A new Netflix comedy roast special includes a joke that targets Blake Lively, filmed before the actress filed a lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni for an alleged smear campaign.
Torching 2024: A Roast of the Year sees comedians reflect on the biggest pop culture stories of the year, and was released on the streaming platform yesterday (December 27).
One joke made about Lively has garnered particular attention. Comedian Hannah Berner begins to tell the audience: “The word c*** was trending this year,” before adding: “I don’t think Blake Lively was that bad.”
Netflix and Berner have since confirmed that the special was filmed on December 17, three days before Lively filed a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint against her former co-star and director on December 20. As reported by TMZ, the suit claimed that Baldoni exhibited behaviour that caused Lively “severe emotional distress”.
Taking to her Instagram story today (December 28), Berner wrote: “My joke in the Netflix roast was filmed before news of the lawsuit. To be 100 percent clear, I support Blake xoxo”
Blake Lively called c-word in horribly timed Netflix comedy special pic.twitter.com/6KSltOTpYO
— Page Six (@PageSix) December 27, 2024
The suit claims Baldoni sexually harassed Lively on the set of the film. She states that a meeting was held between the two parties and their lawyers, as well as Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds, to address the problems.
It is said that the meeting included a number of demands made by Lively, including “no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s dead father.”
It added that she demanded “no more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project”, as reported by TMZ.
Lively said in a statement to The New York Times, “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freeman told TMZ that he believed the suit had been filed to “fix” Lively’s “negative reputation”, describing her allegations as “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt”.
Freeman added that Lively “threatened to not [show] up to set, threatened to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release”.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are seen on the set of ‘It Ends with Us’ on January 12, 2024 in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
The suit claims that Sony Pictures approved Lively’s demands, adding that Baldoni has since engaged in a campaign to “destroy” her reputation.
On December 22 it was reported that Baldoni had been dropped by his talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) – which also represents Lively. As per Variety, the agency had felt that action was required immediately due to Lively’s serious allegations. At the time of writing, WME has yet to comment.
Then, earlier this week, the actor’s former publicist sued him, his company Wayfarer Studios and his current publicity team over an alleged breach of contract and the purported smear campaign started against Lively. The defendants have not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Baldoni has also had a women’s solidarity award rescinded over the claims.
Meanwhile, Lively’s The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars have publicly defended her, while Amber Heard has also voiced support for Lively after it was noted that Baldoni has hired the same crisis PR team as Johnny Depp.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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