Did Ryan Reynolds Subtly Troll Justin Baldoni in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Even Before the Feud Exploded? Fans Think So!

The conflict between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni started months ago during the filming of It Ends With Us. After filming finished, Lively accused Baldoni of harassing her on set.

One of her complaints was that Baldoni made demeaning comments about her body, questioning her weight to ensure it was safe for him to lift her because of his past back injury.

Things settled down for a while, but later, Lively filed a legal complaint, turning the situation into a major celebrity controversy, which eventually became a federal lawsuit. Recently, Baldoni filed his own complaint, while Lively received strong support from her co-stars and other celebrities.

In her legal filings, Lively says that Justin Baldoni frequently made subtle comments about her body and weight while they worked together on It Ends With Us. She had just given birth to their fourth child, son Olin, shortly before filming began.

So, what does this have to do with Deadpool & Wolverine? Well, before It Ends With Us premiered, Deadpool & Wolverine was released, where Lively made a brief appearance as Lady Deadpool.

At the time, it may have gone unnoticed, but it now seems that Reynolds may have included some jokes aimed at Baldoni. In one scene, Deadpool variant Nicepool (also played by Reynolds) makes a comment about Lady Deadpool, saying: “Oh my goodness, wait til you’ve seen Ladypool. She is gorgeous. She just had a baby too and [you] can’t even tell.”

This could be a reference to Baldoni’s comments about Lively’s body during the filming of It Ends With Us. But that’s not all.

After Nicepool makes a comment about Lady Deadpool’s body, Deadpool says, “I don’t think you’re supposed to say that.” Nicepool then responds by placing one hand on his chest and saying:”That’s OK. I identify as a feminist.”

This could also be a subtle jab at Baldoni, who has often described himself as a feminist. In 2017, Baldoni gave a TED talk about moving away from trying to be “man enough” and focusing on supporting women. In 2018, he wrote an essay about being a “feminist dad” to his two children with his wife, Emily Baldoni.

Additionally, Emma Corrin’s character, Cassandra Nova, might also be making a point. When she enters Deadpool’s mind by sticking her hand into his head, Deadpool yells about needing an intimacy coordinator.

Lively’s legal documents claim that Baldoni improvised physical intimacy on set without rehearsals or an intimacy coordinator. In his lawsuit against The New York Times, Baldoni says they left out that Lively refused to meet with the intimacy coordinator to plan the film’s sex scenes.

According to IMDb production notes, the Marvel movie wrapped filming in June 2024, five months after Lively and Reynolds had a meeting with Baldoni and their co-producers to discuss sexual harassment claims.

This meeting resulted in a contractual agreement that provided Lively with protections, including a rule that physical touch or comments about her appearance should only be related to her character and the scene, not her personally.

Since ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ was filmed after this meeting, it’s possible that the jokes in the movie were intentionally aimed at Baldoni. So far, Reynolds has not commented on these speculations.

@theresehlee Is Nicepool a stand-in for Justin Baldoni? #deadpoolwolverine #ryanreynolds #blakelively #justinbaldoni #itendswithus @Mel Hamlett @Expatriarch ♬ original sound – Therese

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!