longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff, 41.
Many celebrated Plaza and Qualley’s close friendship, with one fan writing: ‘I love the vibe with them’
However, some viewers were left outraged by the clip as they argued that the celebratory response to Qualley’s butt grab poses a ‘double standard.’
‘Imagine it was a man !!!! But a woman can !!!’ penned one angry Instagram user.
During the premiere, Qualley got a laugh out of Plaza as a now-viral clip from the premiere shows her playfully grabbing Plaza’s rear end on the red carpet
In the footage, the co-stars are seen posing side by side with their arms wrapped around one another for photos
Next, Qualley begins to slowly move her hand down Plaza’s back until she reaches her bedazzled bottom
At the same Cannes premiere, Qualley was also seen ‘comforting’ Plaza as she was captured rushing to her co-star’s side in a touching clip shared by Variety.
For her red carpet return, Plaza looked like the epitome of glamour in a see-through floor-length gown that featured a white strapless bodysuit underneath.
The dress shimmered with a number of beaded embellishments.
She accessorized with statement earrings and gold peep-toe heels.
The star’s brunette tresses were styled in loose curls.
Meanwhile Margaret wowed in an off-the shoulder cream gown with a black bow in the middle.
In Honey Don’t!, Qualley stars as Honey O’Donahue, a small-town private investigator who finds herself entangled in a web of strange deaths.
Plaza stars as a police officer working with O’Donahue.
The dark comedy film directed by Fargo’s Ethan Coen is set to hit theaters on August 22.
The hilarious moment quickly gained traction online, with fans jokingly calling Plaza and Qualley a ‘superb couple’
However, some viewers were left outraged by the clip as they argued that the celebratory response to Qualley’s butt grab poses a ‘double standard’
This is the first time fans will see Plaza back to work on the big screen, months after her husband’s shock suicide.
In March it was revealed that Aubrey had secretly split from Baena just four months before his shock suicide at 47.
An LA County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report obtained by DailyMail.com revealed that the filmmaker and actress had separated back in September of last year, and she had been living in New York at the time his body was discovered on January 3.
The report detailed how the Life After Beth director had been ‘experiencing marital difficulties’ in his final months, and how he had been in therapy.
An investigator noted in the documents that Plaza, whose name was redacted in the final report, said she had spoken with Baena the night before his death.
The report also tragically revealed that Plaza had been concerned for her estranged husband’s wellbeing.
‘In October 2024, Baena made concerning remarks to [Plaza] which prompted her to call a friend to perform a welfare check on her husband.’
‘Baena had been attending therapy since that event,’ the documents stated.
For her red carpet return, Plaza looked like the epitome of glamour in a see-through floor-length gown that featured a white strapless bodysuit underneath
It marked Plaza’s first red carpet appearance since her husband Jeff Baena tragically died by suicide in January at the age of 47
Qualley, 30, was notably seen rushing to Aubrey’s side, ‘comforting’ the actress as photos were taken in a touching video shared from the event
The medical examiner’s report also determined that Baena did not have drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death.
It stated that Plaza ‘knew her husband to be alive’ as of January 3 because he had sent her a text message that morning.
The report indicated that a dog walker discovered Baena’s body after hearing loud music emanating from his house, which she said was ‘unusual.’
After she called the writer and director and didn’t get an answer, she entered the home and discovered his body.
In a statement obtained by DailyMail.com, a representative for the Plaza said: ‘This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.’
Baena, who graduated with a film degree from New York University, got a strong start and on-the-ground education with major filmmakers when he worked as a production assistant for Robert Zemeckis and as an assistant editor for David O. Russell.
His big break came when he co-wrote Russell’s cult classic existential comedy I Heart Huckabees (2004).
A decade later, he graduated to directing with his debut, the 2014 romantic horror–comedy Life After Beth, which Plaza starred in.
They reunited for 2016’s Joshy and 2017’s The Little Hours, which Plaza also produced.
In March it was revealed that Aubrey had secretly split from Baena just four months before his shock suicide at 47; the couple seen in 2017
The couple began dating in 2011, and secretly married in 2020; seen in 2016 in LA
Baena also regularly collaborated with the actress Alison Brie, who appeared in The Little Hours and starred in and co-wrote his final two films, the psychological drama Horse Girl (2020) and the dark comedy thriller Spin Me Round (2022).
Plaza and Baena began dating in 2011, and in 20187 she told Page Six that the fact that they were mutually ‘obsessed’ with movies helped the two bond and led to their subsequent creative and romantic partnerships.
She confirmed in 2021 that they had quietly tied the knot a year earlier while promoting Spin Me Round, which she had a supporting role in, when she referred to Baena on Instagram as her ‘darling husband.’
Plaza has been making tentative steps to get back into the world after Baena’s devastating death.
The actress made her first public appearance since Baena’s death in February when she introduced musical guests Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard on Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special.
She made a subtle but moving tribute to her late husband by wearing a tie-dye shirt, a reference to one of his passions and their nuptials.