Getty Images
Ryan Reynolds wants to take himself out of Justin Baldoni’s narrative.
On Tuesday, Reynolds filed court docs requesting his dismissal from Justin Baldoni’s $400M defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively.
In Baldoni’s lawsuit, he accused Reynolds of bullying, mentioning Ryan’s movie “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which included a scene of Ryan playing Nicepool. Many, including Justin’s legal team, speculate that the scene is a mocking of the “It Ends with Us” star.
Baldoni’s lawsuit also accused Reynolds of labeling him a “sexual predator.”
In the new court docs, obtained by “Extra,” Reynolds’ team said, “The entirety of [Baldoni’s] defamation claim appears to be based on two times that Mr. Reynolds allegedly called Mr. Baldoni a ‘predator.’ But, the FAC [First Amended Complaint] alleges no plausible facts that suggest Mr. Reynolds did not believe this comment to be true; instead, the relevant FAC allegations suggest that Mr. Reynolds genuinely, perhaps passionately, believes that Mr. Baldoni’s behavior is reflective of a ‘predator.’”
“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 argued. “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.”
Of Baldoni’s lawsuit, Reynolds’ legal counsel added, “It is, in essence, a burn book filled with grievances attempting to shame Mr. Reynolds for being the kind of man who is ‘confident enough to listen’ to the woman in his life and to hold her ‘anguish and actually’ stand with her.”
Reynolds’ filing comes weeks after Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane asked to be excluded from the lawsuit.
In February, Sloane asked to be taken out of Baldoni’s $400M defamation lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds, claiming that her PR company was being “dragged” into the legal battle, adding, “The Wayfarer Parties dragged Leslie Sloane and Vision PR, Inc. into the instant litigation as a smoke and mirrors exercise to distract from their own sexual harassment and systematic retaliation.”
As for Baldoni’s extortion claims, Sloane’s legal team argued, “The Wayfarer Parties accuse Ms. Sloane and Vision PR, Inc. of extortion but do not (and cannot) identify where or how the alleged extortion occurred, or how Ms. Sloane or Vision PR, Inc. received anything of value because of that extortion.
Baldoni’s lawyers oppose the dismissal request, claiming, “The Sloane Parties played an active and integral role in a conspiracy to inflict harm on the Wayfarer Parties.”
The docs alleged, “In a desperate effort to salvage Lively’s reputation and to escape her wrath, the Sloane Parties conspired with Lively and consolidated defendants Ryan Reynolds and The New York Times Company to make scapegoats of the Wayfarer Parties for Lively’s woes.”
“On information and belief, the Sloane Parties worked for months to drop breadcrumbs and hints of sinister allegations to the public while secretly feeding defamatory falsehoods to any reporter who would listen,” the docs insisted. “As a direct result of the actions of the Sloane Parties and their co-conspirators, the Wayfarer Parties have been damaged beyond measure. These are the facts underpinning the Wayfarer Parties’ allegations against the Sloane Parties, and this is what the evidence will prove at trial.”
Sloane’s legal team responded to the docs, telling People magazine, “As our motion to dismiss makes clear, Leslie Sloane and her company Vision PR were dragged into this lawsuit in an attempt to distract from serious allegations of sexual harassment and systematic retaliation.”
They added, “The irony is not lost on us that Baldoni and his team have wrongfully accused Leslie Sloane of engaging in the very same misconduct for which they stand accused. The claims against Leslie Sloane were brought as a baseless finger-pointing exercise. We look forward to setting the record straight on our grounds for dismissal and removing Leslie Sloane from this litigation, putting the rightful focus on the serious issues and allegations before the court.”
Blake and Justin are scheduled to have a March 2026 trial, but it could come earlier if the legal war gets nasty!
In December, Lively filed a legal complaint with the California Civil Rights Department claiming Baldoni sexually harassed her on set. She also accused him of a smear campaign in a New York Times article. In return, he sued The New York Times, which denied any wrongdoing.
Lively then sued Baldoni, and he fired back with a $400M defamation lawsuit against her. Both parties have also denied any wrongdoing.