If Ryan Reynolds Believes It, How Can It Be Defamation? His Lawyers Reply to Justin Baldoni

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Ryan Reynolds contends that he couldn’t possibly be slandering Justin Baldoni, as he sincerely feels that Baldoni, the director of “It Ends With Us,” acted in a predatory manner.

To counter the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Reynolds is utilizing the stringent standard for proving defamation against public figures. This means he must demonstrate that the accused remarks were either intentionally false or made without caring about their truth. He invokes First Amendment protections and refers back to previous statements from Baldoni regarding allegations of mistreatment towards women and disregarding consent boundaries.

In his court submission, attorney Michael Gottlieb states that Baldoni’s lawsuit fails to present any credible facts implying, let alone proving, that anyone perceived Reynolds’ statements as expressing anything beyond his genuine opinion about Baldoni’s character.

The filing represents the most recent development in a complex legal dispute involving Blake Lively and Baldoni, where both parties have accused each other of masterminding a defamatory campaign. Following Lively’s initial lawsuit, Baldoni retaliated with his own legal action, charging extortion, slander, breach of contract allegations, among others. Additionally, Reynolds is now involved in the case due to accusations that he contacted Baldoni’s agency (specifically a high-ranking executive at WME), claiming that Baldoni is a sexual predator. According to the lawsuit, Reynolds later requested the agency, which also represents him and Lively, to sever ties with Baldoni.

In Tuesday’s submitted document, Reynolds contends that the lawsuit fails to pinpoint any specifically defamatory statement he made about Baldoni. Responding to claims that he branded Baldoni as a “predator” during a discussion with WME, Reynolds asserts that the lawsuit should provide details about the conversation, such as its content, date, and context.

Gottlieb explains that without these specifics, it’s unattainable to ascertain if this statement qualifies under the one-year limit for defamation cases.

Even if Baldoni may not meet the requirements to claim defamation, Reynolds argues that his statement should be seen as an expression of opinion rather than a factual assertion. He references the lawsuit by stating that in his alleged conversation with the WME executive, he voiced his strong disapproval of Baldoni, claiming his right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment to criticize the director of It Ends With Us, or any man who he believes sexually harassed his wife. He additionally brings up statements from Baldoni suggesting improper conduct, such as when Baldoni admitted on a podcast that he likely crossed boundaries and lines during his teenage and young adult years due to the pornography he was consuming at the time.

In the motion to dismiss, Gottlieb counters the accusations made by the Wayfarer Parties: “They claim Mr. Reynolds extorted them, but they don’t provide any evidence that he received money or property. They allege he interfered with a contract, yet they don’t specify which contract, what parts of it were allegedly violated, or even who among them was involved in the contract. They claim $400 million in damages, but they fail to provide details such as who experienced these losses, in what proportion, due to what specific claims, and what exactly caused these losses.

In their declaration, Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, legal representatives of Reynolds, stated that the actor has the freedom of speech under the First Amendment to share his views. Moreover, they pointed out that if Baldoni intends to succeed in his defamation lawsuit against Reynolds, he must demonstrate convincingly that Reynolds didn’t genuinely view him as a “predator” when portraying that characterization.

Baldoni didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

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2025-03-19 00:25