Ryan Reynolds addressed his wife Blake Lively’s legal drama during SNL50: The Anniversary Special in perhaps the most true-to-himself way possible, with a joke. Ahead, what Reynolds said about Lively’s ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Plus, how she reacted. Hint: Reynolds referred to it without mentioning any names. 

Reynolds made a thinly veiled reference to Lively’s legal drama: ‘Why, what have you heard?’ 

Not an hour into the SNL50 TV special on Feb. 16, 2025, and Lively’s legal drama came up courtesy of her husband, per The Hollywood Reporter. During a Q&A skit hosted by SNL alums Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, Reynolds stood up in the audience to ask a question. (See the full skit here.)

“Ryan Reynolds, how’s it going?” Poehler asked the 48-year-old. “Great,” he said before pausing to add, “Why, what have you heard?” seemingly referencing the very public legal battle. 

Lively, who attended the SNL50 anniversary special alongside Reynolds and sat nearby in the audience, then looked at her husband and her smile fell from her face in a moment that was presumably part of the skit.

The whole thing drew laughs from the audience. Meanwhile, Lively looked over at Reynolds with a look of concern. As for Poehler and Fey, they raised their hands suggesting they weren’t aware of the ongoing legal drama, which now totals five suits. 

Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and of launching a subsequent smear campaign against her in an 80-page complaint which he responded to with a lawsuit of his own alleging extortion and defamation. 

Reynolds is also named in Blake Lively’s legal drama 

Reynolds isn’t just a bystander in Lively and Baldoni’s legal drama. He’s also named in Baldoni’s lawsuit. Not only is the It Ends With Us director suing Lively, Leslie Sloane, and Sloane’s PR firm for defamation in a whopping $400 million lawsuit, but he also named Reynolds in his suit. 

Baldoni has accused Reynolds of “bullying” him via the Nicepool character in his 2024 movie, Deadpool & Wolverine. Reynolds’ name has also come up in text messages between Baldoni and Lively during the filming of It Ends With Us, as seen in legal filings. 

Baldoni is also suing The New York Times for libel after it published a December 2024 article on Lively’s allegations. 

Lively and Baldoni head to trial in 2026

The headlines and zingers—whether courtesy of Reynolds or not—will likely keep coming as it will be a while until Lively and Baldoni’s legal drama plays out in court. They’re set to go to trial beginning March 9, 2026, following Lively’s initial filing in late 2024 and Baldoni’s subsequent countersuit.

However, a judge previously said at the first pre-trial hearing that the trial date could get moved up depending on how both sides conduct themselves publicly, i.e. firing shots at each other in the media and potentially tainting the jury pool.