The question on the internet is whether Ryan Reynolds made subtle jabs at Justin Baldoni in Deadpool & Wolverine.
TikTok users and fans of Reynolds’ popular Marvel film are reevaluating Deadpool & Wolverine’s character Nicepool in the wake of Blake Lively’s lawsuit alleging sexual harassment by Baldoni on the set of It Ends with Us and a retaliatory smear campaign, as well as Baldoni’s subsequent lawsuit against The New York Times and vow to countersue the actress. Reynolds received credit for co-writing the popular movie.
“I mean, guys, get moving. On Monday, January 6, TikTok user americastia posted what looks to be a deleted scene of Reynolds’ character saying, “I’d be fighting alongside you, but my calling is to one day start a podcast that monetizes the women’s movement.” “That’s not even subtle,” she remarked.
The video is one of several social media posts that highlight what are said to be Nicepool and 40-year-old Baldoni’s similarities.
In addition to being mentioned in Lively’s sexual harassment complaint, which was submitted on December 20, and the formal lawsuit that was filed in New York on December 31, Baldoni co-hosts the podcast The Man Enough with his producing partner, Jamey Heath.
The podcast, which examines “how the messages of masculinity show up in relationships, body image, privilege, fatherhood, sex, success, mental health and so much more,” was confirmed to be ending on December 23 by Liz Plank, its third co-host.
When Wolverine and Deadpool first encounter the Nicepool character in Deadpool & Wolverine, the character makes scathing remarks about Ladypool, who was portrayed by Lively.
“Wait until you see Ladypool, please. In the movie, Nicepool remarks, “She is gorgeous.” “She just had a baby, too — you can’t even tell.” Deadpool replies, “I don’t think you’re supposed to stay that,” but Nicepool replies, “That’s okay.” I consider myself to be a feminist.
Less than four months after giving birth to her and Reynolds’ fourth child, Lively claimed in her complaint against Baldoni that the actor-director “routinely degraded” her during production on It Ends with Us by “finding back channel ways of criticizing her body and weight,” including calling her trainer behind her back and implying that he “wanted her to lose weight in two weeks.” Baldoni and another producer allegedly entered her trailer “uninvited” while she was “vulnerable” or nude, according to the complaint.
The complaint also claimed that Lively, who has been married to Reynolds since 2012, attended a meeting in New York on January 4, 2024, “to address the hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production.”
The meeting was attended by Baldoni, Heath, a Sony Pictures executive, other producers on the film, and Reynolds as her representative. The outcome, according to Lively, was a list of 30 protections designed to resume production.
On January 21, 2024, Reynolds was first spotted on the Deadpool & Wolverine set donning the Nicepool suit. For playing Nicepool in the film, the actor is given credit as “Gordon Reynolds,” a fictitious twin brother of Deadpool’s that he made up for a 2016 GQ interview.
Baldoni has refuted every accusation Lively made against him, and on December 31, he sued the Times for $250 million for a story that covered Lively’s complaint on December 21.
Read Also: Robyn Brown Opens Up About Why She Never Desired Legal Marriage with Kody on Sister Wives
On January 2, Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s lawyer, told NBC News that they intended to file Baldoni’s countersuit “soon.” “We plan to release every single text message between the two of them,” he said.
On the same day, Baldoni intends to file a lawsuit against Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane, and Baldoni’s former publicist Stephanie Jones. About the impending lawsuit on December 29, Freedman stated, “This is not a response or countersuit — it’s a deliberate pursuit of truth.”
During that January 2024 discussion about “It Ends with Us” at Lively and Reynold’s apartment in New York City, Baldoni said in his complaint against the Times that Reynolds “aggressively berated” him. According to Baldoni, Reynolds “demanded” an apology for Lively, accusing him of “fat-shaming” her. Reynolds reportedly became even more incensed when Baldoni “resisted apologizing for what he had not done.”
Lively’s legal team said that her “serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation” are “backed by concrete facts” and denounced what they described as “more attacks” on Lively by Baldoni since she filed her lawsuit on Monday, January 6.
In response, Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, promised receipts. In reference to “It Ends with Us, he stated in a statement on January 7 that “We are releasing all of the evidence which will show a pattern of bullying and threats to take over the movie.”
