Last week, Ryan Reynolds sparked headlines for a quick little joke he made on Saturday Night Live‘s 50th anniversary special about his wife Blake Lively‘s ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Now, an SNL staffer has alleged that it was all Ryan’s idea.
Wally Feresten, the guy in charge of the cue cards on the SNL set, claimed that the quip was directly from the Deadpool actor, rather than the SNL writers.
“He had a different line in rehearsal and he pitched that to replace it. That was his idea,” Feresten — who has the nickname ‘Cue Card Wally’ — told the Fifi, Fev and Nick Podcast.
“We wouldn’t want to do anything too controversial unless they were in on it.”
However, multiple insider sources have shut down Feresten’s claim.
“The opening joke was pitched by SNL and never changed,” the insider told Page Six.
“The follow-up joke was rewritten in rehearsal.”
Meanwhile, a rep for NBC told The New York Post that Feresten’s account was “not true” and an SNL source stated that “Wally is not part of the writing process or part of any of those decisions.”
Oooft.
In case you missed it, during the SNL50 special, the hosts Amy Pohler and Tina Fey asked Reynolds how he was doing.
“Great! Why, what have you heard?” Reynolds responded, subtly referencing the ongoing legal feud.
Although the joke seemed to be a hit, it certainly caused a stir in the media and amongst Baldoni’s legal team.
While being interviewed on the Hot Mics with Billy Bush podcast, Justin’s lawyer Bryan Freedman revealed that he was “surprised” by Reynolds’ joke on the programme.
“I’m unaware of anybody, frankly, whose wife has been sexually harassed and has made jokes about that type of situation,” he told host Billy Bush.
“I can’t think of anyone who’s done anything like that. So it surprised me.”
The joke is just another chapter in Baldoni and Lively’s ongoing It Ends With Us legal saga. This week alone, Lively has updated her legal complaint with more allegations from two other women who claim that Baldoni made them feel uncomfortable on set.
Baldoni’s legal team has slammed these updates, referring to them as “unsubstantial hearsay”.
Their trial is set for March 9 2026.
