Justin Baldoni’s attorney has reacted to Ryan Reynolds’ filing to dismiss their ongoing legal battle.
“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,’” Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told Us Weekly in a statement on Wednesday, March 19. “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.”
Freedman added, “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.”
Per Freedman, his legal team “will not stop” until Reynolds, 48, is “held accountable for his actions.”
Related: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds Seek to Dismiss Justin Baldoni’s Lawsuit
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are seeking to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit. Lively, 37, and Reynolds, 48, told a federal judge on Thursday, January 30, that they will move to dismiss the legal action filed against them by the It Ends With Us director, 40, Variety reported the same day. Per Variety, each side’s […]
Us confirmed on Tuesday, March 18, that Reynolds submitted a motion to dismiss himself from Baldoni’s lawsuit. The Deadpool star’s lawyers argued that Baldoni “does not identify a single allegedly defamatory statement” made by Reynolds.
“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’ attorneys Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson told Us in a statement. “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.”
The statement continued: “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.”
Reynolds’ wife, Blake Lively, sued Baldoni, 41, for sexual harassment and fostering a “hostile work environment” while they worked together on 2024’s It Ends With Us. Baldoni denied the allegations before filing a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, 37, Reynolds and their publicist Lesley Sloane. Sloane, for her part, has since filed to be removed from the case. A trial date is currently slated to begin in 2026.
Both Lively and Reynolds, meanwhile, have denied Baldoni’s allegations.
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