A public relations coach has revealed why Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds attended SNL‘s 50th anniversary special on Sunday amid the star’s ongoing lawsuit with her It Ends With Us costar, Justin Baldoni.

It marked the couple’s first public appearance since the legal drama began in December, after Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment and launching a smear campaign against her.

She claimed in the lawsuit that Baldoni had entered her trailer while she was topless, showed her graphic video of his wife giving birth, and bit and sucked on her lips during an improvised kissing scene.

He responded by filing a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, and also sued The New York Times for $250 million, claiming it ‘relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims.’

The feud has only grown to be more explosive, as Baldoni released raw footage from the movie set and even a website with documents related to the suit in an attempt to clear his name, and Lively recently subpoenaed cell carriers to look for more receipts in her ongoing legal battle.

Baldoni, Lively and Reynolds have all denied the allegations against them in the lawsuits.

The Hollywood power couple has since avoided big public events, like the Golden Globe Awards in January, even though Reynolds’ movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, was nominated.

However, that all changed Sunday when they decided to make an appearance at the 50th anniversary special, which seemed to shock fans.

+7
View gallery

A public relations coach and expert has revealed why Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds attended SNL ‘s 50th anniversary special on Sunday amid the star’s ongoing lawsuit with her It Ends With Us costar, Justin Baldoni

+7
View gallery

She claimed in a lawsuit that Baldoni had entered her trailer while she was topless, showed her graphic video of his wife giving birth and bit and sucked on her lips during an improvised kissing scene

+7
View gallery

The Hollywood power couple has since avoided big public events, like the Golden Globe Awards in January, even though Reynolds’ movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, was nominated

‘THE GASP I just did seeing Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds on the SNL 50th Red Carpet,’ one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Another agreed, ‘Interesting they chose SNL50 to show up at during their lawsuit.’

‘Their ego??? Like MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE SAT THIS ONE OUT,’ someone else typed.

+7
View gallery

But while their appearance was surprising to some, public relations expert Nicole Pearl told DailyMail.com that she believed the couple were there for ‘both personal and professional motivations.’

But while their appearance was surprising to some, public relations expert Nicole Pearl, who does not represent anyone involved in the lawsuits, told DailyMail.com that she believed the couple were there for ‘both personal and professional motivations.’

‘The evening is a fun night out celebrating this milestone with other celebrity friends,’ Pearl, who is the founder of Nicole Pearl PR & Consulting, told DailyMail.com exclusively.

‘That said, they each have appeared on SNL as a celebrity host so had they chosen to not attend, that could have also spoken volumes and brought speculation that they didn’t attend due to the lawsuit,’ she continued.

Pearl also shared that this could be a larger part of their overall PR strategy amid the lawsuit.

‘It appears that moving forward their PR strategy is not to hide in hopes that this controversy blows over but instead they will continue to attend events that they have already committed to,’ she explained.

+7
View gallery

The feud has only grown to be more explosive , as Baldoni released raw footage from the movie set and even a website with documents related to the suit in an attempt to clear his name

+7
View gallery

However, the two didn’t just fly under the radar during the special, as Reynolds participated in a bit along with comedians Amy Poehler and Tina Fey

+7
View gallery

‘The ability to be able to laugh at yourself is seen as an attractive and rapport-building trait as well as one that helps to break the ice and tension with the public,’ body language expert Judi James shared

However, the two didn’t just fly under the radar during the special, as Reynolds participated in a bit along with comedians Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.

Reynolds stood up from the audience alongside Lively, 37, and said, ‘I have a question.’

He was asked by Fey, ‘Oh Ryan Reynolds, how’s it going?’ to which the Deadpool star deadpanned, ‘Great – why, what have you heard?’ – in a nod to the months of headlines regarding the troubled production of the summer.

Lively, who was sat next to him, was seen smiling – a stark contrast to Kevin Costner who appeared to grimace at the joke.

Insiders said that the joke caused tension backstage, but body language expert Judi James told DailyMail.com that their appearance may have helped them ‘break the ice’ with the rest of the public.

‘The ability to be able to laugh at yourself is seen as an attractive and rapport-building trait as well as one that helps to break the ice and tension with the public,’ James shared.

‘Laughter relaxes the body and the mind and when you laugh with the person who has been put on the spot you regain those feelings of rapport that you might have had before.’

Next month, Lively may be thrust into the spotlight once again, as she will star in A Simple Favor 2 alongside Anna Kendrick.

It is set to be released in March.