Ryan Reynolds Allegedly Berated Justin Baldoni for ‘Fat-Shaming’ Blake Lively, Lawsuit Claims

In his lawsuit against The New York Times, Justin Baldoni accused Ryan Reynolds of berating him for allegedly “fat-shaming” Blake Lively. 

Baldoni, 40, filed the $250 million lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, December 31, weeks after the outlet published an article in which Lively, 37, accused Baldoni of sexual harassment while working together on the film It Ends With Us. (Lively officially filed her own lawsuit regarding the allegations on Tuesday.)

In the docs filed by Baldoni, the actor recalled an allegedly hostile meeting with Lively and Reynolds, 48, at their New York City apartment prior to filming. Baldoni accused Lively and Reynolds of an “inappropriate and humiliating berating” and chastised him for “fat-shaming” Lively. 

Baldoni said the confrontation was “delivered, perhaps intentionally, as other celebrity friends were coming in and out of their penthouse.”

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The disagreement allegedly stemmed from Baldoni inquiring about Lively’s weight for a scene in the movie, during which Baldoni’s character was supposed to lift Lively in the air. Baldoni asked his trainer, who he was introduced to through Lively and Reynolds. The trainer then relayed the information onto the couple.

According to the lawsuit, the conversation was “prompted by Baldoni’s reasonable inquiry into crucial information needed to ensure safety and avoid injury in a scene.”

Baldoni suffers from “back issues and has multiple bulging discs,” per the lawsuit, and wanted to make sure he could lift Lively without issue. 

Baldoni’s suit claims that the confrontation was “so aggressive” that he felt “compelled to offer repeated apologies, despite his question being entirely reasonable and made in good faith.”

Following the incident at the apartment, Lively allegedly refused to perform the lift scene “even though it had already been rehearsed with a stunt double.” The lawsuit alleges Lively even threatened to “quit” the movie altogether unless Baldoni agreed to work “the way she works.”

In response to Baldoni’s filing, Lively’s attorney told Us on Tuesday, December 31 that the lawsuit was based on an “obviously false premise.”

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“Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively’s California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint, filed earlier today,” the statement read. “This lawsuit is based on the obviously false premise that Ms. Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ruse based on a choice “not to file a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer,” and that “litigation was never her ultimate goal.”  As demonstrated by the federal complaint filed by Ms. Lively earlier today, that frame of reference for the Wayfarer lawsuit is false.  While we will not litigate this matter in the press, we do encourage people to read Ms. Lively’s complaint in its entirety. We look forward to addressing each and every one of Wayfarer’s allegations in court.”

In a statement provided to Us on Tuesday, The New York Times stood by its reporting of Lively’s accusations, which were previously denied by Baldoni’s lawyer.

“The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead,” the outlet’s statement read. “Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article. To date, Wayfarer Studios, Mr. Baldoni, the other subjects of the article and their representatives have not pointed to a single error. We published their full statement in response to the allegations in the article as well.”

The spokesperson added, “We plan to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”