Ryan Reynolds’ Representative Stands Up for His Supportive Texts in Blake Lively Case: ‘What Husband Wouldn’t?”

Justin Baldoni; Blake Lively; Ryan Reynolds.
Credit:

James Devaney/GC Images; Kristina Bumphrey/WWD via Getty; Kevin Mazur/Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• A representative for Ryan Reynolds addressed the release of his private texts linked to Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.
• “If anything, Ryan feels like he wasn’t angry enough,” the representative stated regarding Reynolds’ support for Lively.
• In one text exchange, Reynolds allegedly described Baldoni as a “thoroughbred, predatory fraudster” and an “inexplicably toxic mess.”

Private texts from Ryan Reynolds defending Blake Lively during her ongoing legal dispute with Justin Baldoni have come to light, prompting a statement from Reynolds’ representative. The actor’s involvement has raised questions amid Lively’s allegations of harassment against Baldoni.

“Yes, Ryan got involved — what husband wouldn’t support his wife and the mother of his children?” the representative told Puck News, referring to the controversy surrounding the suit.

The statement continued, emphasizing Reynolds’ perspective: “He saw his wife fighting daily to stand up against sexual harassment in a private and respectful way, only to face retaliation for doing so. If anything, Ryan feels like he wasn’t angry enough. He passionately believes in and will stand up for the basic right to a safe workplace free of harassment and retaliation for his wife and others. Then, now and always.”

On January 21, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, responded to the situation, asserting, “As stated all along, and reflected in our clients’ motions, as well as in messages from Sony discussing Ms. Lively’s behaviors, the evidence does not support [Lively’s] claims as a matter of law. A simple read of the newly released message exchanges make the truth abundantly clear. We remain confident in the legal process and clearing the names of all the Justin Baldoni parties.”

Among the unsealed texts, one from Reynolds to his agent Warren Zavala around August 2024, during a successful box office run for *It Ends With Us*, reflects his frustration with the surrounding drama.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds on Aug. 6, 2024.

Cindy Ord/Getty

“I’m super frustrated because this is a moment in which Blake should be celebrating. She made this unbelievable win happen,” Reynolds allegedly expressed. “She WILLED this weekend into reality. Baldoni and these other buckets of dumb-dumb-juice should be acknowledging the speculation and gossip themselves. They should be jumping in front of it in the most full-throated, unqualified way. Now.”

In another exchange from July 2024, Reynolds allegedly referred to Baldoni as a “thoroughbred, predatory fraudster” and described him as “an inexplicably toxic mess.” He emphasized, “I’d put Blake’s reputation on trial any day of the week. She’s worked with dozens of other mercurial and abusive people. In her experience (and mine), nobody has ever reached the empyrean heights of vile the way Justin Baldoni has.” Reynolds characterized Baldoni’s behavior as indicative of a “character study in malignant, lazy-lidded stupidity and darkness.”

Blake Lively; Justin Baldoni.

SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty; Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty

Blake Lively, age 38, filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, 42, in December 2024, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation, which Baldoni denies. She is seeking over $160 million in damages, with the trial slated for May 2026 in New York. Recently, a judge dismissed Baldoni’s countersuit against Lively and Reynolds, which accused them of defamation and extortion.

Baldoni’s legal team has asserted that Lively and Reynolds leveraged their Hollywood status to damage his reputation. “This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio,” Baldoni’s lawyers stated in his countersuit. “Then, when Lively and Reynolds’ efforts failed to win them the acclaim they believed they so richly deserved, they turned their fury on their chosen scapegoat.”

Sigrid McCawley, Lively’s attorney, stated on January 22 that, “The overwhelming evidence revealed by the unsealed materials shows that women in every role on set — from producers to writers to cast and crew — experienced what they believed was inappropriate conduct. Baldoni’s team dismissed them as ‘trivial,’ but there is nothing trivial about sexual harassment.”

Following the announcement of Lively’s lawsuit, Baldoni was dropped by his agency, WME, in December 2024. In January 2025, WME denied allegations that Reynolds had pressured Baldoni’s agent at the *Deadpool & Wolverine* premiere, clarifying, “This is not true. Baldoni’s former representative was not at the *Deadpool & Wolverine* premiere nor was there any pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time to drop Baldoni as a client.”