After clashing on the set of It Ends With Us, actor Blake Lively's feud with co-star and director Justin Baldoni has led to multiple lawsuits being filed. Those feature almost endless charges and counter-charges but boil down to Lively accusing Baldoni of harassment and retaliation, with Baldoni countering by saying the Green Lantern star has defamed him.
Ryan Reynolds, Lively's husband, has also been pulled into the lawsuit...as has Deadpool & Wolverine.
Baldoni and his lawyer argue that Nicepool was created by Reynolds to mock and bully him. "Reynolds portrayed Nicepool as a vicious caricature of a 'woke' feminist before concluding the character’s arc with his violent shooting death at the hands of 'Ladypool,' a character voiced by Blake Lively," the suit states.
It also claimed that Nicepool was "intended to be a transparent and mocking portrayal of Reynolds’ warped perception of Baldoni."
The suit alleged that the Nicepool scenes were shot in January 2024, not long after an "ambush" at Lively and Reynolds' apartment which saw Reynolds allegedly berate Baldoni and demand he apologise for things he asserts he never did.
So, yeah, it's a pretty messy situation.
The Wrap has shared an update today, revealing that Reynolds is attempting to dismiss Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios' lawsuit against him and Lively for "mocking" the actor and filmmaker with the Merc with the Mouth's woke Variant.
The Deadpool actor doesn't deny that he set out to mock Baldoni and, in the dismissal, it says his "thin-skinned outrage over a movie character, the satirical 'woke' Nicepool, does not even pretend to be tied to any actual legal claims."
Instead, "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."
It also posits that the suit "fails to plead facts sufficient to establish a prima facie case as a matter of law" and counters that Baldoni and his PR team "launched a retaliatory ‘social manipulation’ campaign to 'destroy' and 'bury' [Lively] because she privately spoke up about sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct" while shooting It Ends With Us.
Reynolds is later described as "a supportive spouse who has witnessed firsthand the emotional, reputational, and financial devastation Ms. Lively has suffered."
Depending on how far this civil case goes, there's every chance Marvel Studios and Deadpool & Wolverine will be dragged into what promises to be a lengthy, complicated court battle. A documentary is already being produced in the UK despite the fact this case - assuming it proceeds - won't be in front of a judge until 2026.
Deadpool & Wolverine is now streaming on Disney+.
UPDATE: Baldoni's lawyer has now responded (via Variety) to the comments made above:
"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." 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."
"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."