Chelsea Handler Ripped for 'Sexual Harassment' Joke in 2025 Critics Choice Awards Opener as Host Mocks Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's Legal Battle
The longtime comic received mixed reviews for her joke about 'sexual harassment.'
Feb. 7 2025, Published 7:25 p.m. ET
Chelsea Handler got the Critics Choice Awards off to a blistering start on Friday night – but not exactly for the best reasons.
The 49-year-old left viewers fuming after the comedian poked fun at Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's ongoing legal battle, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Handler joked Lively and Baldoni's legal battle is a 'distraction.'
During Handler's opener, she discussed fans at home needing a "distraction" from all currently going on in the country – especially with Donald Trump at the helm.
She said: "It's 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."
"Thank you for providing us with that distraction" she continued.
Handler added: "I'm grateful. I think we're all grateful. And I think we're good."
Lively accused her 'It Ends With Us' co-star of sexual harassment in a shocking lawsuit.
"I think everyone in this room can agree, no matter who's side you're on we can all agree to accept that there's probably not going to be a sequel," Handler said, referring to Lively and Baldoni's film It Ends With Us.
Viewers were quick to react on X as one person raged: "What’s so funny about a sexual harassment case?"
Another added: "Chelsea Handler just called Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's case a 'distraction from life.' I'm already pissed off," as a user said, "That Blake Lively joke was so unfunny, especially in the context ."
"First joke of the night about a woman being sexually harassed on set... okay," one viewer reacted.
The movie star, 37, and her It Ends With Us co-star and director have been exchanging blows, after Lively accused Baldoni of "sexual harassment" and claimed his behavior while filming caused her "grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety," in a shocking lawsuit.
Following the actress' bombshell accusations, Baldoni denied Lively's claims and first filed a lawsuit against The New York Times seeking $250million in damages after they posted their article about her lawsuit.
The 41-year-old then requested a jury trial and a judgment of $400Million.
'I think we're all grateful,' Handler said of the 'distraction,' leading to an awkward reaction from the audience.
Baldoni's lawsuit stated: "At bottom, this is not a case about celebrities sniping at each other in the press. This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio.
"When Plaintiffs have their day in court, the jury will recognize that even the most powerful celebrity cannot bend the truth to her will."
After the lawsuit was filed, Baldoni's legal team has been slowly releasing their evidence to support their client, however, he is said to be losing money at a rapid rate due to the fight and has been left "financially devastated."
Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, revealed some details about how his client is feeling amid the chaotic legal battle after Lively filed the first lawsuit back in December.
"Not to sound like a four-year-old fighting a four-year-old with 'they started it,'" Freeman told Manhattan US District Judge Lewis J. Liman at a pre-trial conference about gag orders on Monday,
He added: "But in these kinds of cases, once someone says something it becomes fact: There's no way to fight against it."
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Baldoni filed a countersuit and is looking for $400M
According to People, judge Liman issued a "warning" to both legal teams "to refrain from making statements to the press that could influence a jury."
The judge in the case has also threatened to move the trial up in date if both parties don't stop attacking one another instead of waiting until March of next year to settle it.
According to Freedman, after Lively filed the lawsuit with the head-turning accusations, Wayfarer Studios associates have been "exiled from polite society and suffered damages totaling hundreds of millions of dollars."
Another insider claimed Baldoni, who is one of the co-founders of Wayfarer Studios, "lost three jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars" – which includes an adaptation of the video game Pac-Man.
