Ryan Reynolds has been accused of adding an 'inside joke' about Justin Baldoni to his 2024 superhero film, Deadpool & Wolverine.
Baldoni's attorney made these claims amidst a number of lawsuits made between Baldoni and his It Ends with Us co-star Blake Lively.
In December 2024, Lively sued her co-star, alleging sexual harassment as well as a campaign of 'social manipulation' against her.
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Her legal representatives also added that Baldoni - who directed the romantic drama - was already planning to launch a lawsuit of his own against Lively, already being among the plaintiffs of a $250 million lawsuit against the New York Times, who published Lively's lawsuit, alleging libel and false-light invasion of privacy.
Following that lawsuit, Lively then filed a second lawsuit against Baldoni and his team, demanding 'punitive' and 'compensatory' damages as well as a jury trial, and her legal representatives have said they look forward to resolving the matter in court.
Baldoni has denied all the claims brought against him.
Now, Lively's husband Reynolds has been accused of using his power and influence to create a Deadpool & Wolverine character that parodied Baldoni.
The Marvel film was shot at the same time as It Ends with Us, which lines up with the events referenced in the lawsuits.
Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, made an appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show on Tuesday, claiming that there's 'no question' that the Canadian actor created a character at the expense of his wife's co-star on the blockbuster film.
Speaking about the character known as 'Nicepool', Freedman explained: "What Ryan Reynolds has seemingly done is use his power and influence ... on Deadpool and to make fun of Justin Baldoni."
Host Kelly played a clip of the character, who sported a man-bun and had dialogue that suggested that he was a social activist and a feminist, as well as making inappropriate comments about Lively's Ladypool character and her pregnancy.
Reynolds himself played the character, and said in the scene: "Oh my goodness, wait til you've seen Ladypool. She is gorgeous. She just had a baby too and (you) can't even tell."
Deadpool replied, saying: "I don't think you're supposed to say that," to which Nicepool responded, with a hand on his chest: "That's okay, I identify as a feminist."
Baldoni has publicly stated numerous times that he is a feminist, giving a TED talk in 2017 about being a feminist.
Freedman said of the clip: "What I make of that is that if your wife is sexually harassed, you don't make fun of Justin Baldoni; you don't make fun of the situation - you take it very seriously."
He added that addressing the issues through a comedy sketch 'undercuts the credibility' of the sexual harassment claims made by Lively.
The lawyer went on: "What you don't do is mock the person and turn it into a joke," adding that he should have 'filed HR complaints' to 'follow a legal process'.
"If someone is sexually harassed, you don't make fun of it - it's a serious issue," he highlighted.
Freedman claims that the traits that Nicepool had was a clear joke at Baldoni's expense, explaining: "There's no question it relates to Justin."
He added: "I mean anybody that can watch that - the hair bun, you know, the comment about the pregnancy - it's pretty obvious what's being done."
He then revealed that Reynolds will 'for sure' be named in a lawsuit over It Ends with Us, as he claimed that the 48-year-old helped Lively 'take over' the film adaptation.
Freedman also claimed that Lively wrongly claimed that Reynolds wrote a scene in the film, though Christy Hall and Colleen Hoover - the author of the original It Ends With Us book - were the only writers credited on the title.
He said: "It's the first time they're hearing that and Justin handles that really, really well and doesn't want to say she's a liar, doesn't want to say that's inappropriate ... and he treats her very well about that."
LADbible has approached Lively and Baldoni's reps for comment.
Topics: Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool, Justin Baldoni, Film, Blake Lively, Celebrity
Joshua Nair