Judd Apatow; Blake Lively.Photo:JC Olivera/Variety via Getty
JC Olivera/Variety via Getty
Judd Apatowis taking aim at the lawsuit againstBlake Lively— andIt Ends with Us.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, as the filmmaker and comedian, 57, was delivering his opening monologue as the host of the 77th Annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards, he joked about several 2024 films, includingAnora,Wickedand Lively’sIt Ends with Us— as well asthe legal drama surrounding it.
“I lovedWicked. I saw it four times in the first four days,” Apatow said. “It was the highest-grossing movie musical of all time. Do you know that? Usually to make that much money, you have to sue Blake Lively.”
TheKnocked Updirector joked that there was so much fuss made “over such a terrible movie.”
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in a ‘It Ends with Us’ scene.Nicole Rivelli
Nicole Rivelli
Lively, 37, who filed a sexual harassment complaint in December against costarJustin Baldoni, has faced several lawsuits, includingone recent defamation suit from a publicist, Jed Wallace, whom she named in the complaint she filed with the California Civil Rights Department.
In response to the lawsuit, Lively’s legal team said in a statement, “Another day, another state, another nine-figure lawsuit seeking to sue Ms. Lively ‘into oblivion’ for speaking out against sexual harassment and retaliation.”
Theongoing legal battlebetween Lively and Baldoni, 41, began in December 2024, when the actress filed asexual harassmentcomplaint against Baldoni, alleging that he engaged in misconduct during the film’s production and a retaliatory smear campaign meant to “destroy” her reputation, which he has denied.
Baldoni countered Lively’s initial claim on Jan. 16 with a$400 million lawsuitagainst her, her husbandRyan Reynoldsand their publicist Leslie Sloane, alleging extortion, defamation and more.
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Lawyers from both sides came face to face in court for the first time on Monday, Feb. 3, for a pretrial conference, where the judgewarned them to refrain from litigating the case in the public forum. Baldoni and Lively’s trial is currently scheduled for March 2026.
Judd Apatow at the 77th Annual DGA Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2025.JC Olivera/Variety via Getty
Elsewhere in his opening monologue, theThis Is 40director turned to politics, calling out his fellow filmmakers to take a stand againstPresident Donald Trump, joking: “We all have to decide if we’re going to fight Trump or bend the knee.”
“You could doExtreme Home Makeover:GazaEdition. We’re going to turn that into the Riviera!” Apatow said, earning laughs from the crowd.
“Or we go the other way,” he continued. “We go hard against Trump. We go even woke-r. We don’t back down. Let’s all go super, double woke. I’m going to makeDune 3with all gay sand words. I’ll do reboots likeTheShawshank Assignment Surgery.12 Angry Thems.ET the Extra-Bisexual.Sex and the Sanctuary City. I could go all day.TheAmazing Spider-Person. You guys get it. It’s what we’re dealing with.”
Apatow also joked that he’s “getting very depressed” amid the first few weeks ofTrump’s second term.
“I’m not going to talk politics. That’s not what we’re here for. But I have to just a little. There’s so much going on. I’m getting very depressed,” he said. “How do you deal with it?”
“I just started microdosing meth. My new pronouns are, we are f——,” he continued. “There is a good chance some of you here tonight in this room voted for Trump, and I won’t judge you. But God will.”
source: people.com
