The actor Ryan Reynolds, 48, is asking a judge to remove him as a defendant of the difamation process of $ 400 million filed by Justin Baldoniarguing that the accusations against him They have no legal basis and equivalent only to “injured feelings.”
The request, presented on Tuesday (18) and obtained by the CNNhe claims that and his wife’s process is based on two occasions when the actress’s husband allegedly called the artist “predator,” but nothing in action suggests that he did not believe in this statement.
“Reynolds genuinely believes, perhaps passionately, that Baldoni’s behavior reflects that of a ‘predator’,” says the document presented by the lawyers of the “Barbie actor”, adding that “calling someone ‘predator’ is a constitutionally protected opinion.”
Reynolds’ lawyers also argue that Baldoni’s “sensitive indignation about a film character”-referring to the character Nicepool from “Deadpool & Wolverine”-“is not even linked to any legal claims,” which was only the accused that he had “injured feelings”.
In the motion, the couple’s lawyers say that although Lively sued Baldoni and his partners for sexual harassment and retaliation, Reynolds has no involvement in the issue and acted only as a “solidarity spouse.”
Lawyers claim that Reynolds was included in the lawsuit because Steve Sarowitz – one of the defendants in the case and commercial partner of the accused in producer Wayfarer Studios, who produced and co -finance “that’s how it ends” Sony – “promised to spend up to $ 100 million to ‘ruin’ Lively and Reynolds,” the document.
In the lawsuit against the couple and the press officer of the actress, Leslie Sloane, Baldoni accuses Reynolds of helping her “kidnap” her movie and harm her career.
Baldoni also states that Lively tried to take on the creative direction of the movie, causing the actor – who didn’t play a formal role in production – rewriting a scene and “unauthorized changes in the script.”
In addition, he accuses Reynolds of having scolded him at the couple’s house in New York, claiming that the actor cursed him and accused him of “embarrassing his wife for being fat.” He also states that he was mocked in “Deadpool & Wolverine” using the character Nicepool as a parody.
The husband of the star of “Gossip Girl” is still accused of telling an executive of the WME talent agency that Baldoni was a “sexual predator” to encourage the company to break relations with him.
The couple’s members are WME’s highest paid customers, where the accused was represented until the agency dismissed him after Lively’s complaint.
The agency denied that the actors influenced its decision, although the agency CEO, Ari Emanuel, recently boasted the resignation of Baldoni in a podcast.
A CNN He contacted representatives of the actor of “That’s how it ends” for comments.
Reynolds lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, told CNN That Baldoni’s defamation process is founded, as the victim’s husband really believes he is a predator.
“Reynolds has the right of the first amendment to express his opinion about Baldoni, which should be comforting to a group of people who repeatedly called Lively and Reynolds of” bullies “last year,” said the lawyers.
An actor’s spokesman classified the Baldoni process as “frivolous”, telling the CNN who expects him to be rejected.
The couple’s lawyers said they do not intend to reach an agreement. The trial is scheduled for March 2026. If Reynolds’s request is denied, it may be summoned to witness in a case of great repercussion.
Lively and Baldoni have been in court dispute since December, when she accused him of sexual harassment and retaliation in a complaint to the California civil rights department before formally sued it a week later.
Last month, she filed an altered version of the complaint, claiming that other women also reported inappropriate Baldoni behavior behind the scenes.
Bryan Freedman, lawyer of Baldoni, Heath and Wayfarer Studios, denied the allegations in a statement to CNN. “These accusations are completely false, outrageous and intentionally scandalous, in order to publicly harm Baldoni and rewrite a narrative in the media,” said Freedman.
