After social media latched onto the theory that It ends with us director and one of the main actors Justin Baldoni inspired the movie “Nicepool”. Deadpool & Wolverine— to the extent that the actor’s legal team, led by Bryan Freedman, directly addressed— now there’s a new jab at Ryan Reynolds’ wife, Blake Lively, who was portrayed in the film as Ladypool. This time, Baldoni’s team is bringing Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Disney’s Bob Iger into the fray.
According to DiversityBaldoni’s lawyers are using the allegation as the basis for issuing a stay-at-law letter urging Disney and Marvel Studios to withhold “documents and data” related to Baldoni and “Nicepool.”
During Deadpool & Wolverine and It ends with us press tour, the rift between Baldoni and Lively (who starred opposite Baldoni in a Baldoni-directed film) became fraught with public jabs at each other over apparent creative differences. It all led to Lively filing a lawsuit against Baldoni last December over allegations of misconduct on the set of their drama; then, Baldoni countersued both Lively and the New York Times alleging that the actress and the newspaper deliberately misinterpreted the leaked texts to bolster Lively’s case.
Special moments in Deadpool & Wolverine that repeat Lively’s claims against Baldoni include Nicepool’s lines about how Ladypool “got back in shape” after giving birth and then “It’s OK, I identify as a feminist”—as Baldoni touts her feminist status on her podcast. Deleted scene in Deadpool & Wolverine also saw Nicepool mention a feminist podcast; that last scene especially helped “Baldoni is Nicepool?” the theory went viral.
The lawsuit filed by Baldoni’s team asks Marvel and Disney to preserve “any and all documents related to the development of the ‘Nicepool’ character” along with “communications related to the development, writing and filming of stories and scenes with ‘Nicepool.’ ” and “all documents relating to or reflecting a deliberate attempt to ridicule, harass, ridicule, intimidate or bully Baldoni through the character of ‘Nicepool’.” Variety notes that the letter it looked at is dated January 7; amid the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles, not much has moved on that front as neither side has commented on the case since.
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