Ryan Reynolds is fighting back against accusations made by Justin Baldoni, who has filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times over an alleged incident. In the lawsuit, Baldoni claims that Reynolds “aggressively” berated him during a meeting, accusing him of “fat-shaming” Blake Lively while they were filming It Ends With Us. This alleged confrontation reportedly followed a complaint Lively filed with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing Baldoni of making insensitive comments about her postpartum weight.
A source reportedly present at the meeting told TMZ that while Reynolds was “angry and stern,” he did not yell at Baldoni. The source also disputed Baldoni’s claim that the encounter was “inappropriate and humiliating,” as well as the assertion that it happened in front of celebrity friends who were coming in and out of the penthouse during the meeting. According to the source, everyone knew that Baldoni was going to be called out for his actions.
Baldoni has filed this lawsuit alongside his publicist and crisis manager, along with seven other plaintiffs, in response to the sexual harassment and defamation lawsuit filed by Lively against him and his production company, Wayfarer Studios. The accusations in Lively’s lawsuit include sexual harassment, emotional distress, and claims that Baldoni had initiated a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, has denied the allegations, suggesting that the lawsuit was a way for Lively to “fix” her reputation after the claims against her. Lively, however, defended her legal action in a statement to The New York Times, saying that she wanted to bring attention to the “sinister retaliatory tactics” used to target individuals who speak out about workplace misconduct.
