A comedian has been fiercely denounced online after calling Blake Lively the C-word in a new Netflix special that aired after the actress filed a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.
The 37-year-old actress recently made headlines after filing a sexual harassment case against her It Ends With Us co-star.
The Gossip Girl alum alleged that there was inappropriate behavior from the 40-year-old while they were on film set and this resulted in a meeting held by the film crew to discuss Baldoni’s conduct. Ryan Reynolds was present as well.
According to the complaint, the 37-year-old listed some protective measures going forward, which included “no more improvising of kissing” and “no more personal, physical touching of, or sexual comments by, Mr. Baldoni or Mr. Heath to be tolerated by [Blake Lively] and/or any of her employees, as well as any female cast or crew without their express consent,” per PEOPLE.
Other requests per the document included: “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,” all of which Baldoni and the filmmakers agreed to.
Lively also claimed in the filing that Baldoni took part in a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” her reputation following the release of the movie.
The Age of Adaline star backed up her claims with alleged receipts that showed screenshots of text conversations between the podcast host, his PR executive Jennifer Abel, and his crisis management expert Melissa Nathan as they discussed what stories they wanted to plant about Lively.
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman has denied Lively’s allegations, calling them “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt,” in a statement to PEOPLE.
Lively has garnered support from many people in the industry, including comedian Hannah Berner.
However, the comic is currently under fire due to a poorly timed joke she made about the mom-of-four in Netflix’s “Torching 2024: A Roast of the Year,” which was recently released on the streaming service.
In the show, the 33-year-old joke said: “The word c**t was trending this year,” before joking: “I don’t think Blake Lively was that bad.”
Watch the moment below:
The comedian’s joke drew criticism from many social media users. “Ew lmao as a woman what the f**k kinda validation do u think you’ll get from calling another woman a c**t,” one person blasted.
Another slammed: “I liked #hannahberner till now #notafan#unfollow.” and a third added: “Listen. Now we see the extent of the orchestrated hate campaign. No way [Lively] has done anything to deserve this kind of s**t fest.”
Berner has since addressed the timing of the joke in her special, sharing on her Instagram Story: “My joke in the Netflix roast was filmed before the news of the lawsuit. To be 100 percent clear, I support Blake xoxo.”
The Shallows star also filed a complaint against Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, its co-founder Steve Sarowitz, and the film’s lead producer, Jamey Heath.
She also filed against Jed Wallace, Melissa Nathan, and Jennifer Abel, all accused of being involved in a smear campaign.
In a statement shared with The New York Times, Lively said she hopes her 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 disclosed to Deadline on December 28 that they are planning to file a countersuit
