Justin Baldoni is claiming that Ryan Reynolds’ “planned skit” in Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special makes a mockery of Blake Lively’s request for an enhanced protective order, which would shield much of the proceedings from public view.
The reference to the moment during SNL50 when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler asked Reynolds how things were going, to which he responded, “Great. Why? What have you heard?” is a central plank in Baldoni’s latest filing to the court in his and Lively’s bitter ongoing legal battle.
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman previously said on a podcast that he found Reynolds’ willingness to joke about the allegations “surprising.”
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“I’m unaware of anybody, frankly, whose wife has been sexually harassed and has made jokes about that type of situation,” Freedman told Billy Bush’s Hot Mic show. “I can’t think of anyone who’s done anything like that. So it surprised me.”
Lively, who appeared unamused by her husband’s joke during the Feb. 16 show, has sued Baldoni for allegedly sexually harassing her on the set of the hit movie It Ends With Us and retaliating against her.
Baldoni, who in turn has sued Lively and Reynolds for defamation, says the accusations are false and part of a campaign to discredit him, which is linked to a larger dispute over alleged attempts by Lively and Reynolds to seize the glory accruing to the film, which Baldoni both directed and co-starred in.
Lively alleges that Baldoni and his producing partner Jamey Heath subjected her to “invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional and sexually inappropriate behavior,” and that Baldoni then orchestrated a “smear” against her to keep the accusations from emerging.
Last week, on Feb. 20, Lively’s team proposed, in a letter seen by The Daily Beast, that the suit be subject to an enhanced protective order, claiming that as the case involved “high-profile individuals and allegations of sexual harassment” certain evidence should be reserved for “Attorneys Eyes Only” (AEO). They further argued that identifying two women, whom Lively claims will corroborate her allegations about Baldoni, could “expose them to threats, harassment, and intimidation.”
Baldoni’s team responded in a letter to the judge on Tuesday, also seen by The Daily Beast, saying: “Given how actively the Lively parties have publicized and litigated Ms. Lively’s claims in the media, we are surprised to now learn how vehemently she wants to prevent the public from accessing material and relevant evidence.
“The Lively Parties provided The New York Times with Ms. Lively’s otherwise confidential administrative complaint, filed with the California Civil Rights Department, and thousands of pages of original documents, including text messages and emails.”
Baldoni’s team then add: “Worst of all, in a planned skit on NBC’s Saturday Night Live: 50th Anniversary Special, which attracted almost 15 million viewers, Ms. Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds stood up and made a joke about her claims for sexual harassment and emotional distress.”
Baldoni’s team said the AEO request was also not appropriate given Lively had “already publicized the alleged details of the so-called ‘harassment.’”
Lively’s team quickly fired off their own response to the response, saying their suggested amendments to the protective order would cover “third parties” who they alleged had “already faced online harassment.”
They added that Lively had “attempted to resolve her concerns about an unsafe work environment privately and directly with Mr. Baldoni” and only filed a legal complaint after the defendants launched a retaliatory smear campaign.”
They accused Baldoni’s team of holding a “position that a woman who speaks up against sexual harassment has somehow waived any and all privacy interests.”
