Blake Lively slammed over narration for National Geographic series Secrets of the Penguins

Blake Lively’s latest TV gig has been slammed by fans who say she has “ruined the show” as her legal feud with co-star Justin Baldoni heats up.

Blake Lively has outraged fans of National Geographic who have taken to social media to label her involvement in a new TV docuseries “horrific” and claim she has “ruined” the show.

Nature fans say they were shocked to hear the 37-year-old actor narrating Secrets of the Penguins when it premiered on April 20.

Fans of the documentary giant slammed Lively’s narration of the show, which is the first big gig she had landed since her legal battle with her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni started last December.

One National Geo fan took to X to described the narration as “horrific”.

A wonderful series, however, Blake Lively’s narration is horrific. It ruined it for me. #SecretsOfThePenguins

— CWebb (@wilbursbarn) April 23, 2025

Another said while Lively had a “nice voice”, the delivery sounded like she was “reading to a bunch of 4-year-olds.”

I'm sorry, but Blake Lively pretty much ruined the Nat Geo documentary "Secrets of the Penguins" for me. She has a nice voice, but the way she reads the script it's like she's reading to a bunch of 4 year olds. It's so slow, deliberate, & pretentious I want to 🤮.

— Mike S. (@MasterDrafter41) April 24, 2025

A fellow X user agreed saying they would only be able to watch the docuseries on mute with subtitles.

“Killing the vibe” explained another.

Read more of the comments below.

Why did they have to have Blake Lively narrate the documentary “Secrets of the Penguins”? Like ew. I’m going to have to watch it on MUTE with the SUBTITLES on. @RealCandaceO

— Pree Larae (@PreeLarae) April 21, 2025

I’m not sure I can continue to watch Secrets of the Penguins. I was still in the intro when I googled who on earth was ruining the narration? It’s Blake Lively 😩 pic.twitter.com/27u6E8egmX

— Tamar Canady (@CanadyTamar) April 24, 2025

Blake Lively narrating this Nat Geo doc about penguins is REALLY killing the vibe bro. Actors need to know their skill set man

— Norbert the Penguin (@naurbz) April 24, 2025

I am learning so much about emperor penguins but I hate that I'm learning it thru a documentary narrated by Blake Lively. 😤

— 🍉💐🐰s_e_solis🐰💐🍉 (@_sek_1994) April 21, 2025

😪😭oh how I wish they made a better narrator choice for this series about Penguins 🐧 because Blake unfortunately isn’t it… I was right her soft spoken breathy tone is NOT what I want to hear as I watch and learn about penguins…#NationalGeographicSecretsofthePenguins

— Jackie (@08Hern3) April 23, 2025

A Reddit user posted: “The narration of the whole first episode just felt off. Until I was watching the intro to the second episode and figured out what was new! The entire first episode felt like she was anthropomorphising the penguins. And even referred to the female emperor penguins as empress penguins, which I personally have NEVER heard before. What does anyone else think of this?”

Lively’s next role will be in the film Another Simple due to premier on Amazon Prime Video on May 1.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman are about to be embroiled in the Lively-Baldoni legal drama, Riley Cardoza from the New York Post reported.

Swift, 35, and Jackman, 56, will “definitely be served this week” with a subpoena, a source told the Daily Mail Tuesday.

“It could happen at any time,” the insider alleged, claiming that the Don’t Blame Me singer has been “waiting.”

Reps for Swift and Jackman have yet to respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.

(L-R) Hugh Jackman, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds attend the It Ends With Us premiere in New York City. Picture: Getty Images

Lively’s battle with Baldoni, 41, began in December 2024 when she sued the actor for emotional distress and lost wages.

He returned the favour the following month, suing Lively, 37, and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for $US400 million in January.

At the time, Baldoni pulled Swift into headlines by claiming Lively weaponised her friendship with Swift while allegedly trying to control their 2024 film’s production.

The Jane the Virgin alum alleged, in a complaint obtained by Page Six, that one of Lively’s “famous and, famously close” friends praised one of Lively’s script rewrites when he was invited to her and Reynolds’ New York City penthouse.

Blake Lively and Taylor Swift attend a private party at Lucalli Pizza restaurant in Brooklyn in New York City. Picture: GC Images

Actor/filmmaker Justin Baldoni at the Vital Voices 12th Annual Voices of Solidarity Awards in New York. Picture: Getty Images for Vital Voices Global Partnership

While he did not name Swift, she was referenced in a text about that evening.

“I really love what you did. It really does help a lot,” he wrote of the “rooftop scene” in question. “Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan or Taylor).”

In her response, Lively called Swift and Reynolds her “creative barometers” and “dragons” she was “lucky” to have in her corner.

Baldoni’s lawyer claimed the Man Enough podcast host “felt obliged to text Lively to say that he had liked her pages and hadn’t needed Reynolds and her mega celebrity friend to pressure him.”

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni on the set of It Ends with Us on January 12, 2024 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Picture: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Byran Freedman alleged, “The message could not have been clearer. Baldoni was not just dealing with Lively. He was also facing Lively’s ‘dragons,’ two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who were not afraid to make things very difficult for him.”

Baldoni’s lawyer teased possibly deposing Swift in a February statement, calling that potential a “game-time decision.”

Lively, who has denied Baldoni’s extortion and defamation claims as a tactic from the “abuser playbook,” has been friends with Swift since 2015 — and the duo attended an NFL game together in 2023, alongside Jackman.

Jackman notably is close friends with Lively and Reynolds, even co-starring in Deadpool & Wolverine with the latter last year.

As for where their friendship stands now, Page Six hears that Swift “can’t help but feel used” by Lively.

However, a source told us in March that the songwriter “is a strong woman” who is “not afraid” of being dragged into the legal spat.

Lively has since given a “genuine and heartfelt” apology, another insider claimed earlier this month, while Swift is reportedly “ready to move forward” without any “hard feelings.”

Originally published as Blake Lively slammed over narration for National Geographic series Secrets of the Penguins