During the star-studded SNL50: The Anniversary Special, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively were spotted in the audience.
Justin Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, didn’t find the joke amusing. (Photo Credits: YouTube)
Justin Baldoni’s legal team isn’t staying silent after Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s recent public appearance and a joke that seemingly referenced their ongoing legal dispute. During the star-studded SNL50: The Anniversary Special in New York City on February 16, Reynolds and Lively arrived together, posing on the red carpet and watching the show from the audience. But it was a lighthearted exchange during the event that caught people’s attention.
At one point, Reynolds was asked from the stage, “How’s it going?” His response? A casual but loaded, “Great, why? What have you heard?” The moment, which played off recent headlines, quickly spread across social media.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, didn’t find it amusing. Speaking on Hot Mics with Billy Bush the following day, Freedman addressed the couple’s public outing, calling it “the latest move” from Lively’s side.
“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. It surprised me,” Freedman said.
He also pushed back against speculation that Baldoni was vacationing in Hawaii amid the legal battle.
“I wouldn’t call it vacation. I don’t think anybody who has been accused of heinous, arguably what are crimes, is on vacation. I think he is trying to gather with his family and get some semblance of peace,” Freedman said.
The controversy stems from a lawsuit Lively filed in December against Baldoni, her It Ends With Us director and co-star, along with his PR team and executives from his Wayfarer Studios. She accused them of sexual harassment and retaliation, allegations Baldoni denies. In response, he sued Lively, Reynolds, their publicist and The New York Times in January, claiming defamation and extortion.
Lively’s legal team dismissed Baldoni’s lawsuit as “meritless” and issued a sharp statement. “This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation, and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim,” they said as reported by People.
“In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms Lively’s complaint and it will fail,” they added.
With both sides firmly standing their ground, the legal battle is far from over.
