Blake Lively blames Justin Baldoni's smear campaign for missing out on hosting 'SNL'

Los Angeles (The Uttam Hindu): Hollywood actress Blake Lively has revealed that she missed out on hosting the 'Saturday Night Live' Season 50 opener because of her 'It Ends with Us' co-star and director Justin Baldoni. In Lively’s filing against Baldoni, which accused him of smearing her name, she cited her 'SNL' Season 50 hosting gig as one of the opportunities that was stripped away in the fallout of his alleged harassment, reports 'Variety'. “The effects on Ms. Lively’s professional life were immediate and substantial”, the complaint read. “Given the ongoing nature of the campaign and the associated negative public sentiment, Ms. Lively did not believe she could proceed with public appearances or events without being forced to openly discuss what happened on set".

It further mentioned, “For example, Ms. Lively canceled a critical Target corporate event for her hair care company, and she backed out of her scheduled role to host the premiere episode of the 50th anniversary season of ‘Saturday Night Live’ in September 2024". As per 'Variety', in the bombshell filing, lodged with the California Civil Rights Department, a January 2024 meeting was detailed between Lively and Baldoni to address her return to the 'It Ends with Us' set after the dual Hollywood labor strikes had ended.

In the meeting, Lively claimed that Baldoni griped about her weight, talked about his sex life in inappropriate ways and forced her to disclose her religious beliefs. She also alleged that Jamey Heath, an 'It Ends with Us' producer and the CEO of Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios, showed her a video of his wife giving birth. The complaint also showed screenshots of texts and emails between Lively, Baldoni and his team, saying that if any of the problems between the 'It Ends with Us' co-stars became public, they would launch a campaign to sully her name.