THANKS FOR THE DISTRACTION

Chelsea Handler Pokes Fun at Lively-Baldoni Feud: ‘Probably No Sequel’

The comedian thanked the stars of “It Ends With Us” for providing a much-needed distraction while hosting the Critics Choice Awards.

Critics Choice Awards host Chelsea Handler on Friday poked fun at the feud between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

“Thank you for providing us with [a] distraction,” she said to the pair, after mentioning the Los Angeles wildfires and the tumultuous first few weeks of another Trump administration. “I’m grateful, I think we’re all grateful, and I think we’re good!”

Late last year, Lively sued Baldoni and his production company for alleged sexual harassment and intimidation. Baldoni, who has denied the allegations, sued The New York Times for libel, as well as Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist for defamation, extortion, and invasion of privacy.

Handler—who referred to herself as the awards’ “DEI host”—added of the two, who starred in the Baldoni-directed It Ends With Us romantic drama: “I think everyone in this room, it doesn’t matter whose side you’re on. We can all agree to accept that there’s probably not going to be a sequel.”

She quipped, “It ends with us, guys.”

Handler, a former E! late night talk show host from 2007 to 2014, then turned to how women are faring in that medium.

“I spent seven years on this network. I was the only woman hosting a late-night show,” she said. “Now, 11 years later, look how far we’ve come. In 2025, the easiest way for a woman to get a late-night show is to get the creators of Hacks to write a fictional story about it.”

UNEXPECTED TWIST

Ryan Reynolds Dragged Deeper Into Baldoni v. Lively Feud

Yasmeen Hamadeh

Handler, hosting the awards show for the third consecutive year, also acknowledged the effect of the wildfires, which twice postponed the ceremony, which was originally set for Jan. 12.

“What we saw and the scope of loss was impossible to imagine,” she said as firefighters and volunteers for the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity looked on.

“It’s a reminder of each other’s resilience and determination that is within all of us when we come together as a community with a huge debt of gratitude.”

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