Chelsea Handler jokes about Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni’s legal feud at Critics Choice Awards 2025

Handling Hollywood’s scandals.

Chelsea Handler poked fun at Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s ongoing legal battle while hosting the 2025 Critics Choice Awards.

The comedian brought up the “It Ends With Us” stars’ seemingly never-ending feud during her opening monologue in front of the guests gathered at The Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., on Friday.

“I want to acknowledge that we’ve been through a lot lately, not just here in Los Angeles, but our entire country; waking up every day not knowing what news we’re going to hear that will disappoint or horrify us,” Handler said, alluding to the wildfires that ravaged huge swaths of LA in January and possibly Donald Trump’s second term as US president.

“So it is important in times like these to have a distraction, and that’s why I want to personally extend my gratitude to Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively,” the former “Chelsea Lately” host quipped.

“Thank you for providing us with that distraction,” she went on. “I’m grateful. I think we’re all grateful. And I think we’re good. I think everybody in this room, no matter whose side you’re on, we can all agree to accept that there’s probably not going to be a sequel.”

“It ends with us, guys,” she added in a joking reference to the title of Lively and Baldoni’s blockbuster film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel.

Though they didn’t escape the 30th Critics Choice Awards entirely unscathed, Lively and Baldoni were spared from any barbs at the 2025 Golden Globe Awards last month. Before the Jan. 5 ceremony, host Nikki Glaser announced she would not be including any jokes about the pair in her opening monologue.

“I think the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni thing is such a hot-button thing right now that even a mere mention of it will seem like I could be on the wrong side of things, even though I would never be,” the comedian told Yahoo Entertainment in the lead up to the Globes.

She added, “I also don’t want to give his name any — I’m mad I even know his name, to be honest with you, so I don’t need to say it anymore.”

After rumors of a feud between the two swirled last summer, Lively sued Baldoni in December, accusing the “Jane the Virgin” vet of sexual harassment and orchestrating a retaliatory smear campaign against her.

Baldoni, who also directed and starred in “It Ends With Us,” denied Lively’s allegations. In January, he filed a $400 million countersuit against the “Gossip Girl” star and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for alleged defamation and extortion.

Lively’s legal team have described the suit as “meritless.”

Representatives for Lively and Baldoni did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.