With Hollywood full of so many big personalities, it’s easy to understand that not all costars will get along, even if their on-screen characters are best friends or even love interests. Having conflicting personalities is one thing, but hating each other so much to the point of filing a multi-million dollar lawsuit is a horse of a different color.
However, that is exactly what happened between Jane the Virgin star Justin Baldoni and his It Ends With Us (2024) costar, Blake Lively. And things have gone from bad to worse to downright ugly.
While the trouble allegedly startled early on, the public became aware that things were not all rosy during the film’s world premiere, when Baldoni did not pose with Lively or any of his costars.
It Ends With Us premiered in theaters nationwide on August 9, then more than four months later, it was announced that Blake Lively was planning on suing Baldoni. She alleges that Baldoni fat-shamed her, forced her to listen to stories about his former pornography addiction, had to listen to multiple conversations about sex, and had to deal with Mr. Baldoni trying to add in superfluous sex scenes without an intimacy coordinator.
After a bombshell report from The New York Times came out about the lawsuit, Mr. Baldoni’s world was turned upside down. He was dropped by his management company, the co-host of his podcast quit, an award he was supposed to receive was revoked, and his former publicist filed a lawsuit against him.
However, the actor did not take the accusations lying down. He fought back and filed a $250 million lawsuit against the Times. He claimed that the report was one-sided and the only text messages that were shown were ones that made Lively look good and him look bad. They accused the reporters of misleading readers and only listening to Ms. Lively’s version of events.
With so many different versions of the story, fans are starting to wonder who the bad guy really is. That means that some people are digging a little deeper, and they do not like what they see.
Blake Lively has been married to Marvel star Ryan Reynolds since 2012 and the two share four children. According to Mr. Baldoni and his team, Reynolds verbally attacked him during a meeting with It Ends With Us producers.
Ms. Lively also reportedly refused to continue working on the film unless she could bring in her own editor and make her own cut of the film. It was an editor that both she and Reynolds have used in the past.
Lively and Reynolds are accused of wielding their power and status in Hollywood to bully people into doing what they want. And it looks like they resorted to mocking Mr. Baldoni in Reynolds’ latest Marvel film, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
X (formerly Twitter) user, The Spiritual Shift recently rewatched the film and noted how Nicepool — a character Deadpool (AKA Wade Wilson) and Wolverine encounter in The Void — seems to be openly making fun of Mr. Baldoni, his beliefs, his podcast, and his interactions with Ms. Lively. Even Nicepool’s longer hair and man bun seem to mock Mr. Baldoni’s own style.
In a long thread, Spiritual Shifter explained various lines and how they related to the fight between Baldoni and Lively.
The more I learn about Nicepool’s character, the more evident it becomes that Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively were mocking Justin Baldoni in the Deadpool & Wolverine movie. Here are all the scenes where Nicepool is imitating Justin Baldoni 🧵
(1) In this scene, Nicepool, portrayed by Ryan Reynolds, sports a hippie-style man-bun and long hair, similar to Justin Baldoni’s signature look. Nicepool compliments Blake’s character, Ladypool, saying, “Oh my goodness, wait til you’ve seen Ladypool. She’s gorgeous. She just had a baby too, and I can’t even tell.” Deadpool interjects, “I don’t think you’re supposed to say that,” to which Nicepool calmly responds, “That’s okay. I identify as a feminist.”
This parallels Justin Baldoni’s public persona as an activist and feminist. Blake’s complaint also alleges that Justin fat-shamed her after she gave birth, called her “sexy,” and made inappropriate remarks about her body.
The more I learn about Nicepool’s character, the more evident it becomes that Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively were mocking Justin Baldoni in the Deadpool & Wolverine movie. Here are all the scenes where Nicepool is imitating Justin Baldoni 🧵
(1) In this scene, Nicepool,… pic.twitter.com/gdQpCvBvcH
— The Spiritual Shift (@spiritualshift_) January 8, 2025
Related: ‘X-Men’ Star Says Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds Bait-And-Switched Her About ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’
As part of her complaint, Ms. Lively complained that she was forced to do intimate scenes in It Ends With Us on an open set without an intimacy coordinator to help things move smoothly and keep everyone safe and comfortable.
In response, Mr. Baldoni’s team released text messages showing that he reached out to Ms. Lively to inform her that he had obtained an intimacy coordinator with whom he had worked in the past. However, Ms. Lively declined to meet with the coordinator before filming began.
(2) This scene features a supervillain, Cassandra Nova using her powers to probe Deadpool’s mind (also played by Ryan Reynolds). As she invades his memories, Deadpool exclaims, “And where in God’s name is the intimacy coordinator?” A pointed jab referencing Blake’s allegations against Justin, in which she claimed there was no intimacy coordinator on set.
However, Justin Baldoni’s complaint shared text messages showing that Blake had declined to meet with the intimacy coordinator.
(2) This scene features a supervillain, Cassandra Nova using her powers to probe Deadpool’s mind (also played by Ryan Reynolds). As she invades his memories, Deadpool exclaims, “And where in God’s name is the intimacy coordinator?” A pointed jab referencing Blake’s allegations… pic.twitter.com/v9DUe5M49E
— The Spiritual Shift (@spiritualshift_) January 8, 2025
Related: ‘Gossip Girl’ Actress Claims She Went to “Disney Prison”
In 2021, Mr. Baldoni started his podcast, Man Enough, which addresses how gender roles and cultural norms have impacted what it means to “be a man” in today’s society. Baldoni has used his podcast to speak about his past trauma and how his spirituality helped him heal.
In two deleted scenes, Nicepool calls himself a feminist and says that he wants to start “a podcast that monetized the women’s movement.”
(3) Additionally, here, in the outtakes, a scene with Nicepool seems to be another direct dig at Justin. Nicepool smugly remarks, “My calling is to host a podcast that monetizes the women’s movement.” This appears to parody Baldoni’s feminist podcast, Man Enough.
(4) Here, Nicepool imitating Justin is being criticized for opening up about his trauma and turning to faith and spirituality for healing, something Justin has openly discussed in his podcast and interviews.
(4) Here, Nicepool imitating Justin is being criticized for opening up about his trauma and turning to faith and spirituality for healing, something Justin has openly discussed in his podcast and interviews. pic.twitter.com/otvSJVP2GM
— The Spiritual Shift (@spiritualshift_) January 8, 2025
Related: Every Shocking Cameo in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ Ranked
In total, about half a dozen scenes show Reynolds’ Nicepool attacking Mr. Baldoni and Ms. Lively’s claims against the actor. Lively even appeared to confirm the purposeful scenes in an Instagram post.
Ms. Lively is seen kissing Reynolds and praising him for standing by her. She mentions her post-baby body, “nice men who use feminism as a tool,” and her word.
Brb I’m buying milky pens to write your name on my hand @vancityreynolds
My y2k girlies, I should be competitive bc @itendswithusmovie is coming out in 3 weeks BUT when your middle school obsessions, your feelings post baby, or about Nice men who use feminism as a tool, your love of the Wizard of Oz, Succession, Sandy & Danny, driving with Avril blasting, the way the choreography of a certain boy*band song got me, of Baz Luhrmann fireworks to punctuate a moment, even down to the fact that our hair color is determined by seasons and the French method by which it’s painted are all so seen… MY WORD… it’s hard not to encourage my ladies to spot all the ways we’ve influenced @deadpoolmovie I’ve never been more proud. And I’ve given birth 4 times. 🤣
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In the end, Nicepool is shot multiple times by Ladypool, who was played by Blake Lively. In a seemingly purposeful twist, he is killed in front of a flower shop. In It Ends With Us, Lively plays Lily Bloom, a flower shop owner.
So far, Ms. Lively has sued Justin Baldoni, and Justin Baldoni has sued The New York Times. With so much happening at once, it is possible that a lawsuit against Ms. Lively is on the way and may come sooner rather than later.
What do you think of the messy lawsuit between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively? Whose side are you on? What do you think about Ryan Reynolds using Deadpool & Wolverine to mock Mr. Baldoni? Share your thoughts in the comments!