Nikki Glaser knows how to roast and she knows how to do it well, and to an extent, people are expecting her to poke fun at the celebrities, movies and TV shows that defined 2024 when she hosts The Golden Globes on Sunday. However, there is one big topic making headlines that she won’t be mentioning during the upcoming award show set to air on the 2025 TV schedule, and that’s Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal battle over It Ends With Us.
Glaser explained that she will bring the roast energy to the Golden Globes, even saying that she “got this [job] because of the Tom Brady roast.” However, there are some topics she’s going to make sure to steer clear of, namely the Lively and Baldoni legal issues. Between the actress’s complaint that accuses the director of sexual harassment and a smear campaign, among other things, and the actor/director’s lawsuit against the New York Times, this situation is messy, complex and sensitive.
So, the comedian won’t be going anywhere near it during the award show, as she explained to Yahoo Entertainment:
I think the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni thing is such a hot-button thing right now that even a mere mention of it will seem like I could be on the wrong side of things, even though I would never be. I also don’t want to give his name any — I’m mad I even know his name, to be honest with you, so I don’t need to say it anymore.
While It Ends With Us was a big and successful release in 2024, it’s been embroiled in drama as the alleged feud between Lively and Baldoni expanded into this massive legal battle. The situation is evolving every single day and there’s been a lot of big claims against both parties. Plus, there are multiple lawsuits and complaints at play here with the two aforementioned filings by the two actors as well as another suit from Baldoni’s ex-publicist.
This situation is developing daily, with lots of folks, including A-List celebrities, speaking out about it.
Even though it feels like this situation is being talked about everywhere, it won’t be happening at the Golden Globes. As Glaser said, that is one “hot button thing” that she will not be mentioning at all. What she’ll do instead is focus on the 2025 Golden Globe nominees, their accomplishments and the other big TV and movie highlights of the year. She made that point abundantly clear, as she broke down her goal for the night, saying:
I think a lot of times we can project our own nerves onto the hosts that we haven’t seen before. Like, ‘Are they gonna be OK? Oh my God, I would be so nervous. Is she stumbling?’ I just want to walk out there and make everyone feel like we’re in good hands because the host really does set the tone for the whole evening. The tone is celebratory, but also, let’s laugh about how ridiculous this is with the state of the world that we’re all dressed up and giving out awards for playing pretend. We have to acknowledge that that’s silly, even though it is amazing.
Overall, I think Nikki Glaser is an excellent choice for this job. She’s a fearless comedian who makes hilarious and occasionally scathing jokes, and it sounds like she’s more than ready to play the Golden Globes room. She’ll bring that roast humor we know and love her for as well as a genuine appreciation and love for the folks who will be sitting in that room, while leaving the big drama making headlines at the door. And that feels like that will make for a very entertaining night.
To see what Glaser ends up joking about and who wins the awards presented, you can watch the Golden Globes on Sunday, January 5 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS or with a Paramount+ subscription that has a Showtime add-on.