"That was a total happenstance"—Brandon Sklenar denies any secret agenda behind wearing the same pin as Justin Baldoni amid Blake Lively drama

Actor Brandon Sklenar has addressed speculation surrounding his recent appearance wearing the same pin as Justin Baldoni. The pin fueled rumors of a hidden message amid the ongoing controversy involving Blake Lively.

On March 9, 2025, speaking with PEOPLE on the red carpet of the SXSW Film & TV Festival premiere, Brandon Sklenar set the record straight, indicating that he did not deliberately choose the pin.

"That was a total happenstance," Sklenar said.

The pink brooch pin made headlines, as It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni, who had been involved in a legal battle with co-star Blake Lively, also wore it recently. Lively has accused Baldoni of s*xual harassment during the making of the movie.

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Brandon Sklenar clears the air on matching pin with Justin Baldoni

On Sunday, March 9, 2025, Brandon Sklenar spoke with PEOPLE on the red carpet of the SXSW Film & TV Festival premiere of his thriller Drop. The actor was asked whether there was any hidden meaning with the pink brooch that Brandon Sklenar wore on March 2, 2025, at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

In response, the actor denied any speculation and wished he could say there was some kind of meaning, but it was a mere coincidence.

"Honestly, no. I wish I could say there was," Sklenar said.

Further speaking about the brooch pin, the actor revealed that he woke one morning and saw the headlines of him matching the pin with Justin Baldoni.

Brandon Sklenar suggested that he did not know if anyone before him wore that pin and also noted that he just wanted to wear a floral-like brooch of that color, so he did.

"I woke up in the morning and saw an article, and I was like, 'Oh, damn.' I literally had no idea. I had an idea. I wanted to wear like a floral brooch of some kind and that was the color that I liked the best. And, lo and behold, someone also wore that prior to me wearing it," Brandon Sklenar added.

Moreover, after the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Sklenar took to his Instagram account and shared a picture of himself posing on the red carpet, which had a caption dedicated entirely to the brooch:

"Vanity Fair X long live the ( brooch )," Sklenar wrote.

The brooch was a jewelry art piece from David Yurman, a privately held American jewelry company in New York City. Moreover, Justin Baldoni wore the pin during the premiere of his movie It Ends With Us on August 6, 2024, in New York City.

In addition, the brooch made headlines, as actor and director Baldoni also wore it. He was recently involved in the legal turmoil with Blake Lively, facing s*xual harassment accusations.

On December 20, 2024, the American actress Blake Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against her co-star Justin Baldoni and others, alleging that she experienced "severe emotional distress" and faced s*xual harassment during the movie, It Ends With Us.

As the New York Times was the first to cover and report the news, in response, Justin Baldoni sued the outlet for libel and false light invasion of privacy on December 31, 2024. Shortly after the lawsuit, the outlet responded and denied all allegations.

Furthermore, on December 31, 2024, Blake Lively filed a formal lawsuit against Baldoni. In response, on January 16, 2025, Baldoni sued Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and accused the actress of having "robbed" him. He also denied all s*xual harassment allegations.

Since then, the actors have been engaged in a legal battle. They recently had a court hearing on Thursday, March 6, 2025, where Lively's attorney requested to keep text messages private.

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There is no further update for now. Justin Baldoni has not yet reacted to Brandon Sklenar's brooch pin news.