Ryan Reynolds reportedly did not “aggressively berate” Justin Baldoni during an alleged meeting despite the “It Ends With Us” actor-director accusing him of doing so in a $250 million libel lawsuit against the New York Times.
A source who was allegedly present at the purported January 2024 meeting claimed to TMZ on Thursday that the “Deadpool & Wolverine” star was “angry and stern” — and even “impassioned” — during their conversion, however he did not yell at Baldoni.
The “Jane the Virgin” alum claimed in his lawsuit — which was filed Tuesday — that Reynolds reprimanded him for allegedly “fat-shaming” Blake Lively during filming of “It Ends With Us.”
Lively, 37, alleged in her complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department, as well as her formal lawsuit submitted in New York federal court Tuesday, that Baldoni, 40, made comments about her postpartum weight throughout the filming process, in addition to lewd remarks and more.
Furthermore, TMZ’s source alleged Baldoni was not “blindsided” by the aforementioned discussion with Reynolds, 48, and Lively — which he claimed took place at the couple’s New York City penthouse.
In his lawsuit, the “Five Feet Apart” director claims he thought he was being invited over to their home for a meeting about production, but was shocked by what he called the “traumatic encounter.”
However, the TMZ insider claimed “everyone in attendance knew Baldoni’s alleged behavior would be addressed.”
The source also denied Baldoni’s claim in the court docs that the “inappropriate and humiliating berating” occurred “as other celebrity friends were coming in and out of their penthouse.”
Page Six reached out to Baldoni’s lawyer and Reynolds’ rep for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Baldoni sued the Times along with nine other plaintiffs — including his crisis manager, Melissa Nathan, and his publicist, Jennifer Abel — after the publication reported on Lively’s allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation in a Dec. 21 article.
Following the lawsuit, the Times stood by its reporting, telling Page Six in a statement that the story “was meticulously and responsibly reported” and that they “plan to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
Meanwhile, Lively sued Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, for alleged sexual harassment, loss of wages, emotional distress, breach of contract and orchestrating a smear campaign against her. His lawyer denied the allegations in her original complaint.
She claimed Baldoni’s behavior was addressed at the “all-hands” meeting in January 2024, where she allegedly “discussed a list of twenty examples of the behaviors” that she did not feel comfortable with and asked that they be put to an end.
In his lawsuit, Baldoni claims he attempted on numerous occasions to appease Lively for the sake of the film following her “multiple demands and threats” — but she then tried to ban him from the “It Ends With Us” premiere in August 2024.
Around the time of the premiere, rumors began swirling about the pair’s fractured professional relationship, especially when they did not appear together while promoting the film.
Lively has been supported by her “It Ends With Us” co-stars Jenny Slate and Brandon Sklenar, as well as other pals in Hollywood.
Baldoni was dropped by his agency, WME, and sued by his former publicist following Lively’s complaint filing.
Read the full article here
