Cate Blanchett is in mourning. Following the death of friend Philip Seymour Hoffman, the 44-year-old actress canceled two TV appearances on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Blanchett was scheduled to appear on Good Morning America and Live! With Kelly and Michael to promote her new film, The Monuments Men. Her rep explained in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that the appearances were canceled "to allow Cate the time and privacy to grieve for the loss of her friend Philip Seymour Hoffman."
The Blue Jasmine star, widely considered a frontrunner for a 2014 Best Actress Oscar, was spotted visiting the New York City apartment of Hoffman's longtime partner Mimi O'Donnell on Feb. 3. Dressed all in black, Blanchett arrived carrying a boxed telescope and a bag of what appeared to be toys. Blanchett starred alongside Hoffman in the 1999 thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley.
The 46-year-old Oscar-winning actor was found dead from an apparent heroin overdose on Feb. 2. He is survived by O'Donnell and their three children: Cooper, 10, Tallulah, 7, and Willa, 5.
Blanchett did make a public appearance at the premiere of The Monuments Men in NYC on Feb. 4. On the red carpet, her costar George Clooney shared his thoughts to Us Weekly's on Hoffman's death.
"Phil was a good friend to a lot of us and it's very difficult to be here 48 hours in this town after he died," he told Us. "We miss him."
In addition to coping with the loss of her friend this week, Blanchett was also called out in a Feb. 1 open letter by Dylan Farrow, who claimed she was sexually abused at the age of seven by her father, Blue Jasmine director Woody Allen. "What if it had been your child, Cate Blanchett?" Farrow, 28, asked. Without responding directly to Allen's daughter, Blanchett commented to the Guardian UK on Feb. 2: "It's obviously been a long and painful situation for the family. I hope they find some resolution and peace."
