Justin Baldoni and his legal team are asking Marvel and Disney to “preserve evidence” relevant to anticipated claims against Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and other parties.
According to a litigation hold letter obtained by Us Weekly on Tuesday, July 14, The Walt Disney Company’s Bob Iger and Marvel Studio’s Kevin Feige received a request from Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, to “preserve all existing documents and data relevant to the Anticipated Claims.”
This information includes, but is not limited to, any and all documents and communications involving Reynolds’ conduct in connection with any film in the Deadpool franchise.
It also includes any and all documents “relating to or reflecting a deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimate or bully Baldoni through the character of ‘Nicepool.’”
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“It is important that Marvel take every reasonable step to preserve this information until further notice,” Freedman wrote.
The move comes as Baldoni, 40, finds himself in a legal battle with Lively, 37, who costarred alongside the director in the 2024 Sony movie It Ends With Us.
While It Ends With Us is not affiliated with Disney, Baldoni’s attorney previously alleged that Reynolds, 48, may have mocked Baldoni in Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine, which was released by Disney in July.
According to Freedman, Reynolds’ character ‘Nicepool’ — who is a man bun-sporting version of Deadpool — says such lines as, “Where in God’s name is the intimacy coordinator?!” and compliments Ladypool (voiced by Lively) for “snapping back” into shape after giving birth.
When Deadpool points out Nicepool’s misogyny in the scene, the latter replies, “It’s OK, I identify as a feminist.” (Baldoni has previously sported a man bun and has been vocal about his avid feminism. In December 2024, Baldoni received a Voices of Solidarity Award from Vital Voices for his support of women. The reward was rescinded days later amid allegations of sexual harassment.)
Us has reached out to Baldoni’s team, Marvel, Disney and an attorney for Lively and Reynolds for comment.
In December 2024, Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment. The lawsuit alleged that there was a meeting conducted to address Lively’s claims that there was a “hostile work environment” on the set of It Ends With Us.
She also accused the actor of allegedly launching a “social manipulation” campaign against her to “destroy” her reputation.
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Baldoni’s lawyer called Lively’s accusations “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious” in a statement to Us, claiming that Lively filed the lawsuit to allegedly “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” about the movie’s production.
Baldoni also responded with his own lawsuit, where he was listed as one of 10 plaintiffs suing The New York Times for $250 million after its reporting on Lively’s legal filing. Baldoni’s lawsuit alleged that Lively pursued a “strategic and manipulative” smear campaign against him and that the Times “cherry picked” communications while leaving out key details in their reporting.
A spokesperson for The New York Times said that the publication is standing by the story and plans to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
