At the 2025 Critics Choice Awards, Chelsea Handler made jokes about the current legal dispute between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
The 49-year-old comedian, who hosted the ceremony on Friday, February 7, made comments in her speech on the legal back and forth between Lively, 37, and Baldoni, 41, which dominated headlines.
“I want to acknowledge that we’ve been through a lot lately, not just here in Los Angeles, but our entire country,” Handler stated, “waking up every day not knowing what news we’re going to hear that will disappoint or horrify us.”
“So it is important in times like these to have a distraction, and that’s why I want to personally extend my gratitude to Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively,” joked Handler.
She went on, “Thank you for giving us that diversion.” “Thank you. We’re all thankful, I believe. And I believe we’re doing well. Regardless of one’s ideological stance, I believe that everyone in this room can agree that a sequel is unlikely.
She remarked, “It ends with us, guys,” referring to the love drama that Baldoni directed and costarred in with Lively in 2024.
Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni in December, claiming that he had engaged in a retaliatory slander campaign and sexual harassment, both of which he rejected. Baldoni responded in January by suing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds for $400 million, claiming extortion and defamation. Her attorneys referred to the case as “meritless.”
The “extreme” emotional damage that Lively experienced as a result of the claimed activities of Baldoni and his staff was detailed by her legal team in Lively’s complaint. They said that it was “not only affecting her, but her family,”
“While she has fought to maintain her personal life and business interests, behind closed doors she has suffered from grief, fear, trauma and extreme anxiety,” stated her complaint. According to the statement, Reynolds, 48, “has been affected mentally, physically, and professionally by his wife and children’s pain.”
On February 3, during a pre-trial hearing, the opposing attorneys appeared in court for the first time, and the judge cautioned them from arguing the case in public. As of right now, their trial is set for March 2026.
Watch the 30th annual Critics Choice Awards live on E! from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica to see PEOPLE’s comprehensive coverage. The next day, the program will also be streamed on Peacock.
