Judd Apatow took aim at the mounting legal war between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni during his 13-minute opening monologue while hosting the 77th Directors Guild of America Awards last Saturday.

‘I loved Wicked. I saw it four times in the first four days. It was the highest-grossing movie musical of all time. Do you know that?’ the 57-year-old comedian asked the industry crowd onstage the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.

‘Usually to make that much money, you have to sue Blake Lively.’

‘So much hazarai over such a terrible movie,’ added Judd, before getting the biggest laugh of the night.

Indeed, the 37-year-old Gossip Girl alum’s cut of the big-screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel scored a dismal 55% critic approval rating (out of 189 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes, but it still amᴀssed $351M at the global box office.

Blake – who never read the book – notoriously took over the 41-year-old director’s film, including the $600K-budget costumes, with help from her powerful husband Ryan Reynolds and support from Columbia and Sony Pictures.

Judd Apatow took aim at the mounting legal war between Blake Lively (L) and Justin Baldoni (R) during his 13-minute opening monologue while hosting the 77th Directors Guild of America Awards last Saturday 

The 57-year-old comedian told the industry crowd onstage the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills: ‘I loved Wicked. I saw it four times in the first four days. It was the highest-grossing movie musical of all time. Do you know that?’

The drama all began on December 20 when Lively (born Brown) filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Justin for Sєxual harᴀssment and retaliation on the set of It Ends with Us, and revealed her side to the New York Times.

Baldoni immediately filed a libel lawsuit for $250M against the New York Times for biased coverage of the LA-born blonde’s ‘vicious smear campaign’ and she filed a lawsuit against him and his PR team on December 31 for his ‘plan to undermine her reputation in retaliation.’

On January 16, the Jane the Virgin alum filed a second $400M lawsuit against Blake, Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloan for civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy.

During the pre-trial conference a week ago, Manhattan US District Judge Lewis J. Liman warned Justin and Lively’s legal teams he would move up the trial scheduled for March 2026 if they continue making statements in public that could prejudice the proceedings but there’s no gag order.

Read More Anora’s Sean Baker wins top prize at DGA Awards 2025

Attorney Bryan Freedman told TMZ’s 2 Angry Men podcast last Wednesday that Baldoni has lost four major jobs since the legal war including a big-screen adaptation of Pac-Man, which had been in the works since 2022.

The Man Enough podcaster’s independent production company Wayfarer Studios has a few projects already in the can including Eleanor the Great, the feature directorial debut of Scarlett Johansson, which TriStar Pictures and Sony Pictures Classics will release later this year.

Justin personally served as executive producer on the June Squibb vehicle helmed by the 40-year-old Oscar-nominated actress, who famously divorced Ryan Reynolds in 2011 – the year after he co-starred with Blake in Green Lantern.

The vengeful 48-year-old went on to make fun of Baldoni by creating the manbun-rocking character Nicepool, which Lively’s Ladypool shoots ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, in his $1.338B-grossing MCU sequel ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants alum has faced substantial outrage over her treatment of journalists, sarcastically answering questions about domestic violence in the movie, and floral-filled Barbie-style promotion directly tied to her haircare and booze brands.

On Monday at 2pm ET, the Gent’s Talk podcast will air their episode (pre-taped in November) featuring the Cali-born, Oregon-raised filmmaker wiping away tears while speaking about his ‘intense year.’

Judd wisecracked: ‘Usually to make that much money, you have to sue Blake Lively’

‘So much hazarai over such a terrible movie,’ added Apatow, before getting the biggest laugh of the night

Indeed, the 37-year-old Gossip Girl alum’s cut of the big-screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel scored a dismal 55% critic approval rating (out of 189 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes, but it still amᴀssed $351M at the global box office

Blake – who never read the book – notoriously took over the 41-year-old director’s film, including the $600K-budget costumes, with help from her powerful husband Ryan Reynolds (L) and support from Columbia and Sony Pictures 

The drama all began on December 20 when Lively (born Brown) filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Justin for Sєxual harᴀssment and retaliation on the set of It Ends with Us, and revealed her side to the New York Times 

Baldoni immediately filed a libel lawsuit for $250M against the New York Times for biased coverage of the LA-born blonde’s ‘vicious smear campaign’ and she filed a lawsuit against him and his PR team on December 31 for his ‘plan to undermine her reputation in retaliation’ 

On January 16, the Jane the Virgin alum filed a second $400M lawsuit against Blake, Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloan for civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy (pictured December 4)

During the pre-trial conference a week ago, Manhattan US District Judge Lewis J. Liman (R) warned Justin and Lively’s legal teams he would move up the trial scheduled for March 2026 if they continue making statements in public that could prejudice the proceedings

Attorney Bryan Freedman told TMZ’s 2 Angry Men podcast last Wednesday that Baldoni has lost four major jobs since the legal war including a big-screen adaptation of Pac-Man, which had been in the works since 2022 (pictured in 2022)

The Man Enough podcaster’s independent production company Wayfarer Studios has a few projects already in the can including Eleanor the Great, the feature directorial debut of Scarlett Johansson (R, pictured February 26), which TriStar Pictures and Sony Pictures Classics will release later this year

Justin personally served as executive producer on the June Squibb vehicle helmed by the 40-year-old Oscar-nominated actress, who famously divorced Ryan Reynolds (L, pictured in 2010) in 2011 the year after he co-starred with Blake in Green Lantern

The vengeful 48-year-old went on to make fun of Baldoni by creating the manbun-rocking character Nicepool, which Lively’s Ladypool shoots ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, in his $1.338B-grossing MCU sequel ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants alum has faced substantial outrage over her treatment of journalists, sarcastically answering questions about domestic violence in the movie, and floral-filled Barbie-style promotion directly tied to her haircare and booze brands (pictured August 8)

On Monday at 2pm ET, the Gent’s Talk podcast will air their episode (pre-taped in November) featuring the Cali-born, Oregon-raised filmmaker wiping away tears while speaking about his ‘intense year’ 

DGA Awards 2025 winners

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film

Sean Baker – Anora  

 

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series

Frederick E.O. Toye – Shogun, ‘Crimson Sky’ (FX)

 

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Limited Series

Steven Zaillian – Ripley (Netflix) 

 

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials

Beth McCarthy-Miller – The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady (Netflix) 

 

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs

Amber Sealey – Out of My Mind (Disney+)

 

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary

Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev -Porcelain War (Picturehouse)

Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film

Ramell Ross – Nickel Boys 

 

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series

Lucia Aniello –  Hacks, ‘Bulletproof’ (Max)

 

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming

Liz Patrick – Saturday Night Live, “John Mulaney/Chappell Roan” (NBC)

 

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs

Neil DeGroot – Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, “The Cliffs of Ireland” (National Geographic Channel)

 

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials

Andreas Nilsson – Biscuit Filmworks

Lifetime Achievement & Service Award Recipients

Ang Lee – Lifetime Achievement Award

Mary Rae Thewlis – Robert B. Aldrich Service Award

Thomas J. Whelan – Frank Capra Achievement Award