Comedian Hannah Berner said she had recorded a joke she made about Blake Lively for Netflix’s Torching 2024: A Roast of the Year before the publicized legal battle between the It Ends With Us co-stars, Lively and Justin Baldoni.
The stand-up comedy special, released on December 27, saw Berner poke fun at several pop culture storylines, including celebrity couples, breakups, and more. One of Berner’s mistimed comments mentioned Lively in a manner that is considered a popular insult.
Berner had said, “The word ‘c–t’ was trending this year. I don’t think Blake Lively was that bad.”
The joke seemed pertinent to the current situation, as it appeared shortly after Lively had filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, accusing him of harassment and engaging in a retaliatory campaign after she had filed misconduct reports on the set of It Ends With Us.
Berner reacted to the criticism on her social media account, stating that the show had been recorded on December 17, days before the lawsuit hit the media. However, the comedian showed support to Lively, immediately after.
She went ahead to defend Lively on her Instagram stories, saying, “My joke in the Netflix roast was filmed before news of the lawsuit. To be 100 percent clear, I support Blake xoxo.”
As a part of her three-minute stand-up segment that included various pop culture and celebrity moments, Berner joked about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s romance, Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly’s headline-making breakup, Ellen DeGeneres leaving the country, and more.
Meanwhile, Lively is hoping that through the lawsuit, some light could be shone upon these retaliatory measures to muzzle people reporting workplace abuse. She told the New York Times, “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.”
Blake Lively has gained support not only from Hannah Berner but also her co-star, Jenny Slate, who publicly sided with her in this by referring to the allegations as extremely troubling and by praising Lively for speaking out on this matter.
