In a potential hint, Blake Lively might be suggesting a correlation between the novel “It Ends With Us” and Ryan Reynolds’ character in Nicepool.
Prior to fans noticing supposed resemblances between Ryan’s portrayal of Deadpool and Wolverine, and Justin Baldoni’s role as director and costar in It Ends With Us, the former Gossip Girl star appeared to acknowledge Nicepool in the end credits of the Colleen Hoover movie adaptation.
In the end credits of “It Ends With Us,” Blake expressed gratitude to Gordon Reynolds, which is actually Ryan’s alias – the same name he used in the credits for Deadpool & Wolverine, where he played Nicepool, a made-up superhero known for his man bun hairstyle. In the film, Nicepool (played by Ryan) asserted that it was acceptable for him to comment on Ladypool’s (Blake’s character) post-baby appearance because, in his words, “I consider myself a feminist.
Back in December 2024, Blake brought a lawsuit against Justin alleging sexual harassment on the set of “It Ends With Us,” claiming he made lewd comments about her appearance and post-pregnancy weight. Interestingly, months prior to this legal dispute, she referred to a character from “Deadpool & Wolverine” in a message related to “It Ends With Us.
In July 2024, the actress from A Simple Favor seemed to hint at Nicepool in a post explaining why she was urging women to watch the superhero film, despite her own movie It Ends With Us being up against it in cinemas just three weeks afterwards.
The primary factor behind this, according to Blake (who has children James, 10, Inez, 8, Betty, 5, and Olin, born in 2023, with Ryan), is that the Marvel movie took its inspiration from her and her group of “y2k girls,” focusing on their emotions such as those experienced “post-childbirth” and “regarding nice men who employ feminism as a tactic.
Wow, I just can’t help but urge my friends to notice how much we’ve impacted the @deadpoolmovie, Blake ended her Instagram post. “Never have I felt prouder. And let me tell you, I’ve delivered four babies!
Following fan observations linking Nicepool to Justin, who has refuted all sexual harassment accusations made by Blake, Justin’s attorney, Benjamin Freedman, expressed his viewpoint that the character’s representation was a jab at Justin and elaborated on the comedic style of the Nicepool scenes in the movie.
As an ardent admirer, let me express my thoughts: If a spouse encounters sexual harassment, poking fun at Justin Baldoni isn’t the way to go. Instead, you should treat the situation with gravity, file HR complaints, discuss it openly, and follow due legal process. What’s out of bounds is making light of the person involved and turning it into a jest.
As a dedicated follower, I’ve recently taken action by sending a litigation hold letter to Marvel and Disney. The purpose is to request them to preserve any and all documents related to the creation of the ‘Nicepool’ character, as seen in the documents I’ve reviewed on January 14th. Additionally, I’ve asked for all documents that may reflect an intentional effort to mock, harass, belittle, intimidate, or bully Baldoni through the character of ‘Nicepool.’
TopMob News reached out to reps for Justin, Blake and Ryan for comment but has not heard back.
For a complete timeline of Justin and Blake’s legal battle, keep reading.
Four months following the cinema release of Colleen Hoover’s book adaptation “It Ends With Us,” Blake Lively filed a complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD) against her co-star Justin Baldoni and several associates on December 20th, according to The New York Times.
In the complaint obtained by TopMob News, Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios, its CEO Jamey Heath, its cofounder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni’s publicist Jennifer Abel, her company RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, her company The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace and his company Street Relations Inc. were named as defendants.
Lively claimed in her complaint that Baldoni and Wayfarer associates initiated a “sophisticated press and digital plan” in retaliation for expressing concerns about alleged misconduct on set, stating that she and other cast and crew members endured invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior from Baldoni and Heath.
The actress asserted that this campaign against her caused significant harm to both her personal and professional life. The accusations listed in the complaint encompass sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent, and/or remedy harassment; aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligence; false light invasion of privacy, and interference with prospective economic advantage.
The following day, an article appeared in The New York Times, detailing accusations of a counterattack smear operation allegedly conducted by Baldoni and his allies against Lively – with reference to her CRD complaint. In the piece, the publication shared messages sent from Baldoni, his publicist Abel, crisis communications expert Nathan, among others, which were part of Lively’s complaint. Additionally, readers could access related court documents on The New York Times‘ website. Lively expressed to the outlet that she hopes her legal action will expose these underhanded retaliatory tactics aimed at harming those who speak out about misconduct, and safeguard others who might be targeted in a similar fashion.
Following the disclosure of Lively’s grievances, Bryan Freedman—lawyer for Baldoni, Wayfarer, and their respective representatives—condemned Lively’s allegations.
In a statement on The New York Times website, he stated, “It’s regrettable that Ms. Lively and her team would make such grave and unquestionably false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives, as another desperate ploy to improve her tarnished reputation stemming from her own remarks and actions during the film’s campaign; interviews and press activities that were visible publicly, in real-time, and uncensored, providing ample opportunity for the internet to form its own opinions. These claims are entirely false, excessively scandalous, and purposefully sensational with the aim of causing public harm and perpetuating a media narrative.”
Freedman also justified Wayfarer’s choice to engage a crisis manager, explaining this was done prior to the movie’s marketing campaign.
“The representatives of Wayfarer Studios took no proactive measures nor retaliated,” he later clarified. “They only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure accurate and impartial reporting and kept track of social activity. What is notably absent from the selectively presented correspondence is proof that there were no active measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal strategic planning and private communication, which is routine among public relations professionals.
After the publication of an article in The New York Times on December 21, William Morris Endeavor (WME) chose to sever ties with Baldoni. This decision was confirmed by Ari Emanuel, CEO of the agency’s parent company Endeavor, to the outlet.
However, it is important to note that WME has since denied any involvement from Ryan Reynolds in their decision to part ways with Baldoni. This allegation was later made by Baldoni in a lawsuit against The New York Times (more on that below). In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on January 1, WME clarified that Baldoni’s former representative was not present at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere and there was no pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time for them to drop Baldoni as a client.
After Lively’s CRD filing and the New York Times article, several prominent figures expressed their support for her allegations against Baldoni. For instance, author Hoover commented on Instagram Stories, appreciating Lively’s honesty, kindness, and patience since they first met. Meanwhile, Jenny Slate, who played Baldoni’s sister in the series, publicly declared her backing of Lively. In a statement to Today on December 23rd, she expressed solidarity with Lively, stating that she supports Lively as she takes action against those accused of damaging her reputation. Additionally, Brandon Sklenar, a love interest for Lively’s character in the show, shared the complaint published on The New York Times website and linked to the outlet, urging others to read it. Lastly, Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn also expressed their solidarity with her.
Liz Plank recently shared on Instagram that she is no longer co-hosting “The Man Enough Podcast”. She expressed gratitude for her listeners and the community they built together, but did not specify a reason for her departure. However, it follows closely after a complaint made by Lively against Baldoni and his associates at Wayfarer. Plank emphasized her commitment to the values they’ve built and looked forward to sharing more about the situation as she processes it further. She also stated her intention to continue supporting those who fight injustice and hold accountable those standing in their way.
Stephanie Jones, Baldoni’s ex-publicist, and her agency Jonesworks LLC have initiated a lawsuit against Baldoni, his company Wayfarer, his current publicist Abel, and crisis communications specialist Nathan in New York on December 24th. The lawsuit states that Defendants Abel and Nathan have been secretly conspiring for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and Jonesworks, breach contracts, induce contractual breaches, and steal clients and business prospects.
Behind Jones’s back, they allegedly coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to carry out an aggressive smear campaign against one of Baldoni’s film co-stars. They then used the crisis as an opportunity to drive a wedge between Jones and Baldoni, and to publicly blame Jones for the smear campaign, even though she had no involvement in it.
Abel, who worked at Jonesworks until last summer according to her LinkedIn profile, is alleged to continue falsely pointing fingers at Jones now that their own misconduct is being exposed, and to defame and attack her in the industry.
Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer clients of Jonesworks, are accused of repudiating their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and refusing Jones’s attempts to settle this dispute privately through arbitration.
TopMob News reached out to the defendants for comment.
In a conversation with Variety, Lively’s legal team revealed on December 23rd that they obtained the texts mentioned in The New York Times article through a subpoena issued to Jonesworks. Freedman, who represents Nathan, Abel, Baldoni, and their Wayfarer associates, further explained to the outlet that none of his clients were subpoenaed regarding this matter. He also stated his intention to sue Jones for disclosing messages from Abel’s phone to Lively’s lawyers.
On December 31st, Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace, and Street Relations filed a lawsuit against The New York Times. In this lawsuit, obtained by TopMob News, The New York Times is accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract regarding an article about a supposed retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs allegedly conducted against Lively after she expressed concerns about purported misconduct on set. The report was deemed “false” by the plaintiffs, who assert that the accusations and messages cited in the article were taken out of context. They claim that The New York Times relied heavily on Lively’s unverified narrative while disregarding evidence contradicting her claims and revealing her true motives. Additionally, they allege that it was Lively, not the plaintiffs, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign. She has denied this. In response to the lawsuit, The New York Times stated that it intends to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.” According to TopMob, The New York Times claims its story was thoroughly and responsibly reported based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails quoted accurately in the article.
On that particular day, Lively initiated a legal action against Baldoni, Baldoni’s associates (Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz), It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, Nathan’s company TAG, and Abel, in New York. As per the court records reviewed by TopMob News, she is accusing the defendants of sexual harassment, retaliation, negligence in handling harassment, aiding and abetting such acts, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy through false light.
The allegations against the defendants were initially outlined in the CRD complaint she filed earlier that month. In response to the lawsuit filed against them (which does not include Lively as a defendant), Baldoni and his team have countered with a lawsuit against The New York Times. However, Lively’s legal representatives have clarified in a statement to TopMob that this lawsuit does not alter any of the claims made in her CRD and federal complaints. They further stated that the premise that Lively filed an administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others as a ruse, with the intention of avoiding a lawsuit against Baldoni and Wayfarer, is false, as demonstrated by the federal complaint filed by Lively today.
In their lawsuit against The New York Times, Baldoni and his team have made it clear that this is not the end of their legal actions. According to court documents, there are other parties involved who have acted improperly, and they intend to file further lawsuits. During a January 2 interview with NBC News, Baldoni’s attorney, Freedman, confirmed they plan to sue Lively as well.
The chatter about Baldoni and Lively hasn’t subsided, with some social media users suggesting that Reynolds poked fun at Baldoni in his film “Deadpool & Wolverine” through the character Nicepool.
So far, Reynolds has remained silent on these rumors; however, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman has shared his perspective. During an interview on “The Megyn Kelly Show,” posted to YouTube on January 7th, he stated:
“In my opinion, if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make light of Justin Baldoni’s situation by mocking him. You treat it seriously and take appropriate action, such as filing HR complaints or following a legal process. Making fun of the person and turning it into a joke isn’t the way to handle things.
In a statement made on January 7 to TopMob News, Lively’s legal team clarified that the ongoing federal lawsuit against the Southern District of New York is about substantial allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. They emphasized that this situation is not a petty disagreement or a he-said-she-said scenario, but rather unlawful retaliatory actions by Wayfarer and their associates towards Lively for standing up for herself and others on set. Since the lawsuit was filed, they have continued to launch more attacks against Lively.
In the meantime, her lawyers urged everyone to remember that sexual harassment and retaliation are unacceptable in any work environment or industry. They warned against tactics often used to divert attention from misconduct allegations, such as blaming the victim or suggesting that they invited or brought on the behavior themselves. Another tactic is to swap the roles of victim and offender, implying that the offender is actually the one being wronged.
Lively’s legal team further explained that these tactics serve to normalize and trivialize serious misconduct allegations. They also reminded everyone that media statements do not serve as a defense for their client’s claims, and they intend to pursue her case in court.
In response, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman told TopMob, “It is painfully ironic that Blake Lively is accusing Justin Baldoni of weaponizing the media when her own team orchestrated this vicious attack by sending the New York Times grossly edited documents prior to even filing the complaint.”
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2025-01-15 05:18