Blake Lively Pulled Out of Hosting ‘SNL’ Premiere Over ‘It Ends With Us’ Scandal

Blake Lively was tapped to host Saturday Night Live’s premiere in September, but pulled out over the backlash surrounding her movie It Ends With Us.

The 37-year-old actress revealed she had scored the coveted gig in her lawsuit against her co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, and his public relations team for allegedly orchestrating a smear campaign against her during the promotion of the movie.

In the suit filed Friday, her lawyers allege that her professional commitments, such as SNL, were impacted by what they believe was a “multi-tiered plan” to destroy her reputation after she called a meeting to address "repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior" by Baldoni and a producer on the film.

“The effects on Ms. Lively’s professional life were immediate and substantial,” her lawyers wrote. “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.”

“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 premier episode of the 50th anniversary season of Saturday Night Live in September 2024,” the suit said.

Hacks star Jean Smart was announced as the host of the premiere of SNL instead.

Rumors swirled during the promotion of It Ends With Us, a film that debuted in August based on a book of the same name by Colleen Hoover, that there was discord between Lively and Baldoni. Several articles at the time speculated that there were creative differences between the pair.

But the suit, which also accuses Baldoni of sexual harassment, lays bare the extent of the issues on set.

Lively claimed in the suit that during filming, she had to ask that Baldoni refrain from showing her videos of nude women, inquiring about her weight, and mentioning her dead father, as well as discussing his prior pornography addiction, his sexual exploits, and the cast and crew’s genitalia.

The actress, who is married to actor Ryan Reynolds, also requested that there not be any sex scenes added to the movie, which is about domestic violence, that were not in the original script.

In a statement, Baldoni’s lawyer called her claims “outrageous.”

“These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media,” attorney Bryan Freedman told the Associated Press in a statement.

In a statement to the New York Times, Lively said she hopes her legal action “helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory actions to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”