Washington [US], March 19 : Actor and producer Ryan Reynolds has asked a court to dismiss Justin Baldoni's legal claims against him, saying the actor cannot sue him over "hurt feelings."
Reynolds, who is married to Blake Lively, was accused in the lawsuit of insulting and abusing Baldoni by using the character of "Nicepool" in 'Deadpool & Wolverine' to ridicule her "woke feminist" reputation, reported Variety.
In a motion to dismiss, Reynolds' lawyers did not dispute that Nicepool is based on Baldoni but said that Baldoni had shown "thin-skinned outrage" by complaining about it.
Lively, who filed a lawsuit against Baldoni in December, has accused the director of sexual harassment and retaliation on the set of the 2024 film.
Baldoni, in turn, sued her and Reynolds, alleging that they were trying to destroy his career with false allegations. In the lawsuit, Baldoni alleged that Reynolds had berated him for allegedly "fat shaming" Lively, reported Variety.
He also accused Reynolds of calling him a "sexual predator" and of pressuring his agency, WME, to drop him as a client, as per the outlet.
In the motion to dismiss, Reynolds' lawyers argued that that is not defamation if Reynolds genuinely believes it.
The "allegations suggest that Mr Reynolds genuinely, perhaps passionately, believes that Mr Baldoni's behaviour is reflective of a 'predator,'" the motion states. "(T)he law establishes that calling someone a 'predator' 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 argues that Reynolds was not making a provably false statement of fact, but was merely offering his "unabashed negative opinion of Mr Baldoni's character," reported Variety.
"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,'" the motion states.
"It is, in essence, a burn book filled with grievances attempting to shame Mr Reynolds for being the kind of man who is 'confident enough to listen' to the woman in his life and to hold her 'anguish and actually' stand with her," the complaint stated, reported Variety.
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