Justin Baldoni's lawyers say they "will not stop" until Ryan Reynolds is held accountable in response to his appeal to dismiss defamation suit

Justin Baldoni's lawyers hit back at Ryan Reynolds after the latter filed a motion to dismiss his defamation case. On March 18, 2025, Reynolds' lawyer argued in a motion to dismiss Baldoni's lawsuit against his client that the It Ends With Us star and director can't sue Reynolds over "hurt feelings."

However, one day after the request, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, shared a press statement saying that they "will not stop" until Reynolds is held accountable. Per Fox News, Freedman said:

"Mr. Reynolds can appear on as many sketch shows as he wants and feebly try to mark light of his current situation, but we will not stop until he is held accountable for his actions."

In Justin Baldoni's defamation case, he accused Lively of tormenting him and his family and further claimed that Reynolds labeled him a "predator." He further alleged that Reynolds mocked him by using the Deadpool & Wolverine character "Nicepool," which wasn't in the comics. He requested a jury trial for the lawsuits and a judgment of $400 million.

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Justin Baldoni's lawyer responds to Ryan Reynolds' claims in the latter's motion to dismiss

In his press statement on March 19, Justin Baldoni's primary attorney, Bryan Freedman, accused Ryan Reynolds of continuing to exploit his "enormous power in Hollywood." In Ryan Reynolds' motion to dismiss, his attorney stood by his client's "predator" comment, saying that it was "substantially true."

The motion further states that Reynolds has the First Amendment right to hold the man who he believes s*xually harassed his wife in "deep disdain."

However, Freedman called out Reynolds for being arrogant in asking his client's lawsuit to be dismissed, further saying that the actor has been involved in the issue "beyond just being a 'supportive spouse'" to Lively. He further reiterated their claim that Ryan Reynolds has been allegedly involved in defaming Justin Baldoni:

"Mr. Reynolds was a key player in the scheme, defaming Justin around Hollywood, strong-arming WME into dropping Justin as a client, and trying to destroy Justin's career however possible."

He further alleged:

"His fingerprints have been all over this smear campaign against Justin and the Wayfarer team since day one."

Justin Baldoni's lawyer also responded to Ryan Reynolds' claim that his client is only suing the Deadpool actor over hurt feelings. Freedman said that Reynolds' attempt to reduce Baldoni's "plainly cognizable claims to 'hurt feelings'" is a "clear message that bullying is acceptable."

However, he said that what Reynolds is doing, which Freedman likened to lighting a match and running from the flames, "won't work," further noting that their claims are well founded:

"The Wayfarer Parties' claims against him are real, and they are serious."

Among other claims in Justin Baldoni's case against Ryan Reynolds was the latter allegedly "berating" Baldoni during a meeting in his and Blake Lively's home in New York. He also accused Reynolds of trying to get the talent agency WME to drop him as a client, which the agency initially denied. However, per CBR, WME's CEO, Ari Emanuel confirmed that they dropped Baldoni because of Lively,

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Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's trial has been scheduled for March 2026.