Keira Knightley's industry friends leap to her defence

It all started when director John Carney called out Keira Knightley for her alleged diva antics.

"Keira has an entourage that follow her everywhere so it’s very hard to get any real work done," he told The Independent.

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Carney worked alongside the actress when for the 2013 music film, Begin Again, which also starred Adam Levine.

"As much as I tried to make it work I think that she didn’t quite come out as a guitar-playing singer-songwriter. I learned that I’ll never make a film with supermodels again."

He added: "I don’t want to rubbish Keira, but you know it’s hard being a film actor and it requires a certain level of honesty and self-analysis that I don’t think she’s ready for yet and I certainly don’t think she was ready for on that film."

Ouch.

It didn't take long before Keira's esteemed peers, including directors Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go), Lorene Scafaria (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World) and Lynn Shelton (Laggies) and Massy Tadjedin (Last Night) rubbished Carney's claims.

"My experience with #keiraknightley was utterly spectacular on every level. I have no clue what this guy is talking about," tweeted Romanek.

Scafaria echoed his sentiments: "Keira was a joy to work w/ (with). Present & easy & really, really good at her job. Just lovely."

Lynn Shelton also waded in on the action: "Working with #KeiraKnightley was magnificent, top to bottom. She is the real deal. #Knightleylove."

Boom.

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