Justin Baldoni’s team called out Ryan Reynolds as a “key player” in an alleged scheme to destroy the actor’s career after the “Deadpool” star requested to be removed from an ongoing lawsuit.
Reynolds was included in the lawsuit Baldoni filed against Blake Lively, accusing the two of civil extortion, defamation and more. Baldoni filed his lawsuit after Lively claimed he sexually harassed her on the set of “It Ends With Us.”
“Mr. Reynolds’ exploitation of his enormous power in Hollywood continues, this time arrogantly asking to be dismissed from the case despite his publicly documented involvement extending far beyond just being a ‘supportive spouse,'” Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “Mr. Reynolds was a key player in the scheme, defaming Justin around Hollywood, strong-arming WME into dropping Justin as a client, and trying to destroy Justin’s career however possible.”
“His fingerprints have been all over this smear campaign against Justin and the Wayfarer team since day one,” Freedman continued.
“Mr. Reynolds now attempts to reduce plainly cognizable claims to ‘hurt feelings,’ sending a clear message that bullying is acceptable. After lighting a match, Mr. Reynolds now seeks to run from the flames. It won’t work. The Wayfarer Parties’ claims against him are real, and they are serious. Mr. Reynolds can appear on as many sketch shows as he wants and feebly try to make light of his current situation, but we will not stop until he is held accountable for his actions.”
Baldoni accused Lively of tormenting him, his family and colleagues in a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York in January. The actor requested a jury trial and a judgment of $400 million.
The actor’s lawsuit claimed Reynolds had made statements labeling Baldoni a “predator” and used the “Deadpool” character “Nicepool” to mock him. Before filing his lawsuit, Baldoni’s lawyer requested any documents showing a “deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate, or bully Baldoni through the character of ‘Nicepool,’” along with “any and all documents relating or reflecting any deliberate attempt to link the character of ‘Nicepool’ to Justin Baldoni.”
“There’s no question [the character] relates to Justin,” Bryan Freedman previously claimed during a Jan. 7 appearance on Megyn Kelly’s show. “I mean, anybody that watched – that hair bun, the comment about the pregnancy… It’s pretty obvious what’s being done. But again, if somebody is seriously sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of it. It’s a serious issue.”
BLAKE LIVELY VS. JUSTIN BALDONI: EVERYTHING TO KNOW
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Reynolds’ motion to dismiss hit back at the allegations, claiming Baldoni’s team only included him in the lawsuit in an attempt to ruin the actor’s reputation.
“The entirety of Mr. Baldoni’s case appears to be based on Mr. Reynolds allegedly privately calling Mr. Baldoni a ‘predator,’ but here is the problem, that is not defamation unless they can show that Mr. Reynolds did not believe that statement to be true,” Reynolds’ lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“The complaint doesn’t allege that, and just the opposite, the allegations in the complaint suggest that Mr. Reynolds genuinely believes Mr. Baldoni is a predator. Mr. Reynolds’ wife has accused Mr. Baldoni – privately and in multiple complaints – of sexual harassment and retaliation, and as pointed out by Mr. Reynolds’ motion, Mr. Baldoni has also openly spoken about his past of mistreating women and pushing the boundaries of consent. Mr. Reynolds has a First Amendment right to express his opinion of Mr. Baldoni, which should be comforting to a group of people who have repeatedly called Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds ‘bullies’ and other names over the past year.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
Lively and Baldoni have been locked in a back-and-forth legal battle since December. After both filed their respective lawsuits against the other, the two have shown no signs of settling outside of court.
Legal teams for both Lively and Baldoni told Judge Lewis Liman that “settlement discussions would be premature” in a joint letter filed in court in February and obtained by Fox News Digital. The letter also noted that “the parties agree that mediation and the Discovery Protocols… are inappropriate for this case.”
The federal judge agreed with the “It Ends With Us” stars and granted the order. The trial is currently set to begin in 2026.
