We knew this day would come sooner or later—Ryan Reynolds seems to be officially done with the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni drama. After undergoing months of swirling accusations, legal battles, and enough gossip to churn out a year’s worth of tabloid headlines, the Deadpool star suddenly made one thing clear—he wants out.
Justin Baldoni had filed a jaw-dropping $400M defamation lawsuit that dragged Ryan Reynolds into the chaos, accusing him of calling Baldoni a “predator” and sabotaging his reputation. However, Reynolds’ legal team just dropped a motion to dismiss, arguing that expressing his opinion—especially in defense of his wife—isn’t a crime.
Ryan Reynolds filed a motion to dismiss himself from Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni drama
Although Ryan Reynolds is known for his humor, his latest move might just take the cake. While his wife, Blake Lively, is standing neck deep in a legal showdown with It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni, Reynolds filed a motion to tap out of the drama. Yep, the Deadpool star seemed to be saying that his wife is on her own now.
After Justin Baldoni hit the couple with a $400M defamation lawsuit, accusing Ryan Reynolds of calling him a “predator” and trying to ruin his career, the latter wasted no time making his stance clear. Reynolds’ legal team thus argued that the Definitely, Maybe star was just defending his wife and, hey, that’s not a crime.
Reynolds’ lawyers, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson told the New York Post,
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.
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.
Blake Lively’s allegations against Justin Baldoni—which include claims of s*xual harassment and a public smear campaign—are the root of this whole mess. And while Ryan Reynolds initially stood by her side, now it looks like he’s more interested in keeping his hands clean. Call it self-preservation or a strategic move, but Reynolds is not too keen on sticking around for further courtroom chaos.
Ryan Reynolds’ legal team claimed that Justin Baldoni’s $400M lawsuit is devoid of facts
Well, Ryan Reynolds’ legal team didn’t stop there. After stating how Justin Baldoni shouldn’t drag the Deadpool & Wolverine star into his legal battle with Blake Lively, Reynolds’ lawyers called the defamation claims “devoid of any facts”. According to them, Baldoni’s lawsuit against Reynolds is just a “list of grievances attempting to shame” him for being the man that Baldoni pretends to be.
The claims filed against Mr. Reynolds are simply a list of grievances attempting to shame Mr. Reynolds for being the man Mr. Baldoni has built his brand pretending to be, a man who is ‘confident enough to listen’ to the women in his life.
Further touching on Steve Sarowitz’s $100M pledge to “‘ruin’ Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds”, the Fall Guy actor’s legal team cited it as the sole reason why Ryan Reynolds suddenly became a part of Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit. Thereafter, stating how Baldoni’s defamation suit doesn’t make clear who was defamed, or in what proportion—Reynolds’ team filed a motion to dismiss.
Meanwhile, Justin Baldoni claimed Ryan Reynolds pushed to have him dropped by WME, one of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies (not to mention Ari Emanuel, CEO of WME’s parent company Endeavor claimed to be “ride or die” for Lively and Reynolds). But despite all odds, the Green Lantern stars’ team insisted that Baldoni’s playing the victim card—and not very convincingly.
So now, it seems like Ryan Reynolds, who has been Blake Lively’s biggest cheerleader in public, is screaming to be out of the lawsuit. And let’s be honest, Reynolds always had this knack for sidestepping drama and turning chaos into comedy—from social media roasts to playful trolling. But this? It’s not exactly a laughing matter, leaving Lively to battle Baldoni solo.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
