Ryan Reynolds demands to be dismissed from ‘predator’ Justin Baldoni’s case as Blake Lively legal drama takes twist

Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds, 48, has filed a motion to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit against him, arguing that calling Baldoni a “predator” is protected speech.

The Deadpool actor’s legal team submitted the filing on Tuesday, claiming Reynolds genuinely believes Baldoni, 41, engaged in predatory behaviour.

Reynolds’ attorneys argued that his comments are constitutionally protected opinions rather than defamatory statements.

In the court filing, Reynolds’ attorney Michael Gottlieb wrote that Baldoni’s lawsuit “does not allege any plausible facts that would remotely suggest, let alone establish, that anyone interpreted Mr Reynolds’ statements as reflecting anything other than his genuinely held belief about Mr Baldoni’s character.”

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The legal team emphasised that for defamation to occur, Baldoni would need to prove Reynolds did not believe his own statements to be true.

“Calling someone a ‘predator’ amounts to a constitutionally protected opinion,” the filing states.

Reynolds’ motion dismisses Baldoni’s lawsuit as merely expressing “hurt feelings” rather than legitimate legal claims.

The filing describes Baldoni’s “thin-skinned outrage over a movie character” – referring to the Nicepool character in Deadpool & Wolverine, which some speculated was created to mock Baldoni – as having no legal basis.

Reynolds’ team characterised the complaint as “long on hyperbole” and essentially “a burn book filled with grievances” attempting to shame Reynolds for supporting his wife.

The legal battle began when Lively sued Baldoni in December, accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliation during the production of It Ends With Us.

Baldoni responded in January with his own $400 million lawsuit against Reynolds, Lively and the New York Times.

In his lawsuit, Baldoni accused Reynolds of privately calling him a “sexual predator” and pressuring their shared talent agency, WME, to drop him as a client.

Reynolds maintains he was only involved as a “supportive spouse” to Lively.

To bolster his defence, Reynolds points to Baldoni’s own public statements about his past behaviour with women.

In a 2023 YouTube interview, Baldoni admitted: “I’m sure I have crossed boundaries and lines in my teens and twenties not even thinking about it simply because of the porn I was consuming.”

Baldoni has also spoken about being introduced to pornography at age 10 and how it affected his understanding of consent in relationships.

In a statement to the press, Reynolds’ attorneys Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson defended their client’s right to criticise Baldoni.

“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,” they said.

The lawyers added that if Baldoni wants to win his defamation case, he must prove Reynolds didn’t believe his statements. A spokesperson for Reynolds described Baldoni’s case as “frivolous,” adding: “We look forward to this lawsuit being dismissed.”

If the judge does not grant Reynolds’ motion to dismiss, he could be called to testify in what promises to be a highly publicised case.

Both Baldoni and Lively’s legal teams have previously stated they do not intend to settle.

The trial is currently scheduled for March 2026.