Brandon Sklenar is staying neutral.
The 1923 star appeared on CBS MorningsMonday, where he was asked a question by co-host Gayle King about the drama between his It Ends With Us co-star, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
“Are you Team Blake or Team Justin?” King asked, leading Sklenar to chuckle and reply, “I’m Team It Ends With Us.”
King also asked Sklenar how he was handling the ongoing legal battle between Lively and Baldoni as their fellow castmate.
“I just want people to remember why we made the movie in the first place and what it stands for, and just keeping the focus on that,” he said.
Sklenar went on to share, “I have someone very close to me who’s gone through what [Lively’s character Lily is] going through for a long time and I’ve been on the front lines helping her navigate that space, so that movie meant a lot to me and it means a lot to her.”
“It was one of the reasons that me doing that movie gave her the strength to change her life,” he continued. “It’s unfortunate that things get taken away from what the ethos of that thing is and it gets convoluted.”
Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni, who also directed the movie, in December 2024, accusing him of misconduct during production. She also alleged that Baldoni and his associates engaged in a retaliatory smear campaign designed to “destroy” her reputation. Baldoni has denied the allegations.
Baldoni then fired back with a lawsuit of his own against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, as well their publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane’s PR firm alleging civil extortion and defamation. The case is currently scheduled to go to trial in March 2026.
Sklenar previously came out in support of the women behind It Ends With Us, including Isabela Ferrer, Jenny Slate and the book’s author Colleen Hoover.
“Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about,” he wrote in August, when the drama around the film first began to ramp up.
Sklenar continued, “What may or may not have happened behind the scenes does not and hopefully should not detract from what our intentions were in making this film. It’s been disheartening to see the amount of negativity being projected online.”
Sklenar also said the film is “meant to build courage and help people feel less alone,” adding, “Ultimately it’s meant to spread love and awareness. It is not meant to once again, make the women the ‘bad guy,’ let’s move beyond that together.”
And while he said he wasn’t taking a side, Sklenar did show support for Lively in December, telling his followers to read her complaint in full.
“FOR THE LOVE OF GOD READ THIS,” he wrote on his Instagram Stories, linking to the filing and tagging Lively’s account with a heart emoji.
Lively and Reynolds seemingly addressed the lawsuit Sunday night during SNL’s 50th anniversary special, during a segment with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who were surveying the famous audience.
When Reynolds was called, the pair asked him “How’s it going?” to which he nervously quipped, “Great! Why, what have you heard?”
Lively appeared to be taken aback by the tongue-in-cheek moment, but in the end it was all laughs as the duo enjoyed SNL‘s big night in their first joint red carpet appearance since the start of their legal dispute with Baldoni.
