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Canadian-American actor and film producer Ryan Reynolds attended the 50th anniversary special of Saturday Night Live at Studio 8H in New York City on February 16. His wife, actress Blake Lively, was also present alongside him.
During the show, Reynolds seemingly joked about the ongoing legal battle surrounding Lively’s 2024 film, It Ends With Us, as per People magazine. Reynolds, who was in the audience, stood up during the celebrity Q&A session with former SNL cast members Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
When Fey asked, “Ryan Reynolds, how’s it going?” The Green Lantern actor pretended to be jittery and jokingly asked, “Great, why? What have you heard?” However, the hosts, Amy and Tina, replied with a couple of “No, nothing” before giving him thumbs-ups.
Meanwhile, Blake Lively, who was seated beside Ryan Reynolds, can be seen turning her head towards him, as he continued with the segment.
While Ryan Reynolds didn’t directly mention the It Ends With Us drama surrounding Blake Lively and her co-star cum director Justin Baldoni, netizens speculated that the joke was about the same.
Exploring the It Ends With Us controversy in brief amid Ryan Reynolds’ alleged joke
On December 20, 2024, Blake Lively made an official complaint to the California Civil Rights Department accusing Justin Baldoni of s*xual harassment, creating a “hostile work environment,” and reportedly displaying “disturbing” and “unprofessional” behavior on the set of It Ends With Us.
She further alleged that Baldoni reportedly ran a smear campaign against her with the help of the film’s producer Jamey Heath, publicist Jennifer Abel, and crisis manager Melissa Nathan.
More than a week later on December 31, 2024, Blake Lively filed a civil suit against the team claiming that her alleged experiences led to “grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety.”
According to People magazine, two weeks later, Justin Baldoni countersued Blake Lively for $400 million and named three others in his lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane, and her PR firm Vision PR, Inc. While the court documents mentioned the couple’s close friend, Taylor Swift, she was not named as a defendant.
Baldoni’s civil suit has accused Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds of seemingly attempting to “gain control” of the movie. According to People magazine, the Jane the Virgin alum has made a series of complaints including civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.
On February 13, after months of legal back-and-forth, both sides decided not to settle the lawsuits, citing it would be “inappropriate” and “premature” at this juncture. In the wake of this, a trial date has been set for March 2026.
Notably, Jed Wallace, one of the publicists named in Blake Lively’s December 20 complaint is also suing the Gossip Girl alum for $7 million accusing her of defamation. Earlier, Lively’s lawyers claimed that Baldoni’s PR team recruited Wallace to assist in the smear campaign as per The New York Times.
More about Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s SNL50 appearance
During Sunday’s SNL50: The Anniversary Special, Ryan Reynolds not only made an apparent joke about the It Ends With Us drama while talking with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler but also about the 1993 film, Coneheads which has also been a recurring ‘70s sketch on SNL.
“You know the material that they made the ‘Coneheads’ with? Are those edible?” Reynolds asked.
Fey advised against the consumption, adding, “No, and based on them being made in 1975, I’d assume that they’re highly toxic,” seemingly alluding to the fictional family of extraterrestrials with bald conical heads featured both on the show and the film.
“If somebody hypothetically took a couple of nibbles backstage and, you know, got excited, should they go to the hospital?” Reynolds further asked.
To this, Tina Fey responded,
“Yes, they should go to the hospital right away! Good luck!”
Meanwhile, Blake walked the red carpet during SNL50 where she came across comedian Amy Schumer, and the duo exchanged a hug. Earlier, Schumer expressed her support for Lively amid the legal battle, writing, “I believe Blake,” on her December 22 Instagram story. Lively was also seen backstage with actress Dakota Johnson.
