Ryan Reynolds is embroiled in a legal battle following a smear campaign against actor and director Justin Baldoni. The conflict centers around allegations made by Reynolds, who claims he has the First Amendment right to express his views on Baldoni. Reynolds has asked a judge to dismiss Baldoni's defamation lawsuit, which demands $400 million in damages from both Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively.
Reynolds recently addressed the controversy during his appearance on SNL50, where he made light of the situation. However, the claims against him are serious, with Baldoni accusing Reynolds of defamation. Reynolds' attorneys, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, argue that the accusations do not meet the legal criteria for defamation since they believe Reynolds genuinely perceives Baldoni as a predator.
"The complaint doesn’t allege that, and just the opposite, the allegations in the complaint suggest that Mr. Reynolds genuinely believes Mr. Baldoni is a predator." – Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson
Reynolds' legal team contends that Baldoni's outrage is tied to a movie character and does not involve any legal claims. They assert that Reynolds' involvement in the matter is limited to being a supportive spouse to Lively, who has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation in private complaints.
"Mr. Reynolds’ wife has accused Mr. Baldoni — privately and in multiple complaints — of sexual harassment and retaliation." – Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson
The attorneys also argue that calling someone a "predator," even if not believed to be true, is protected under the First Amendment as an opinion. Thus, they claim that Baldoni's lawsuit is more about hurt feelings than actual defamation.
In response to Baldoni's complaint, Reynolds filed a motion to dismiss the case, stating that his accusations do not constitute defamation. His legal team emphasizes that Reynolds can appear on sketch shows and joke about his situation without facing legal repercussions.
However, Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, countered this stance with a strong statement:
"After lighting a match, Mr. Reynolds now seeks to run from the flames. It won’t work." – Bryan Freedman
Reynolds' attorneys maintain that the allegations against him lack substance because they are based on private statements rather than public declarations. They argue that unless it can be proven that Reynolds did not believe his statements were true, the defamation claim does not hold.
"The entirety of Mr. Baldoni’s case appears to be based on Mr. Reynolds allegedly privately calling Mr. Baldoni a 'predator,' but here is the problem: that is not defamation unless they can show that Mr. Reynolds did not believe that statement to be true." – Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson
