Dana Carvey reveals Lorne Michaels' interest in Blake Lively's legal drama

Dana Carvey, a former Saturday Night Live (SNL) cast member, has shared that Lorne Michaels, the show's creator, is intrigued by Blake Lively's ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni. 

Carvey, 69, made the revelation on the Thursday, February 20, episode of the Fly on the Wall podcast.

After Ryan Reynolds made a joke about the legal battle at the SNL 50 Anniversary Special, Carvey texted Michaels, 80, to congratulate him on the show. However, instead of discussing the episode, Michaels expressed his interest in the legal drama.

"I texted Lorne after the show, 'Wish I could have been there,'" Carvey recalled. "Instead of talking about the show, he just goes, 'Baldoni will now countersue. I think that Lively will probably get a new attorney.'"

When Carvey attempted to compliment Michaels on Tom Hanks' sketch and Steve Martin's monologue, the conversation again shifted to Reynolds' joke. 

"'I don't know where Ryan Reynolds is on this, but certainly they have deep pockets,'" Carvey said, quoting Michaels' texts.

Carvey, who was unable to attend the the episode due to illness, expressed his desire to have Baldoni, 41, on his podcast. 

"I'll say this right now," Carvey said to cohost David Spade. "If he wants to come on and tell his side, I would love that."

The joke that sparked Michaels' interest was made during a Q&A segment with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler at the SNL. When asked by Fey how he was doing, Reynolds, 48, responded, "[I'm doing] great. Why, what have you heard?"

Reynolds' joke was a reference to the highly publicised legal proceedings between Lively, 37, and Baldoni, which began in December 2024. 

Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment and attempting to destroy her reputation. Baldoni has denied the claims and filed a defamation suit against Lively and Reynolds.

One of SNL staffer, alleged on an Australian breakfast radio show that Reynolds pitched the idea for the joke. "'He had a different line in rehearsal and he pitched that to replace it,'" he claimed. 

"'That was his idea to do it. We wouldn't want to do anything too controversial unless they were in on it. So yeah, that was his line. That was his idea to do it.'"

A source close to Reynolds denied these claims to Us Weekly. 

Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, expressed his surprise that the joke was included in the special. "'I'm unaware of anybody, frankly, whose wife has been sexually harassed and has made jokes about that type of situation. I can't think of anyone who's done anything like that,'" Freedman said adding, " 'So it surprised me.'"