Lorne Michaels Is Hopped Up On Justin Baldoni-Blake Lively Gossip

I visited family this past holiday season. Being around people who aren’t as constantly online as I am was nice. We could talk about normal things, like how my kids were sick, which eventually got my wife and me sick. But my brother’s kid was sick too, as was my brother, so everyone was to blame for a week of sneezing, coughing, s***ting, and puking. Sickness was where everyone’s attention lay, so when my sister-in-law suggested to my mother that they watch It Ends With Us, I didn’t spew out every aspect of Justin Baldoni’s attempt to go after Blake Lively I know like it was anything I tried to eat that week.

It’s not that I’m super interested in what’s going on between this Hollywood star and a man I first heard of because he was being sued for sexual harassment by said Hollywood star. The whole thing feels pretty cut and dried. Baldoni sucks and he’s countersuing. While I may not care about their soon-to-be in-court legal battle, I know a decent bit about it thanks to this job. I’m constantly on the lookout for topics to write about in the entertainment world and this saga is, unfortunately, a big point of discussion.

However, that doesn’t mean it should be dumped onto unsuspecting people who just want to watch a movie. They deserve a mediocre night just like anybody else. Why should they learn that the director of the movie is trying to sue Disney because Ryan Reynolds (allegedly) made fun of him in Deadpool Ampersand Wolverine, a claim which only brought more attention to said teasing even though it didn’t address Baldoni directly (but people sussed it out pretty quickly)? I felt no need to burden my family with this information, but Lorne Michaels seems to not have such filters.

Saturday Night Live’s 50th Anniversary Special featured Reynolds making a quick jokey allusion to the situation, but it’s more on the front of Michaels’s mind, according to Dana Carvey. The former cast member, who missed the celebration because he was sick, texted his old boss after the show. “I texted Lorne afterward, ‘Wish I could have been there,’ and instead of talking about the show, he just goes, ‘Baldoni will now countersue. I think that Lively will probably get a new attorney,’” Carvey explained to his podcast co-host David Spade. Something about Michaels being obsessed with this sort of thing makes a lot of sense.

He didn’t stop there, either. Carvey proceeded to compliment the show but Lorne only had one response, “He goes, ‘I don’t know where Ryan Reynolds is on this but certainly they have deep pockets,’” Carvey said. While it could be that Carvey is exaggerating a little, I would also believe this kind of gossip fuels Lorne Michaels. That’s how he’s been able to run the show for the better part of 50 years. He’s got his ear to the ground, waiting for his next big scoop, and projecting it onto anyone he knows. Honestly makes norovirus not sound so bad.