Ryan Reynolds Says Justin Baldoni Can’t Sue Over ‘Hurt Feelings’ in Bid to Dismiss Lawsuit

Ryan Reynolds wants Justin Baldoni‘s lawsuit against him dismissed. In a motion filed Tuesday, Reynolds’ attorneys claimed that Baldoni has no right to sue over being called a predator and his perception of the character Nicepool in Deadpool & Wolverine.

In his amended lawsuit earlier this year, Baldoni alleged Reynolds of “bullying” him via the character Nicepool, which was “intended to be a transparent and mocking portrayal of Reynolds’ warped perception of Baldoni,” according to Baldoni’s reps. It also claimed that Reynolds had called Baldoni a “sexual predator” and urged WME to drop him.

The motion did not dispute the Nicepool allegations but called out Baldoni’s “thin-skinned outrage” for including that perception of the character in his lawsuit, according to Variety. Reynolds’ lawyers argued that his claims were not considered definition and that the

“allegations suggest that Mr. Reynolds genuinely, perhaps passionately, believes that Mr. Baldoni’s behavior is reflective of a ‘predator,’” and that calling him such amounts to constitutionally protected opinion.

“While Mr. Baldoni ‘may not appreciate being called’ a predator, those hurt feelings do not give rise to legal claims,” the motion continued, later adding that Reynolds just had an “unabashed negative opinion of Mr. Baldoni’s character,” not a statement of fact.

“Mr. Reynolds has a First Amendment right to hold Mr. Baldoni — or any man who Mr. Reynolds believes sexually harassed his wife — in ‘deep disdain,’” read the attorney’s filing.

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Baldoni had amended his counterclaim suit against Blake Lively, which also names Reynolds, The New York Times, and others as defendants, and claims Lively and her PR team colluded with the publication to smear him. Baldoni has sued Lively and The Times for defamation.

Baldoni’s lawsuit described Nicepool as a “vicious caricature of a ‘woke’ feminist before concluding the character’s arc with his violent shooting death at the hands of ‘Ladypool,’ a character voiced by Blake Lively.”