Meghan Markle and Blake Lively aren’t just the most popular celebrities right now. But Lively’s husband didn’t think twice before making fun of Markle. During his recent appearance on Conan O’Brien’s podcast, Ryan Reynolds made a joke at the expense of Markle’s As Ever brand.
Reynolds discussed his father, Jimmy, during the podcast, sharing that his father was a police officer-turned-food broker. He joked that he believed food broker was a cover used by his father to work as a spy for the CIA. He then went on to share that his father was a “middleman for jars of jam.”
O’Brien immediately made the connection to Markle’s jam brand, quipping, “What? He works for Meghan Markle?”. He then went on to mock Markle’s As Ever brand, “Tiny jams. Harvestable jams. Made from the oils of Montecito.”
Ryan Reynolds took over the joke and shared that he would’ve believed his dad was Meghan or Meghan-adjacent if he weren’t dead. O’Brien added, “Many people have likened the two.” However, this little Meghan Markle joke didn’t impress many people.
Ryan Reynolds’ Meghan Markle Joke Didn’t Impress Fans Amid Justin Baldoni Drama
Ryan Reynolds as Cal and Cailey Fleming as Bea in IF | Credits: Paramount PicturesRyan Reynolds and Conan O’Brien’s jokes didn’t land well with fans. Fans slammed his appearance as a blatant PR stunt amid his wife’s legal drama. During the interview, Reynolds mentioned how he no longer punched down people for comedy. He shared:
Like I’ve done it, I did it once in my life and I deeply, deeply regretted it. It was 22 years ago, and it was such a lesson I’ll never forget it.
However, fans apparently slammed him for the comment, claiming that he was still hurting people. They were referring to the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni drama, which began on the sets of It Ends With Us, and has now moved to court. Lively filed a lawsuit, accusing Justin Baldoni of s*xual harassment.
In response, Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Reynolds, accusing them of civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy. The trial has been set for spring next year, and a pretrial hearing was held in February 2025.
In June 2025, Judge Lewis Liman dismissed Baldoni’s lawsuit, citing that Lively’s accusations in her lawsuit were prejudicial and not grounds for a lawsuit.
Meghan Markle Is Also Currently in the Midst of a Controversy
Meghan Markle in With Love, Meghan | Credits: NetflixEver since stepping out of her royal duties, Meghan Markle has faced intense backlash from fans. She tried to regain some goodwill with her new projects with Netflix, but it appears that Prince Harry and Markle can’t seem to get a break. According to Vanity Fair, several sources close to the couple called them the “most entitled, disingenuous people on the planet.”
A source told the outlet that Markle could get “really, really awful” when things didn’t go her way. The source shared that she would turn cold and withholding toward the person whom she thinks is responsible.
They shared, “She’s just very aware of where everybody is on her board. And when you are not in, you are to be thrown to the wolves at any given moment.” Another source shared that things often went poorly for the couple “due to Meghan and Harry’s own demands.”
Interestingly, Ryan Reynolds’ joke against Markle’s business comes after she expressed having self-doubts about being a female entrepreneur. She told Hannah Mendoza of Confessions of a Female Founder that she found it hard to lead her brand while dealing with her personal struggles.
Do you think Ryan Reynolds crossed a line when he made fun of Meghan Markle? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.