Comedian Hannah Berner clarified on Friday that a joke she made about Blake Lively in a new Netflix special was filmed before the actress’ complaint against Justin Baldoni surfaced.
Berner took part in Netflix’s “Torching 2024: A Roast of the Year” out Friday, where she put together a quick set about some top trending headlines. Among them was Lively and the alleged smear campaign she faced this summer upon the release “It Ends With Us.”
“The word ‘c–t’ was trending this year,” Berner said onstage. “I don’t think Blake Lively was that bad.”
It didn’t take long for the former “Summer House” star to take to her Instagram to set the record straight, writing, “My joke in the Netflix roast was filmed before news of the lawsuit. To be 100 percent clear, I support Blake.”
The Netflix special was filmed at The Bellweather in Los Angeles on Dec. 17 and news of the complaint dropped on Dec. 21. In it, Lively alleged that Baldoni – her co-star and director – planned a smear campaign against her in retaliation to misconduct onset.
The filed sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni detailed a group meeting to address Lively’s concerns and reportedly included “no more showing nude videos or images of women, including producer’s wife to BL and/or her employees, no more mention of Mr. Baldoni or Mr. Heath’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction’ or BL’s lack of pornography consumption to BL or to other crew members.”
On top of that, Baldoni was also accused of attempting to damage Lively’s reputation through “social manipulation.” Following Lively’s suit, Baldoni was dropped by his agency WME – where both Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds are also repped – and one of his “Man Enough” podcast co-hosts announced she was quitting the show.
“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,” Lively said in a statement to The Times last weekend after filing her complaint.
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