Ryan Reynolds trolled Justin Baldoni in Deadpool & Wolverine way before Blake Lively alleged sexual harassment?
The Internet is hellbent on proving that Ryan Reynolds took a sly dig at Justin Baldoni in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Fans are convinced that Ryan Reynolds took a swipe at Justin Baldoni in Deadpool & Wolverine.
The Marvel actor’s threequel premiered in July 2024, weeks before his wife Blake Lively’s film It Ends With Us rolled out in early August and got entangled in a box office race with the MCU blockbuster. During the same Summer Season, the Gossip Girl diva’s movie directed by and co-starring Baldoni ignited their highly contentious rift, which has since wreaked havoc with lawsuit actions in the New Year.
Marvel fans view Nicepool in a new light since Blake Lively's allegations against Justin Baldoni
In light of the underlying context of the tension between the leading star cast of It Ends With Us, Marvel fans revisited the action of Deadpool and Wolverine, also starring Hugh Jackman, primarily focussing their energies on a Deadpool variant named Nicepool. Although also played by Reynolds himself, this particular character, both physically and ideologically, seems to be fashioned after Justin Baldoni, as per eagle-eyed fans' theories.
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Marvelites will remember Nicepool notably gushes about Ladypool - voiced by Lively - in his own intro moment. “Oh my goodness, wait til you've seen Ladypool. She is gorgeous. She just had a baby too and [you] can't even tell,” he shared with the titular deuteragonists of the movie, to which Deadpool responded, “I don't think you're supposed to say that.” Ultimately, Nicepool blurts out, “That’s OK. I identify as a feminist.”
Coincidentally, Reynolds is credited as a co-writer on the hit Marvel movie. In addition to the aforementioned Nicepool scene, TikTok also caught on to a deleted scene featuring the same variant, saying, “I'd be fighting alongside you, but my calling is to one day start a podcast that monetizes the women's movement.”
Ryan Reynolds' movie character seemingly references Justin Baldoni
Among several other observations, TikTok user americastia shone a light on the “not even subtle” potential dig at Baldoni, especially since the actor-director-producer wore the proud badge of co-hosting the podcast The Man Enough, which “explores what it means to be a man today and how rigid gender roles have affected all people.” Its official website further details, “The show creates a safe environment for a range of perspectives to meet and stay at the table, exploring how the messages of masculinity show up in relationships, body image, privilege, fatherhood, sex, success, mental health and so much more. Instead of polarizing and demonizing men and masculinity, it invites all humans to participate and thrive in the world.”
The multi-Webby-nominated podcast saw the CEO of Wayfarer Studios and music producer Jamey Heath and author/journalist Liz Plank joining the Jane the Virgin star as co-hosts. Of the two, the former is also named in the sexual harassment complaint Blake filed on December 20, 2024. Meanwhile, the latter co-host announced that she would be stepping away from the show days after the Simple Favor actress accused Justin of a smear campaign among other claims.
Akin to Nicepool’s apparent two cents on Blake Lively’s character in Deadpool & Wolverine, Baldoni is believed to have “routinely degraded” her during the It Ends With Us production by “finding back-channel ways of criticizing her body and weight.” The complaint also alleged that he unwarrantedly approached her trainer, unbeknownst to her, demanding that he “wanted her to lose weight in two weeks,” merely months after she and Reynold welcomed their fourth child.
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Baldoni has denied all allegations against him. The actor-director has a documented past of identifying as a feminist and repeatedly invoking the term “undefining masculinity” - also the name of his book.
An on-set source previously backed these claims against Baldoni
In August 2024, a Daily Mail report established that Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni were equally responsible for a lot of stress on the set of It Ends With Us. While dragging Lively for being “effortlessly rude,” an insider emphasised that Baldoni had built performative “woke feminism” as his brand. The source also mutually ridiculed both leading stars for being “extraordinarily similar insofar that they're just very special little snowflakes with a shocking amount of privilege and shockingly little amount of self-awareness.”
In a subsequently filed lawsuit, Baldoni accused Ryan Reynolds of "aggressively" berating him during a production meeting at the Green Lantern couple’s apartment by accusing him of “fat shaming” his wife. Justin described the encounter, with other producers and a Sony rep in the midst, as “traumatic,” saying he had “never been spoken to like that in his life.”
