Hannah Berner Explains the Insensitive Joke Toward Blake Lively During Her Netflix Special
Hannah Berner, 33, issued an important clarification regarding a joke about Blake Lively that appeared in Netflix's Torching 2024: A Roast of the Year.
The comedian emphasized that her segment was filmed before Lively's recent legal action against Justin Baldoni.
Read more: PR 'Assassin' Allegedly Behind Blake Lively's Reputation Scandal Has Family Ties to the Media
During her three-minute set in the special, which covered various 2024 pop culture moments including the Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift relationship and Ellen DeGeneres' overseas move, Berner made a brief joke referencing Lively where she referred to her as. "c**t".
The comedian addressed the timing in a statement on her Instagram Stories December 27, confirming the special was filmed at The Bellwether in Los Angeles on December 17.
"My joke in the Netflix roast was filmed before news of the lawsuit," she wrote. "To be 100 percent clear, I support Blake."
The clarification comes amid Lively's December 20 legal filing against It Ends With Us director-costar Justin Baldoni. The actress, 37, alleges Baldoni orchestrated a smear campaign against her after she reported misconduct on the film's set. Her legal team claims the campaign was "carefully crafted, coordinated and resourced" to silence her and others.
Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, responded on December 21, denying the allegations and later addressed the PR strategy as standard crisis management procedure. Lively subsequently told 'The New York Times' she hopes her legal action will expose retaliatory tactics against those who report misconduct.
Jenny Slate, who costars in 'It Ends With Us', has publicly supported Lively, describing the revealed attacks as "terribly dark, disturbing and wholly threatening," while expressing admiration for her friend's bravery.
