All eyes were on Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds as they hit the red carpet Sunday for the “Saturday Night Live” 50th anniversary special.
The Hollywood power couple had not been publicly spotted out together, let alone on a red carpet, since she filed her sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, her “It Ends With Us” co-star and director, on Dec. 21.
While Lively and Reynolds appeared to be in good spirits for the star-studded night out in New York City, body language expert Nicole Moore exclusively told Fox News Digital that it was Lively who stood out with a “power position” on the red carpet.
“Blake’s pose with her hand on her hip and her shoulders back indicates she’s holding herself in a power position,” Moore said. “This hand on hip position with shoulders back typically indicates confidence, so her body language is communicating that she wants to stand on her own and take up space. Blake’s pose here is an attempt to appear sure of herself and confident in front of the cameras.”
Lively and Reynolds have largely remained out of the public eye in 2025 after she claimed in legal filings that Baldoni sexually harassed her while working together on set of “It Ends With Us.” The couple’s last public appearance together was toward the beginning of December for a “Wicked” premiere in New York City.
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Moore also noted how Lively appeared to communicate “distance” with her body language, while Ryan seemed to be communicating that “he wants to be close.”
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“When Blake appeared on the red carpet after Ryan had been photographed, he told her a joke, which could be seen as an invitation for closeness, as this couple has historically communicated love via joking with one another,” Moore said. “Ryan leaned his body forward and gesticulated with his hands forward toward Blake when telling the joke, and he walked toward her to meet her on the red carpet rather than allowing her to come to him, which could indicate a desire to be close.
“When the photographers started shouting ‘Blake, solo picture,’ Ryan appeared genuinely shocked, and he walked away from Blake while keeping his arm lingering on her arm for a long time before breaking contact, which could indicate that he did not want to let her go in that moment or that he didn’t want her to take a ton of pictures without him.”
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During the special, former cast members Tina Fey and Amy Poehler took the stage to engage with celebrity friends in the audience. When Reynolds stood up, the comedy duo asked, “How’s it going?”
Reynolds jokingly responded, “Great, why? What have you heard?,” seemingly referencing the ongoing, and very public, back-and-forth with Baldoni. The response seemed to have caught Lively off guard as she appeared to nervously look up at her husband of 12 years.
“Regarding the joke that Ryan made alluding to the couple’s legal battle with Justin Baldoni, Blake appeared to be genuinely shocked by the joke,” Moore said. “Before Ryan made the joke, Blake was smiling with a wide smile and lots of teeth exposed, indicating genuine happiness, however as soon as he told the joke, Blake whipped her head quickly toward Ryan, her mouth turned downward, and she opened her eyelids wider, indicating surprise.”
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Moore added, “It’s possible that Ryan did not tell Blake about the joke he was going to make beforehand, because her body language indicated genuine surprise and even slight upset at the joke.”
Representatives for Lively and Reynolds did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
In response to the joke, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said during an appearance on “Hot Mics with Billy Bush,” “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. So it surprised me.”
Baldoni and Lively’s legal teams were in federal court recently, and a judge ordered that they follow New York’s Rules of Professional Conduct, which limit speaking to the press.
Neither party will be permitted to make statements to the press that have a “substantial likelihood” of prejudicing a jury. However, the legal teams will be allowed to defend their clients in the media against publicity not created by either side in the dispute.
Lively detailed allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and more made by Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights department on Dec. 20 and later in federal court on Dec. 31.
The same day Lively filed her federal suit, Baldoni filed a $250 million suit against the New York Times for a December article about the alleged smear campaign Baldoni attempted to run against his co-star.
Weeks later, Baldoni then named Lively and Reynolds in a separate $400 million defamation lawsuit in which he accused the Hollywood power couple of attempting to hijack “It Ends With Us” and create their own narrative.
