Rob McElhenney explained his decision to publicly support Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds amid their ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni.
“It’s just our way of staying connected and navigating something together,” McElhenney, 48, said in his and wife Kaitlin Olson’s Variety cover story, released on Wednesday, May 21. “And also me giving and showing as much support as I possibly can with all the other stuff that he’s got going on, that I know is so difficult and challenging.”
The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star added, “We both are just trying to offer our support in any way that we can that doesn’t just simply add oxygen to the fire.”
McElhenney and Olson, 49, have fostered a close friendship with Reynolds, 48, and Lively, 37, over the past few years. McElhenney didn’t know Reynolds before they bought the Wrexham AFC soccer team in Wales back in 2020. Now, the actors have appeared side-by-side in four seasons of the FX docuseries Welcome to Wrexham — and, according to the Variety article, text all the time.
Olson told Us Weekly exclusively in September 2024 that she and Lively had only crossed paths twice since their respective husbands became business partners. (Both Lively and Olson have made cameos on Welcome to Wrexham, but never together.)
“Everyone’s very, very busy,” Olson explained, noting that Lively and Reynolds “live on a different coast.” (McElhenney and Olson are California-based while Lively and Reynolds live in New York City.)
“I would love to hang out with them both more often,” Olson added. “I love Ryan.”
In December 2024, Lively accused her It Ends With Us costar and director Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment and fostering a hostile work environment on the film’s set. (Baldoni has vehemently denied the allegations.)
Olson was quick to show her support by sharing The New York Times article, which broke down Lively’s allegations, via Instagram.
“@blakelively is a kind, lovely, honest and generous person (and an incredible mom) FYI,” Olson shared via Instagram Stories at the time. (Lively and Reynolds are parents to daughters James, 10, Inez, 8, and Betty, 5, along with son Olin, 2.)
Reynolds was pulled into the legal drama that same month when Baldoni countersued Lively, adding her husband and publicist Leslie Sloane to a $400 million lawsuit. Sloane has since asked for her name to be removed from the filing while Reynolds filed to dismiss Baldoni’s suit in March.
Lively and Baldoni are set to face off in court early next year.
