Hannah Berner is clarifying that a newly aired joke she made about Blake Lively was taped prior to the actress’ legal action against Justin Baldoni.
The comedian, 33, took part in Netflix’s new Torching 2024: A Roast of the Yearpoking fun at pop culture headlines — from Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s relationship, Ellen DeGeneres’ move overseas, Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly’s breakup and more — in her three-minute portion.
At one point, Berner says on stage, “The word ‘c–t’ was trending this year. I don’t think Blake Lively was that bad.”
The quick punchline lands after Lively, 37, sued her It Ends With Us director-costar Baldoni, 40, on Dec. 20, alleging that he orchestrated a smear campaign to tarnish her image in retaliation to reporting misconduct on set of the movie.
In a statement on her Instagram Stories Friday, Dec. 27, Berner explained, “My joke in the Netflix roast was filmed before news of the [complaint]. To be 100 percent clear, I support Blake xoxo.” The special was filmed at The Bellwether in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Dec. 17.
Netflix/ Hannah Berner/ Instagram
Lively’s legal team claimed in her filing that Baldoni led a “public attack of Ms. Lively [that] was the intended result of a carefully crafted, coordinated and resourced retaliatory scheme to silence her, and others, from speaking out about the hostile environment.” The filing included text messages obtained by a subpoena.
“The emotional impact on Ms. Lively has been extreme, not only affecting her but her family, including her husband and four children,” the actress’ lawyers wrote in the court documents.
Ser Baffo/Netflix
An attorney for Baldoni, Bryan Freedman said in a Dec. 21 statement that the allegations are “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt” him.
Days later, Freedman addressed Lively’s claims of a smear campaign against her, saying the PR team “operated as any other crisis management firm would when hired by a client experiencing threats by two extremely powerful people with unlimited resources.”
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Lively told The New York Times in a statement on Dec. 21: “I hope that my 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.”
Their It Ends With Us costar Jenny Slate spoke out in support of Lively, saying, “What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing and wholly threatening. I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side.”
