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The Hollywood Reporter released a cover art featuring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni on February 21 amid their ongoing lawsuit. The cover received much backlash on social media.
According to Tribune's report, the cover references David and Goliath. In it, Lively is seen slinging a phone at Baldoni, who is seen holding Coleen Hoover's book It Ends With Us. The user @PopCrave posted the image on X.
Although Blake Lively has not commented on the cover art, her spokesperson issued a statement to the Daily Mail on February 22. They condemned The Hollywood Reporter for the alleged s*xist portrayal of Blake Lively and said the media outlet turned her into an aggressor in the image while she filed a workplace complaint against Justin Baldoni.
"The Hollywood Reporter should be ashamed of itself. The framing in this picture is outrageously insulting as it plays into every s*xist trope about women who dare file a workplace complaint, turning them into the aggressor, and suggesting they deserve the retaliation that comes their way."
They called out the media outlet for allegedly trivializing s*xual harassment by calling it "cultural misunderstandings."
"In addition, the story is extremely offensive as it incredibly seems to explain away documented examples of s*xual harassment and retaliation by calling them 'cultural misunderstandings.'"
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds made headlines recently for a joke in SNL
The couple were part of the show's star-studded audience in the anniversary special episode, which aired on February 16. In a Q&A segment hosted by SNL alums, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler asked the actor how he was doing, and he jokingly asked the two what they heard, referring to the ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Ryan Reynolds asked:
"Great, why? What have you heard?"
The joke went viral on social media as netizens discussed Blake Lively's reaction to the joke. While some remarked it was all scripted, some suspected Lively seemingly was taken back.
According to an E News report, Justin Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, spoke up about the joke in an interview on Hot Mics with Billy Bush on February 17. Freedman said the joke surprised him as he wondered why would someone whose wife has been allegedly s*xually harassed make that kind of joke on National television. He said:
"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."
According to USA Today's February 20 report, SNL cue card handler Wally Feresten went on the Fifi, Fev & Nick podcast on February 19 and claimed that Ryan Reynolds took part in writing the viral joke. However, the actor's representative told USA Today that the claims by Feresten are untrue. NBC also denied this claim.
For the unversed, Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, her costar and director of It Ends with Us, on December 31, 2024, accusing him of s*xual harassment, workplace harassment, and spear campaigning.
