Justin Baldoni Accuses Ryan Reynolds of Modeling ‘Deadpool’ Character After Him to ‘Mock, Harass’ in Litigation Letter to Disney
In the latest development in the Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively legal battle, the actor accuses Ryan Reynolds of creating the character of Nicepool in “Deadpool & Wolverine” in a “deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate, or bully Baldoni.”
Reynolds, is, of course, married to Lively, who sued Baldoni for sexual harassment on the set of the domestic abuse drama “It Ends With Us” last month. While Baldoni has not yet sued Lively directly, his lawyer last week promised to sue the actress “into oblivion.”
On Jan. 7, the actor sent a letter to Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Disney chief Bob Iger asking them to hand over “any and all documents relating to the development of the ‘Nicepool’ character” in addition to “communications relating to the development, writing, and filming of storylines and scenes featuring ‘Nicepool.’”
In the superhero movie, Reynolds appears as a version of the character known as “Nicepool,” the polar opposite of the snarky Deadpool.
At one point, Nicepool compliments Ladypool (played by Lively) for “snapping back” into shape after giving birth. Among Lively’s allegations against Baldoni is that he fat-shamed her during the making of “It Ends With Us,” which was filmed shortly after she had given birth.
The ultra-nice character also jokingly asks for an intimacy coordinator in one scene: Lively alleged that Baldoni, who also directed “It Ends With Us,” had “inserted improvised gratuitous sexual content and/or scenes involving nudity” into the film.
Baldoni has filed a $250 million suit against the New York Times for defamation over the Dec. 21 article, “We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” about the alleged campaign to “tarnish” Lively after she accused him of misconduct.
Disney acquired rights to Deadpool, as well as the X-Men franchise, when it purchased 20th Century Fox in 2019.
Variety first reported this story.
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