Lawyers acting for Ryan Reynolds have filed a motion to dismiss Justin Baldoni‘s lawsuit against the Deadpool star, saying the It Ends With Us director cannot sue over “hurt feelings.”
Baldoni and his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively, who is married to Reynolds, are involved in a number of legal actions related to her claim that she was sexually harassed by him and his claim that she and Reynolds attempted to destroy his career.
In one lawsuit, Baldoni claimed that Reynolds used the character of Nicepool in Deadpool & Wolverine to lampoon Baldoni’s “woke feminist” image.
In the new legal filing, as reported by Variety, Reynolds’ lawyers did not dispute that Nicepool is based on Baldoni, but argued that Baldoni had shown “thin-skinned outrage” by complaining.
Baldoni also accused Reynolds of calling him a “sexual predator.” Reynolds’s lawyers did not deny this, but instead argued that could not be regarded as defamation if Reynolds genuinely believed it.
The motion states: “The law establishes that calling someone a ‘predator’ amounts to constitutionally protected opinion… While Mr Baldoni ‘may not appreciate being called’ a predator, those hurt feelings do not give rise to legal claims.”
It goes on to argue that rather than offering a provably false statement of fact, Reynolds was simply offering his “unabashed negative opinion of Mr Baldoni’s character.”
The motion continues: “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.'”
Reynolds’s lawyers also argue that it is “substantially true” that Baldoni is a predator based on his own statements. According to the motion, Baldoni has confessed during podcast appearances to “crossing boundaries” in his younger days due to his pornography addiction.
The motion argues: “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.”
In a statement to The Independent in response to the motion to dismiss, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said: "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.’
“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.
“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. Mr Reynolds can appear on as many sketch shows as he wants and feebly try to make light of his current situation, but we will not stop until he is held accountable for his actions."
Earlier this year, Freedman appeared on The Megyn Kelly Show to highlight Reynolds’ alleged mockery of his client through the character of Nicepool.
In a clip played during the show, Nicepool, a variant of Reynolds’s character, introduces himself to Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine for the first time.
“Oh my goodness, wait until you see Ladypool. She is gorgeous,” a man bun-wearing Nicepool says of Lively’s mutant mercenary. “She just had a baby, too, you can’t even tell.”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to say that,” Deadpool retorts. Nicepool responds: “That’s ok. I identify as a feminist.”
“What do you make of that?” Kelly asked Freedman.
“What I make of that is that if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of Justin Baldoni,” the lawyer replied. “You don’t make fun of the situation. You take it very seriously. File HR complaints. You raise the issue and follow a legal process.”
Baldoni is also suing The New York Times for libel over their reporting of Lively’s claims.
Blake Lively lands major win in legal fight over Justin Baldoni’s alleged harassment
Sharon Stone says she was ‘cast and removed’ unexpectedly from Another Simple Favour
Jonathan Majors ‘marries’ Meagan Good after assault sentencing
Jimmy Fallon mocks Meghan Markle over moment in show that ‘mystifies scientists’
JK Rowling ‘takes aim’ at Harry Potter stars on social media
Paltrow and Chalamet had ‘a lot of sex’ for new film and refused intimacy coordinator
