Ryan Reynolds accused of using Hollywood influence to destroy Justin Baldoni's career

Justin Baldoni’s legal team has accused Ryan Reynolds of being a "key player" in an alleged scheme to destroy Baldoni’s career, after the Deadpool star attempted to be removed from an ongoing lawsuit.

Baldoni previously filed a lawsuit against Blake Lively, accusing her of civil extortion and defamation after she alleged he sexually harassed her on the set of It Ends With Us. Now, Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, claims Reynolds played a major role in defaming the actor within Hollywood.

"Mr. Reynolds’ exploitation of his enormous power in Hollywood continues, this time arrogantly asking to be dismissed from the case despite his publicly documented involvement extending far beyond just being a ‘supportive spouse,’" Freedman said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Freedman further alleged that Reynolds was responsible for pressuring WME into dropping Baldoni as a client and "strong-arming" industry figures against him. "His fingerprints have been all over this smear campaign against Justin and the Wayfarer team since day one," the lawyer added.

Baldoni’s lawsuit also claims Reynolds mocked him through his Deadpool character, "Nicepool," and that he had labeled Baldoni a "predator" in private conversations. Baldoni is seeking $400 million in damages.

Reynolds has denied the allegations, with his legal team arguing that the lawsuit is an attempt to damage his reputation. 

"The entirety of Mr. Baldoni’s case appears to be based on Mr. Reynolds allegedly privately calling Mr. Baldoni a ‘predator,’ but here is the problem: that is not defamation unless they can show that Mr. Reynolds did not believe that statement to be true," his lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, said.

They also pointed out that Lively has made multiple private complaints against Baldoni, and that Baldoni himself has spoken about pushing "the boundaries of consent."

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