Ryan Reynolds’ 'SNL50' joke about Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni legal woe ‘was his idea’, says staffer

'We wouldn’t want to do anything too controversial unless they were in on it. So yeah, that was his line', 'SNL' cue card guy Wally Feresten claimed
UPDATED FEB 20, 2025
Ryan Reynolds’ 'SNL50' joke about Blake Lively's fight with Justin Baldoni was his plan (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images, Steve Granitz/FilmMagic, and Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
Ryan Reynolds’ 'SNL50' joke about Blake Lively's fight with Justin Baldoni was his plan (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images, Steve Granitz/FilmMagic, and Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A ‘Saturday Night Live’ staff member has reportedly claimed that it was Ryan Reynolds’ idea to crack a joke about his wife Blake Lively’s legal fight with ‘It Ends With Us’ co-star and director Justin Baldoni during the show’s 50th anniversary special.

The 48-year-old actor and Lively made their first major public appearance amid the legal drama on Sunday night, February 16, for the ‘SNL50: The Anniversary Special’, as reported by The New York Post.


NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 16: (L-R) Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively attend SNL50: The Anniversary Special on February 16, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively attend 'SNL50: The Anniversary Special' on February 16, 2025 in New York City (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

During a Q&A session with 'SNL' alums Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the former one appeared to make fun of the serious situation. When Poehler asked Reynolds, “Ryan Reynolds, how’s it going?”, he replied, “Great! Why? What have you heard?”

It seemed that he was referring to Lively’s harassment suit against the ‘Jane the Virgin’ actor after they worked together in the 2024 movie, based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 book of the same name.

Actor/filmmaker and VOS Honoree, Justin Baldoni speaks onstage at the Vital Voices 12th Annual Voices of Solidarity Awards at IAC Building on December 09, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Vital Voices Global Partnership)
Actor/filmmaker and VOS Honoree, Justin Baldoni speaks onstage at the Vital Voices 12th Annual Voices of Solidarity Awards at IAC Building on December 09, 2024 in New York City (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Vital Voices Global Partnership)

'SNL' cue card guy Wally Feresten says Ryan Reynolds ‘line’ was his own

Now on Tuesday, veteran ‘SNL’ cue card guy Wally Feresten, aka ‘Cue Card Wally,’ shared on the Australian radio show ‘Fifi, Fev & Nick’ that the ‘Deadpool’ star “had a different line in rehearsal and he pitched that [line] to replace it.”



 

He continued, “So that was his idea to do it there,” before adding, “We wouldn’t want to do anything too controversial unless they were in on it. So yeah, that was his line. That was his idea to do.”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 16: Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively attend SNL50: The Anniversary Special on February 16, 2025 at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively attend SNL50: The Anniversary Special on February 16, 2025 at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

This came as an insider told Page Six that Reynolds’ words could go against him and his wife amid the legal issue.

Hollywood thinks Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s outing 'was not a good look'

“It’s very plausible that Justin’s legal team will use this public outing to defend him. Justin is taking this lawsuit in all seriousness and isn’t making a public mockery out of it,” the source stated.

The insider also noted that many Hollywood people think that the pair’s outing “was not a good look.”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 16: Ryan Reynolds attends SNL50: The Anniversary Special on February 16, 2025 at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
Ryan Reynolds attends SNL50: The Anniversary Special on February 16, 2025 at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

“They think they should have sat this one out,” they added.

Blake Lively was ‘glad’ to attend 'SNL50: The Anniversary Special'

However, another tipster claimed that Reynolds and the ‘Gossip Girl’ actress “have no regrets about making an appearance at the show” and they “were two of the last people to leave Studio 8H.”

They also mentioned, “Blake was initially hesitant to attend the ‘SNL’ 50th anniversary show but ultimately she’s glad she attended and had a really nice time.”

“They’re glad they showed up because they have nothing to hide and no reason not to,” the source shared.

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