Justin Baldoni is seeking to gain communications made about Ryan Reynolds’ Nicepool character in an attempt to show it was used to “bully” him.
As the It Ends With Us director-actor’s legal battle responding to costar Blake Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation claims advances, Baldoni’s lawyers sent a litigation hold letter on Jan. 7 to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and Disney CEO Bob Iger, demanding they hold onto documents that mention Baldoni for potential use in court.
According to the letter, viewed by PEOPLE, they want “any and all documents relating to the development of the Nicepool character” and “communications relating to the development, writing and filming of storylines and scenes featuring Nicepool.”
To support his claim, Baldoni’s legal team is looking for documents “relating to or reflecting a deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate or bully Baldoni through the character of Nicepool,” among other subjects.
A rep for Reynolds and Lively could not be reached by PEOPLE for comment. A spokesperson for Disney did not respond to a request for comment.
Nicepool is a minor character that Lively’s husband Reynolds plays in Deadpool & Wolverine, the blockbuster 2024 film that Reynolds also co-wrote. The character, complete with a man bun, describes himself as a “feminist” in the film and calls the character Ladypool, played by Lively, “gorgeous” and says, “She just had a baby too and you can’t even tell.”
Lively, 37, has sued Baldoni, 40, accusing him of sexual harassment and plotting a smear campaign in retaliation to coming forward about misconduct. Among other claims, Lively alleges in her complaint that Baldoni found “back-channel ways of criticizing her body and weight” after she’d recently given birth to her fourth child.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds; Justin Baldoni. Taylor Hill/WireImage; John Nacion/Variety via Getty
Additionally, a purported deleted scenes making the rounds on social media shows the Nicepool character saying that his “calling is to one day start a podcast that monetizes the women’s movement.” Baldoni hosted a podcast called Man Enough since 2021 that discussed “modern masculinity.” His co-host Liz Plank left the podcast after Lively’s complaint came to light.
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman spoke to Megyn Kelly, one of his former clients, on her web show earlier in January and claimed “there’s no question” Nicepool “relates to Justin.”
Baldoni has denied Lively’s claims. Freedman has said Baldoni plans to sue Lively and others soon, and he already filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times over its coverage of Lively’s complaint in December.
In a statement, Freedman claimed the outlet “cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful ‘untouchable’ Hollywood elites,” meaning Lively and Reynolds, who wed in 2012 after meeting on the set of Green Lantern. (The Times stands by its reporting and says it’ll “vigorously” defend against the lawsuit.)
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds on Aug. 6, 2024. John Nacion/Variety via Getty
In his complaint, Baldoni alleged that Lively tried to take control of It Ends With Us and that Reynolds, 48, berated him in a meeting held at their New York City apartment.
Baldoni has been cut by his agency William Morris Endeavor, commonly known as WME. His complaint alleged that Reynolds approached his agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere in July and “demanded that the agent ‘drop’ Baldoni.” The agency issued a statement Jan. 1 denying that Reynolds pressured them to drop Baldoni: “This is not true. … nor was there any pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time to drop Baldoni as a client.”
Lively’s lawyers have said “nothing” about Baldoni’s lawsuit “changes anything” about her claims, which include accusations that Baldoni and another producer entered her trailer “uninvited” while she was undressed or “vulnerable,” and that Baldoni “improvised physical intimacy that had not been rehearsed, choreographed or discussed with Ms. Lively, with no intimacy coordinator involved.”
Her lawyers added in a Jan. 6 statement that the situation is “not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences’ or a ‘he said/she said’ situation.”
Blake Lively on Aug. 8, 2024. Jeff Spicer/Getty
“As alleged in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and as we will prove in litigation, Wayfarer [Studios] and its associates engaged in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Ms. Lively for simply trying to protect herself and others on a film set. And their response to the lawsuit has been to launch more attacks against Ms. Lively since her filing.”
Lively previously revealed at the It Ends With Us premiere in August that Reynolds contributed lines of dialogue to the romantic drama’s rooftop scene.
“We help each other, we work together so much,” she said of Reynolds in that E! News red carpet interview. “…He works on everything I do, I work on everything he does. So his wins, his celebrations are mine and mine are his. He’s all over this film.”
