A Saturday Night Live staffer just spilled the tea on Ryan Reynolds’ now-infamous joke at the show’s 50th-anniversary special, and guess what? It was ALL his idea. Because, of course, it was.
The 48-year-old actor, human embodiment of a smirk, attended the event with his wife, Blake Lively, who was making her first public appearance since things got messy with her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni. Messy how? Well, in case you missed it, Justin’s currently facing some legal turbulence after Blake accused him of sexual harassment. So yeah, a pretty big deal.
And then, because Ryan Reynolds has the comedic restraint of a toddler in a candy store, he decided to crack a joke about it during a live Q&A with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Predictably, Justin’s lawyer did not find it funny. But guess who did? Ryan.
Now, enter Wally Feresten, SNL’s resident cue card guy and all-around behind-the-scenes MVP. He just let the world know on the Australian radio show Fifi, Fev & Nick (yes, that’s a real show) that Ryan was the mastermind behind the joke.
“He had a different line in rehearsal, and he pitched that to replace it,” Wally revealed. “So that was his idea to do it.”
Translation: Ryan saw an opportunity to be chaotic and ran with it.
Wally doubled down, adding, “We wouldn’t want to do anything too controversial unless they were in on it. So yeah, that was his line. That was his idea to do.”
Ryan Reynolds—actor, entrepreneur, and walking PR nightmare—made the joke all on his own. And honestly? That tracks.
