Justin Baldoni is sure Ryan Reynolds openly made fun of him in ‘Deadpool’

PEOPLE – An unflattering portrait, a little too similar. The open war between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni after their collaboration on the film Never Again continues. And it would even have been, without us realizing it at the time, transposed onto the big screen in another feature film. The actor’s lawyer is convinced that a character in Deadpool & Wolverine is based on him, at the initiative of Ryan Reynolds. And not the most glorious.

Justin Baldoni would indeed have inspired the character of Nicepool, this alternative version of Deadpool that is a bit hippie, falsely benevolent and ridiculed. In any case, this is what his lawyer Bryan Freedman said in an interview for the podcast The Megyn Kelly Show. “There is no doubt that this is supposed to represent Justin. Anyone who has seen this bun understands. For the lawyer, this is also one more argument in favor of his client: if Justin Baldoni had really harassed Blake Lively, as she assures him, it would not be the subject of such misuse of the from the latter’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, according to the council. “If someone is being harassed seriously, they are not going to joke about it. It’s too serious”, he assures.

This resemblance between Justin Baldoni and Nicepool was noticed by many viewers at the time of the film’s release. But since the affair came to light, it has taken on another dimension. The various appearances of the character Nicepool in the blockbuster released in July 2024 can in fact be understood as references to Justin Baldoni.

Several passages seen as references to Justin Baldoni

« Wait until you see Ladypool, she is beautiful. Plus she just had a child and it doesn’t even show », Says Nicepool for example in a scene, evoking Ladypool, the character played by Blake Lively. As a reminder, the latter accused the director of having sexually harassed her on the set of Never Againbut also for having “bodyshamed” her, that is to say discriminated against on her physique, even though she had had her 4th child shortly before.

In the movie DeadpoolNicepool also says “ dreaming of making money with a podcast about feminism » or even « having healed after trauma through spirituality “. Elements in which it is possible to recognize Justin Baldoni. The latter has in fact launched a podcast dedicated to feminism and toxic masculinity entitled The Man Enough. The actor has also spoken very often about his spirituality, notably ensuring that he identifies with the religious movement of Bahaism which advocates “ the spiritual unity of humanity ».

Finally, one of the least subtle but also clearest references for spectators is found in the film’s settings. At the end of it, Nicepool dies under a burst of bullets fired by Ladypool. He dies in front of a florist’s shop. It’s hard not to make the connection with the film Never again in which Blake Lively happens to be the owner of a flower shop when she meets Justin Baldoni’s character.

Filming on both films began in the spring of 2023, and both had to be put on hold due to the Hollywood strike.

The Lively-Baldoni affair

As reported by New York Times On December 21, Blake Lively accused Justin Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath of inappropriate behavior and comments, particularly of a sexual nature, during the filming of the film. “Mr. Baldoni improvised physical intimacy that had not been rehearsed, choreographed, or discussed with Ms. Lively, without the involvement of an intimacy coordinator,” stipulates in particular the complaint.

The document reveals emails and text messages suggesting a campaign launched to tarnish Blake Lively’s reputation and distract from possible comments she may have made regarding the two men’s alleged behavior.

A few days later, the actor and director in turn filed a complaint against the newspaper for defamation. He also accused the actress of having put pressure on his agency to drop him, pointing out the behavior « violent » by Ryan Reynolds towards him during a meeting, and claimed that he too had been the victim of a smear campaign and excluded, for example, from the premiere of the film.

Also see on HuffPost :