Saturday Night Live isn't known for controversy outside of an edgy joke or a questionable host choice. But the long-running sketch show found itself pulled into the legal and PR battle playing out between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Earlier this week, Lively filed a lawsuit accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and accusing him of engineering a smear campaign against her. It all stems from the pair's contentious collaboration on the 2024 film It Ends With Us, directed by Baldoni and co-starring both actors.
Lively's complaint argues that Baldoni's attempts to tarnish her reputation forced her to pull out of public appearances and cancel other planned opportunities. Among them was hosting the season 50 premiere of Saturday Night Live.
"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," read Lively's complaint.
The timing lines up for Blake Lively to have hosted the season 50 premiere. It Ends With Us hit theaters on August 9. SNL season 50 began on September 28, when Lively (and SNL) probably assumed there'd still be positive buzz about the film.
Instead, Jean Smart hosted the premiere. The Hacks star made history in the process as the oldest SNL host to ever star in a season-opening episode.
Has Blake Lively ever hosted Saturday Night Live?
Hosting Saturday Night Live is still a pretty big deal for anyone's career. So missing out on the opportunity, especially to host the premiere episode of a milestone season, is understandably devastating.
However, it would not have been Blake Lively's first time hosting Saturday Night Live. The actress previously hosted on December 5, 2009.
The season 35 show was a solid debut for Lively. Her monologue featured a Muppets parody, and she went on to play a key role in fan-favorite sketches like "Potato Chip" and "Tiger Woods' Accidents."
Lively also has two SNL cameos on her resume. The first came in 2008 in an "SNL Digital Short" alongside host James Franco. Lively popped up in "Murray Hill," a parody of dramas like One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl.
The second cameo came in December 2010. She appears in the Lonely Island's music video for "I Just Had Sex."
If the accusations against Justin Baldoni are true, then expect Saturday Night Live to make things up to Blake Lively and have her back in Studio 8H sooner than later.