“Usually to make that much money, you have to sue Blake Lively,” Apatow joked during his opening monologue while hosting the event

Judd Apatow; Blake Lively. Photo:  JC Olivera/Variety via Getty

Judd Apatow is taking aim at the lawsuit against Blake Lively — and It Ends with Us.

On Saturday, Feb. 8, as the filmmaker and comedian, 57, was delivering his opening monologue as the host of the 77th Annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards, he joked about several 2024 films, including Anora, Wicked and Lively’s It Ends with Us — as well as the legal drama surrounding it.

“I loved Wicked. I saw it four times in the first four days,” Apatow said. “It was the highest-grossing movie musical of all time. Do you know that? Usually to make that much money, you have to sue Blake Lively.”

The Knocked Up director joked that there was so much fuss made “over such a terrible movie.”

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in a ‘It Ends with Us’ scene.

Nicole Rivelli

Lively, 37, who filed a sexual harassment complaint in December against costar Justin Baldoni, has faced several lawsuits, including one recent defamation suit from a publicist, Jed Wallace, whom she named in the complaint she filed with the California Civil Rights Department.

Lively previously claimed that Wallace was hired by Baldoni’s PR team to assist in an alleged smear campaign against her. Wallace’s lawyers countered that her complaint was completely unfounded.

In response to the lawsuit, Lively’s legal team said in a statement, “Another day, another state, another nine-figure lawsuit seeking to sue Ms. Lively ‘into oblivion’ for speaking out against sexual harassment and retaliation.”

The ongoing legal battle between Lively and Baldoni, 41, began in December 2024, when the actress filed a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni, alleging that he engaged in misconduct during the film’s production and a retaliatory smear campaign meant to “destroy” her reputation, which he has denied.

Baldoni countered Lively’s initial claim on Jan. 16 with a $400 million lawsuit against her, her husband Ryan Reynolds and their publicist Leslie Sloane, alleging extortion, defamation and more.

Lawyers from both sides came face to face in court for the first time on Monday, Feb. 3, for a pretrial conference, where the judge warned them to refrain from litigating the case in the public forum. Baldoni and Lively’s trial is currently scheduled for March 2026.

Judd Apatow at the 77th Annual DGA Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2025. JC Olivera/Variety via Getty

Elsewhere in his opening monologue, the This Is 40 director turned to politics, calling out his fellow filmmakers to take a stand against President Donald Trump, joking: “We all have to decide if we’re going to fight Trump or bend the knee.”

“Maybe I should start making movies and TV that MAGA people would like, like the Real Housewives of January 6th. A hot Proud Boy wife, she gets sexy in a catfight with an Oath Keepers wife,” he continued. “Note to self: Really make that show.”

“You could do Extreme Home Makeover: Gaza Edition. We’re going to turn that into the Riviera!” Apatow said, earning laughs from the crowd.

“Or we go the other way,” he continued. “We go hard against Trump. We go even woke-r. We don’t back down. Let’s all go super, double woke. I’m going to make Dune 3 with all gay sand words. I’ll do reboots like The Shawshank Assignment Surgery. 12 Angry Thems. ET the Extra-Bisexual. Sex and the Sanctuary City. I could go all day. The Amazing Spider-Person. You guys get it. It’s what we’re dealing with.”

Apatow also joked that he’s “getting very depressed” amid the first few weeks of Trump’s second term.

“I’m not going to talk politics. That’s not what we’re here for. But I have to just a little. There’s so much going on. I’m getting very depressed,” he said. “How do you deal with it?”

“I just started microdosing meth. My new pronouns are, we are f——,” he continued. “There is a good chance some of you here tonight in this room voted for Trump, and I won’t judge you. But God will.”