Disney's Bob Iger Named in Contentious Legal Battle

After years of struggles, The Walt Disney Company finally had a really good year at the box office in 2024. Between movies like Inside Out 2, Moana 2, Mufasa: The Lion King, and Deadpool & Wolverine, the studio made more than $2 billion at the domestic box office and more than $5 billion at the global box office. It was actually the first studio to pass the $5 billion marker since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, Disney and CEO Bob Iger are now being dragged into the middle of a messy lawsuit between one of its stars, their wife, and their wife’s costar. And one of the company’s biggest films is being accused of being used as a tool of harassment and bullying.

Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool (L) and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine (R) — Credit: Marvel Studios

On New Year’s Eve, It Ends With Us star Justin Baldoni filed a lawsuit against The New York Times for libel after the Times came out with an article that accused Baldoni of attempting to start a smear campaign against costar Blake Lively. Mr. Baldoni claimed that the article was one-sided, text messages he sent were chopped up to make him look back, and that the Times only relied on Ms. Lively’s narrative.

Now, you might be wondering what a Sony film has to do with Disney. Well, the answer is simple — Ryan Reynolds.

Blake Lively, who starred as Lily Bloom in It Ends With Us, has been married to Ryan Reynolds since 2012 and the two share four children. Ryan Reynolds recently starred as Deadpool in Deadpool & Wolverine, and Baldoni is accusing him of using the movie to harass him.

Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool — Credit: Marvel Studios

In Deadpool & Wolverine, Reynolds also plays a character named Nicepool, who makes comments seemingly referring to accusations Baldoni has faced from Lively. The character also appeared to mock Baldoni’s claims of being a feminist and defend Lively’s body after Ms. Lively said that Mr. Baldoni fat-shamed her during filming.

And now, Mr. Baldoni’s team has written Bob Iger a lawsuit, bringing Disney into a lawsuit that they probably want to stay far away from.

Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Nicepool and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine — Credit: Marvel

According to an exclusive report from Variety, Mr. Baldoni’s team sent Bob Iger and Marvel President Kevin Feige a letter, telling them to preserve any documents related to the creation of the Nicepool character.

The litigation hold letter, sent the day the fires began, calls for Marvel and Disney to preserve “any and all documents relating to the development of the ‘Nicepool’ character” as well as “communications relating to the development, writing, and filming of storylines and scenes featuring ‘Nicepool.’” The letter also calls for the studio to retain “any and all documents relating to or reflecting a deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate, or bully Baldoni through the character of ‘Nicepool.’”

During an appearance on “The Megyn Kelly Show” on Jan. 7, Freedman referenced the Nicepool character. “There’s no question it relates to Justin. I mean, anybody that watched that hair bun,” Freedman said. He also questioned why Reynolds would use his wife’s alleged sexual harassment for comedic fodder. “If somebody is seriously sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of it. It’s a serious issue,” Freedman added.

Neither Disney nor Marvel has responded to the lawsuit. Ryan Reynolds, who was credited as one of the writers on Deadpool & Wolverine, has also not responded to the accusations that Nicepool was created to mock Baldoni.

However, in light of the lawsuits, he and Blake Lively will skip this year’s Golden Globe Awards. Lively first filed a lawsuit against Mr. Baldoni on December 20.

Variety also reported that a “litigation hold letter” like the one Mr. Baldoni sent often precedes litigation. While Mr. Baldoni has only filed a lawsuit against The New York Times, his lawyer has indicated that he does intend to sue Ms. Lively.

Do you think Nicepool was created to attack Justin Baldoni? Should Ryan Reynolds also be sued for using one of his movies to go after his wife’s costar? Share your thoughts in the comments!