Justin Baldoni’s lawyer has hit out at Ryan Reynolds' SNL joke about the ongoing legal situation involving his wife Blake Lively.
The joke may have seemed harmless, but a legal expert has since warned that it may have an effect on the case at large.
In December 2024, Lively issued a civil complaint against her It Ends With us co-star accusing him of sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign against her.
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In response, Baldoni has sued her right back, including Reynolds, in a bumper lawsuit worth over $400 million - with both actor's legal teams denying the accusations presented in both complaints.
The bizarre situation continues to play out in the media, however, despite the court assigned to the case specifically warning lawyers for both sides against litigating the matter in the press.
However, when appearing at the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live, Reynolds seemingly made a joke about the ongoing legal situation.
In a question and answer segment set up by SNL alumni Tina Fey and Amy Poehler with the uber-famous crowd of the show, the pair called on the Deadpool star in the crowd, with Fey asking ‘how's it going?’
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Reynolds responded jokingly saying: “Great, why? What have you heard?”
The actor is mentioned at various points throughout Baldoni’s lawsuit, claiming the Marvel actor influenced agents at WME to 'drop' him and called him a ‘sexual predator’.
Baldoni’s lawyer has since broken his silence on the situation, speaking recently on the Hot Mics With Billy Bush podcast.
Bryan Freedman, the man behind Baldoni’s legal defence, said of the joke: “I'm unaware of anybody, frankly, whose wife has been sexually harassed and has made jokes about that type of situation. I can't think of anyone who's done anything like that. "So it surprised me.”
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Jesse Webber, a host for the Law and Crime Network, also said that he felt the joke could be ‘used against’ Reynolds and Lively in the upcoming case.
He said (via Access Hollywood): “First of all I don’t know if that’s ever gonna come into evidence, the court may say that’s not relevant enough to this case.
“Having said that, Justin Baldoni’s team could potentially use that clip to suggest neither Ryan Reynolds nor Blake Lively are taking this case seriously."
He further suggested Baldoni could say that Lively has 'filed very serious allegations against me, basically saying that I'm a sexual harasser, that I retaliated against her and yet they come out and make jokes about it?'
He went on to add it could look ‘tone deaf’, but also suggested it could be the pair hoping to put across that they are leaving things to the lawyers.
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LADbible Group have reached out to representatives for Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and Justin Baldoni.
Topics: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Celebrity, Film, TV and Film, Saturday Night Live
Michael Slavin