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The Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni legal battle is still raging, and now, Blake’s husband, Ryan Reynolds is having his say.
If you’ve been following the case closely, then you’re probably aware that Baldoni has accused Reynolds of mocking him in the movie Deadpool & Wolverine.
Specifically, Justin claims that he was the inspiration for the character Nicepool.
Ryan Reynolds fires back against Justin Baldoni
Now, attorneys for Reynolds have filed a motion to dismiss Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios’ suit, claiming that their complaints amount to nothing more than “hurt feelings.”
The motion alleges that Baldoni’s suit is just “thin-skinned outrage over a movie character, the satirical ‘woke’ Nicepool” and “does not even pretend to be tied to any actual legal claims.
“Instead, the motion states, ‘it falls into the [First Amended Complaint]’s general allegation of ‘hurt feelings,’ which in reality is nothing more than a desperate effort to advance the same curated ‘bully’ image that the Wayfarer Parties created and disseminated in the retaliation campaign they launched against Ms. Lively in August of 2024,” the filing continues.
Reynolds’ motion also alleges that Baldoni and his PR team “launched a retaliatory ‘social manipulation’ campaign to ‘destroy’ and ‘bury’ her because she privately spoke up about sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct”
Elsewhere in the motion, Reynolds’ lawyers insist that he’s guilty of nothing more than “being a supportive spouse who has witnessed firsthand the emotional, reputational, and financial devastation Ms. Lively has suffered.”
The docs go on to state that “Mr. Reynolds is a defendant in this action for one reason, and one reason only: because billionaire Plaintiff Steve Sarowitz [and Wayfarer co-founder] promised to spend up to $100 million to ‘ruin’ Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds.”
The plot thickens
This is a new level of involvement for Reynolds, who had previously been mentioned in multiple filings by Baldoni, but had never responded legally, except in connection with Lively’s filings.
No laughing matter?
Last month, Reynolds subtly joked about the Baldoni situation during an appearance on the SNL 50 special.
Fans appreciated his ability to bring some levity to this tense battle, but many criticized Ryan for joking about a serious matter.
Interestingly, at no point in his motion does Ryan deny that he was mocking Justin with the Nicepool character.
So it’s clear that he’s been using humor to cope with and process this situation from the very beginning — and he’ll likely continue to do so, despite Justin’s objections.