Comedian calls Blake Lively the C-word in awkwardly timed Netflix special amid Justin Baldoni lawsuit
A comedian’s ill-timed joke about Blake Lively is raising some eyebrows in the midst of the actress' legal battle with her It Ends With Us co-star, Justin Baldoni.
Hannah Berner may have some angered fans after she went after Lively in the midst of her legal battle against Baldoni, which has seen her claim the director made the work environment on set difficult to be in, amongst many other allegations.
The comedian had been shooting the Netflix special Torching 2024: A Roast of the Year when she made her joke, which came to the platform on Friday, 27 December, shortly after the lawsuit came to light around a week ago.
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After It Ends with Us was released to theatres in August of this year, Lively saw her reputation plummet as fans took aim at her on social media for her portrayal of the film, as well as resurfaced clips of her appearing to be rude to interviewers.
The press tour saw her refer to her character, Lily Bloom, as ‘more’ than a domestic violence survivor, and at one point, she told her female viewers to grab their besties and ‘florals’ and go and watch the flick.
In comparison, Baldoni - the film's director, who also played a domestically violent character in the film - focused on what it means to survive domestic violence during his interviews, particularly raising awareness about women’s safety.
This contrast brought a lot of negativities to Lively and her outlook on the meaning behind the story.
So, Berner's joke has clearly come at a bad time - even though it was clear it was filmed before the whole lawsuit came to light.
Her joke said: “The word c**t was trending this year. I don’t think Blake Lively was that bad.”
Berner has since addressed the timing of the joke in her special, sharing on her Instagram Story: "My joke in the Netflix roast was filmed before the news of the lawsuit. To be 100 percent clear, I support Blake xoxo."
The suit filed by Lively alleged that Baldoni sexually harassed her, as well as supposedly starting a ‘smear campaign’ in an attempt to 'destroy' her reputation after what she claimed is a feud borne out of alleged poor on set behaviour from her co-star.
Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, told Page Six that Lively’s complaint was ‘another desperate attempt to 'fix' her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions.’
In the suit, Lively revealed private texts between Baldoni’s publicists, which saw them allegedly attempt to use social media to 'bury' her.
Freedman also claimed that Lively used her publicist to plant negative stories about Baldoni.
The lawyer said: "There were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals."
He also alleged the sexual harassment claims were "categorically false."
However, many have since sided with Lively and Baldoni was dropped by his talent agency within hours of the filing.
LADbible previously reached out to Netflix and Lively and Baldoni's reps for comment.
Topics: Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively, Celebrity, Netflix
Britt Jones