Ryan Reynolds demands Justin Baldoni defamation lawsuit be dismissed, believes he’s a ‘predator’: court docs

Ryan Reynolds filed a motion to dismiss Justin Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against the actor Tuesday.

Reynolds was included in the lawsuit Baldoni filed against Blake Lively, accusing the two of civil extortion, defamation and more. 

The "Deadpool" star's legal team claimed "the entirety of [Baldoni's] defamation claim appears to be based on two times that Mr. Reynolds allegedly called Mr. Baldoni a ‘predator.’"

"But, the FAC [First Amended Complaint] alleges no plausible facts that suggest Mr. Reynolds did not believe this comment to be true; instead, the relevant FAC allegations suggest that Mr. Reynolds genuinely, perhaps passionately, believes that Mr. Baldoni’s behavior is reflective of a ‘predator,’" the documents, obtained by Fox News Digital, stated.

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"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," Reynolds' lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"The complaint doesn’t allege that, and just the opposite, the allegations in the complaint suggest that Mr. Reynolds genuinely believes Mr. Baldoni is a predator. Mr. Reynolds’ wife has accused Mr. Baldoni – privately and in multiple complaints – of sexual harassment and retaliation, and as pointed out by Mr. Reynolds’ motion, Mr. Baldoni has also openly spoken about his past of mistreating women and pushing the boundaries of consent. Mr. Reynolds has a First Amendment right to express his opinion of Mr. Baldoni, which should be comforting to a group of people who have repeatedly called Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds ‘bullies’ and other names over the past year."

Fox News Digital has reached out to representatives for Baldoni for comment.

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Baldoni accused Lively of tormenting him, his family and colleagues in a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York in January. The actor requested a jury trial and a judgment of $400 million.

Lively sued Baldoni first for sexual harassment after the two starred together in the Colleen Hoover-adapted film "It Ends With Us." Since the premiere of the movie in August, Lively has also accused Baldoni of participating in a deliberate smear campaign to ruin her reputation.

However, Baldoni – along with Wayfarer Studios, Jamey Heath and others – painted a different story in the actor's own lawsuit.

The actor's lawsuit claimed Reynolds had made statements labeling Baldoni a "predator" and used the "Deadpool" character "Nicepool" to mock him. Before filing his lawsuit, Baldoni's lawyer requested any documents showing a "deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate, or bully Baldoni through the character of ‘Nicepool,’" along with "any and all documents relating or reflecting any deliberate attempt to link the character of ‘Nicepool’ to Justin Baldoni."

"There's no question [the character] relates to Justin," Bryan Freedman previously claimed during a Jan. 7 appearance on Megyn Kelly's show. "I mean, anybody that watched – that hair bun, the comment about the pregnancy … It's pretty obvious what's being done. But again, if somebody is seriously sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of it. It’s a serious issue," the lawyer added.

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Reynolds' motion to dismiss hit back at the allegations, claiming Baldoni's team only included him in the lawsuit in an attempt to ruin the actor's reputation.

"The Wayfarer Parties say that Mr. Reynolds extorted them, but fail to allege that he received any money or property. They claim he interfered with a contract without identifying what that contract is, what provisions were allegedly breached, or even which of them were parties to it. They assert $400 million in damages without explaining anything about who suffered that loss, in what proportion, as a result of which claims, or what proximately caused such losses," the lawsuit read. 

"The FAC is long on hyperbole, prose, and ‘claims,’ but devoid of any facts necessary to state ones recognized by law. It is, in essence, a burn book filled with grievances attempting to shame Mr. Reynolds for being the kind of man who is ‘confident enough to listen’ to the woman in his life and to hold her ‘anguish and actually’ stand with her."