The controversy surrounding Ryan Reynolds' prank: what Justin Baldoni’s lawyer says

Ryan Reynolds and wife Blake Lively were just some of the high profile Hollywood stars in attendance at the recording of the SNL 50th anniversary special in NYC last Sunday.

This was the first public appearance for the couple since Lively filed a civil rights complaint against Justin Baldoni with the case set to begin in March 2026, but both legal teams are already requesting evidence and preparing their cases.

Lively’s allegations against Baldoni are serious, centering on claims that he created a hostile workplace on the set where he directed a film starring Lively. The movie in question, “It Ends With Us".

Lively alleges that she was sexually harassed by Baldoni and his colleague Jamey Heath as Baldoni has maintained his innocence and filed his own lawsuits.

SNL quip

During the SNL 50 broadcast, Reynolds, seated alongside Lively in the audience, stood up to participate in a segment with comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

“Ryan Reynolds! How’s it going?” he was asked. The Wrexham co-owner responded, “great! why? What have you heard?” A loaded reference to the court case.

Justin Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman didn’t see the funny side to Reynolds’ quip and appearing on Billy Bush’s “Hot Mics” podcast on Monday he claimed: “I’m unaware of anybody, frankly, whose wife has been sexually harassed and has made jokes about that type of situation,” said Freedman.

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