Justin Baldoni’s attorney has accused Ryan Reynolds of making a mockery of the It Ends with Us director and star in his recent Deadpool & Wolverine film.
During a recent appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show, Bryan Freedman — who is representing Baldoni in his libel suit against the New York Times for its reporting of his co-star Blake Lively’s sex harassment allegations against him — said that “there is no question” Reynolds’ Marvel movie is making fun of his client.
“What Ryan Reynolds has seemingly done is use his power and influence to not only help Blake Lively take over [It Ends with Us] but he’s used it on Deadpool and to make fun of Justin Baldoni,” Freedman told host Megyn Kelly.
Kelly then went on to play a clip from the third instalment in the superhero franchise, which sees Nicepool, a variant of Reynolds’s character, introduce 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.”
Some people on social media have argued that Nicepool is a mimicry of Baldoni, who used to wear his hair long and has regularly spoken about feminism on his Instagram.
“What do you make of that?” the conservative pundit 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.
“What you don’t do is mock the person and turn it into a joke. There’s no question it relates to Justin. I mean anybody that can watch that — the hair bun, the comment about the pregnancy — it’s pretty obvious what’s being done,” he argued.
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The Independent has contacted Reynolds’s representative for comment.
In Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni, she accused the It Ends with Us director of sexual harassment during filming as well as organizing a “smear campaign” against her in the months that followed.
The suit states that there was a meeting attended by individuals, including Lively, Reynolds, Baldoni and their lawyers, to address The Age of Adeline star’s claims.
Lively had a number of requirements in order for her to work on the film that included “no more inquiries about Blake’s weight,” as well as “no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia.”
Baldoni has denied all of Lively’s allegations and plans to file a countersuit, Freedman told NBC News last week.
