‘SNL’ Staffer Says Ryan Reynolds’ Joke About Justin Baldoni Was His ‘Idea’

Ryan Reynolds reportedly deviated from his rehearsed joke at the “Saturday Night Live” 50th-anniversary special to poke fun at the ongoing scandal between him, his wife Blake Lively, and her “It Ends With Us” co-star Justin Baldoni.

Reynolds was named in the contentious court battle between Lively and Baldoni, and a source noted that his joke caused unsettled nerves among the “SNL” crew members.

Blake Lively has also filed an amended complaint against Justin Baldoni, claiming two female “It Ends With Us” actresses would corroborate her allegations against her co-star.

Long-serving “Saturday Night Live” crew member Wally Feresten disclosed that Reynolds made a last-minute switch from his scripted joke at the “Saturday Night Live” anniversary event to tackle his wife’s ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni.

According to the Daily Mail, Feresten, also known as Cue Card Wally to fans, said that Reynolds’ joke about the scandal was all his “idea” and that he “pitched” it himself, having rejected a joke “SNL” writers wrote for him.

Speaking to the Australia breakfast show “Fifi, Fev & Nick,” Feresten said, “He had a different line in rehearsal, and he pitched that [line] to replace it. So that was his idea to do it there.”

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

The “Deadpool & Wolverine” actor caused a wave of unsettled nerves among the show’s producers when he shared the joke during a Q&A session with hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

“Ryan Reynolds, how’s it going?” Poehler asked him, to which Reynolds replied: “Why? What have you heard?”

This exchange has since been interpreted as the actor joking about his wife’s sexual harassment case.

While Reynolds made his joke, Lively notably looked up at him, seemingly shocked by her husband’s words.

However she then smiled and played along, but fans were quick to point out her initial unimpressed look in several social media posts.

One person who appeared offended by Reynolds’ joke was Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, who shared his dissatisfaction with the couple’s act.

“I’m unaware of anybody, frankly, whose wife has been sexually harassed and has made jokes about that type of situation,” Freedman said. “I can’t think of anyone who’s done anything like that. So it surprised me.”

Meanwhile, a source told the news outlet that many of the show’s attendees were “apprehensive” about mingling with the couple, and some were less impressed with the actor’s joke.

“People were apprehensive about speaking and talking to them because of the situation, but everyone was friendly enough,” the insider explained.

Reynold’s joke about Lively’s legal standoff with her “It Ends With Us” co-star came before she filed an amended complaint on Tuesday in which she claimed two female actresses in the film would corroborate her allegations.

In a bid to protect their privacy, the “Gossip Girl” star refused to name the actresses but claimed that they would provide testimony supporting her allegations as they also suffered uncomfortable experiences with Baldoni.

“Importantly, however, these victim-witnesses have given Ms. Lively permission to share their communications in the Amended Complaint as they are laid out, and they will testify and produce documents in the discovery process,” a spokesperson for Lively said, per the Daily Mail.

According to the news outlet, Lively’s updated claims contain “significant contemporaneous evidence” that she was not alone in crying foul against the alleged on-set misconduct, along with “corroboration of her original claims.”

It also reportedly claims “evidence detailing the threats, harassment, and intimidation” of not just her but “numerous innocent bystanders.”

Meanwhile, a source close to the situation has hit back at Lively’s “baseless” amended complaint, suggesting that Baldoni didn’t do all she has accused him of.

“Blake is really clutching at straws. She was said to have these smoking guns, and she really has nothing. Her amended complaint is baseless,” the insider told the Daily Mail.

They continued, “Bottom line is this, Justin did not harass any other woman on set. There was not one single HR complaint made by any woman – Blake included. If he did, wouldn’t HR be the first place they would go?”

The source, who appeared to have had some form of connection to the film, went on to name two female cast members from the film, Isabela Ferrer and Jenny Slate.

They said, “In fact, Isabella praised Justin. She wrote about how amazing he was to work with. And Jenny Slate wants nothing to do with any of this. She has made that clear to several people.”

“It seems unlikely that Blake has even one woman that is willing to come forward and go on record to corroborate her claims,” the source added. “In the amended complaint, there are no text messages, emails, signals, WhatsApps, or anything about these alleged women. Justin has receipts. He has factual evidence in his defense and it doesn’t look like Blake has anything to back up her claims.”