Ryan Reynolds Blasts Justin Baldoni For Suing Over "Hurt Feelings" In Attempts To Dismiss Lawsuit

Ryan Reynolds speaks out about the ongoing Justin Baldoni lawsuit. Last year, Baldoni directed It Ends With Us, a movie adaptation of the bestselling Colleen Hoover novel of the same name. For months, it was rumored that Baldoni and co-star Blake Lively (who, notably, is married to Reynolds) were feuding on set. Neither actor addressed the issue head-on until, months later, Lively sued Baldoni for Sєxual harᴀssment, among other complaints. In reaction, Baldoni sued multiple groups, including Lively.

Per ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Reynolds and his team have now attempted to dismiss one of Baldoni’s lawsuits, slamming the actor-director for his statements. The legal team claims that Baldoni’s lawsuits are based on “hurt feelings” and “clickbait” lies. The team goes on to dissect the claim that Reynolds called Baldoni a “predator,” and whether that can be considered defamation. The team notes “the FAC alleges no plausible facts that suggest Mr. Reynolds did not believe this comment to be true.” Check out the text from the memorandum of law below:

The entirety of Plaintiffs’ defamation claim appears to be based on two times that Mr. Reynolds allegedly called Mr. Baldoni a ‘predator.’ But, the FAC alleges no plausible facts that suggest Mr. Reynolds did not believe this comment to be true.

[Baldoni’s claim is] namely that Mr. Reynolds and an unnamed executive at WME had a conversation during a movie premiere about Mr. Reynolds’ ‘deep disdain for Baldoni, suggesting the agency was working with a ‘Sєxual predator.’

The FAC does not allege what precise term Mr. Reynolds used in this alleged suggestion, the sentence in which he allegedly suggested it, or any information about the context of the conversations (other than that one of them was about how much Mr. Reynolds dislikes him for having Sєxually harᴀssed his wife).

The Wayfarer Parties say that Mr. Reynolds extorted them, but fail to allege that he received any money or property. They claim he interfered with a contract without identifying what that contract is, what provisions were allegedly breached, or even which of them were parties to it. They ᴀssert $400 million in damages without explaining anything about who suffered that loss, in what proportion, as a result of which claims, or what proximately caused such losses. The FAC is long on hyperbole, prose, and “claims,” but devoid of any facts necessary to state ones recognized by law. 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.’

The FAC is, in sum, a textbook retaliatory SLAPP suit, and it should be dismissed with prejudice.

Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, Reynolds’ lawyers, also said the following:

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.

What This Means For The Baldoni Case

Baldoni’s Team Will Have Trouble Proving Defamation

Lively originally filed her legal complaint against Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios on December 20, 2024. A day later, The New York Times published an exposé тιтled “We Can Bury Anyone: Instead a Hollywood Smear Machine,” which included details about the case. In reaction, Baldoni sued the New York Times for libel. But his legal action did not end there. In January of this year, Baldoni went on to file a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds that claimed civil extortion, invasion of privacy, and defamation.

As of now, a trial is scheduled to begin on March 9, 2026. Reynolds’ legal team’s most recent strategy involves clearly defining “defamation” and noting how Reynolds’ actions do not fit into it. The lawyers noted clearly that this is “not defamation unless they can show that Mr. Reynolds did not believe that statement to be true.“

Our Take On The Baldoni Case Update

Reynolds’ Team Offers A Compelling Case

Blake Lively's Lily looking angry at someone in It Ends With Us

Reading the latest legal update, it is hard to believe that Baldoni has a large chance of winning this case. While the United States courts can favor perpetrators over victims in Sєxual harᴀssment cases, Reynolds’ team has offered a compelling case for the ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool actor, calling Baldoni’s claims “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 statement that carries both emotional and legal weight.

Source: ᴅᴇᴀᴅline