Justin Baldoni’s legal team has responded to Ryan Reynolds’ controversial SNL joke
Producer Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni remain locked in a legal battle, filing lawsuits against each other after working together on It Ends With Us.
The Colleen Hoover adaptation, also co-starring the pair, has caused controversy since its release - receiving criticism for its "tone deaf" media approach and the lack of conversation around domestic abuse, with Lively in particular coming under fire.
Lively, 37, later took legal action in December 2024, accusing Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment and for allegedly coordinating a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni, who has denied the allegations, went on to file a $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Lively's publicist, Leslie Sloane - suing the trio for defamation.
This week, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds made their first public appearance since the ongoing legal drama, attending the Saturday Night Live (SNL) 50th anniversary special together.
Reynolds even featured in one segment of the live broadcast. And in a surprise move, he appeared to make a quip at the ongoing legal situation during a skit with hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
"Ryan Reynolds, how's it going?", asked Poehler, to which the actor replied: "Why? What have you heard?", with Lively looking shocked before laughing along.
While the joke prompted laughter from the audience, it proved controversial online, with the internet unimpressed with Reynolds making light of a serious legal case.
And in the days that followed, Justin Baldoni's legal team has officially responded.
"I’m unaware of anybody, frankly, whose wife has been sexually harassed and has made jokes about that type of situation," Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman explained during a recent appearance on Hot Mics with Bill Bush. "I can’t think of anyone who’s done anything like that. So it surprised me."
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have not publicly responded.
We will continue to update this story.
