Damn! Now that’s a statement!
We don’t know how this whole legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni will shake out, but we can tell you when we see a point getting scored! And in our estimation Ryan Reynolds really dunked on Baldoni here!
Related: Intimacy Coordinator Says Blake & Justin Had ‘Genuine’ Connection While Filming!
The It Ends With Us director is claiming Blake lied about him sexually harassing her. He says their feud began because she wanted to take over the movie, with Ryan’s help — and she only made up the harassment claims and accusations of a smear campaign when she got press she didn’t like. It certainly paints a picture of Blake and Ryan as Hollywood mean girls. But, um… what is the Adam Project star being sued for exactly?
That’s the point of the motion to dismiss Ryan filed Tuesday!
Nicepool? Or Babypool?!
At one point in his massive filing, Justin accuses Ryan of making fun of him in Deadpool & Wolverine. He revealed he believes the fan theory that the character of Nicepool — an alternate version of Deadpool who’s into New Age and empty fake feminism but ultimately is shown to be vain and self-centered — is making fun of him!
Ryan essentially confirms it by not issuing a denial — but rather saying it’s his right as a smartass! Well, he doesn’t say exactly that. But yeah, kinda!
The motion — which you can find in its entirety HERE — argues even if Justin hated being mocked, there’s no legal basis for him to sue over “hurt feelings.” Moreover, it blasts his “thin-skinned outrage” in complaining about it publicly! Basically he’s calling him a big baby! Damn!
And you know what? He’s not wrong! In the history of movies making fun of public figures, this is NOTHING! Matt Damon never sued over the monstrous version of him in Team America. In any case, legally Ryan is allowed to mock public figures, like actors and directors, that’s totally true. And heck, he didn’t even make overt reference to Justin — the guy could have gone the rest of his life not jumping up and down and saying, HEY THAT REALLY ANNOYING CHARACTER IS ME! Just sayin…
Doubling Down
Ryan’s motion also argues against the “defamation” he supposedly committed against Baldoni by calling him a “sexual predator” and pressuring WME to drop him as a client. Well, get this! Their legal take? Defamation is knowingly lying — and since Ryan actually believes Justin is a predator, this doesn’t qualify! WHOA!
The motion says Justin’s “allegations suggest that Mr. Reynolds genuinely, perhaps passionately, believes that Mr. Baldoni’s behavior is reflective of a ‘predator.'” And if that’s true, if that’s Ryan’s “unabashed negative opinion of Mr. Baldoni’s character,” well… then it’s protected free speech! Because “the law establishes that calling someone a ‘predator’ amounts to constitutionally protected opinion”:
“Mr. Reynolds has a First Amendment right to hold Mr. Baldoni — or any man who Mr. Reynolds believes sexually harassed his wife — in ‘deep disdain.’”
Huh. Then they hit him with:
“While Mr. Baldoni ‘may not appreciate being called’ a predator, those hurt feelings do not give rise to legal claims.”
DAMN!!!
Ooh, but that’s not all!
The motion also goes on to essentially argue that Baldoni himself has opened himself up to criticism as a sexual predator — because he’s talked about his past bad behavior openly! Ryan’s lawyers fire off:
“It would be perverse to permit Mr. Baldoni to build an entire brand — complete with a podcast, Ted Talk, and books — off of his confessions of repeatedly mistreating women, only to turn around and sue Mr. Reynolds for $400 million for simply pointing out in private what Mr. Baldoni has bragged about in public.”
No effing way! They’re using his brand against him?! Obviously he was saying this stuff not in a bragging way but in a confessional way though, right? Does that matter legally? Or is Ryan’s team right? Is all of it fair game here? If his confessions about porn addiction and mistreatment of women could be interpreted as at least being a former sexual predator… Is that protection against this defamation case?
Speaking Of Mean Girls
The motion also rips Baldoni’s lawsuit as nothing more than a bunch of complaints about Ryan being mean to him — only he’s really painting a picture of a good husband defending his wife!
“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.”
A BURN BOOK?? Damn, who wrote this thing? And is this wording for the courts? Or for the girlies out there? Hmm…
TL;DR
In a statement summing up their argument, Ryan’s lawyers Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson explain:
“The entirety of Mr. Baldoni’s case appears to be based on Mr. Reynolds allegedly privately calling Mr. Baldoni a ‘predator,’ but here’s the problem — that is not defamation unless they can show that Mr. Reynolds did not believe that statement to be true. The complaint doesn’t allege that. In fact, it suggests the opposite: that Mr. Reynolds genuinely believes Mr. Baldoni is a predator.”
Taking a shot at all Ryan and Blake’s critics, they continue:
“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.”
Damn. That’s some proper legal jiu jitsu right there! Not only do they say Ryan had the right, they imply he was right!
And a spokesperson for Ryan jumped in, turning one of the motion’s arguments into an even more pointed jab at Justin:
“The claims filed against Mr. Reynolds are simply a list of grievances attempting to shame him for being the man Mr. Baldoni has built his brand pretending to be — a man who is ‘confident enough to listen’ to the woman in his life.”
Man, they are really trying to turn this whole thing around! Did they succeed? What do YOU think, Perezcious paralegals??
[Image via MEGA/WENN/Disney+.]
Related Posts
