Ryan Reynolds is dating for the first time since Blake Lively sued Justin Baldoni.
The actor-producer, 48, was a presenter at this year’s National Board of Review Awards Gala on Tuesday, January 7, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. Dressed in a gray jacket and white shirt, the Deadpool & Wolverine star was present to introduce the honoree Wickedwhich the National Board of Review declared the best film of 2024.
“Wicked is truly evil,” Reynolds said of the film in his speech. “It dares to focus on two powerful women. It examines the nuanced, complex relationship that resonates between people over two decades on stage. Stories about women seem to be held to a different standard, and that means they’re often held to the same standards that women hold themselves to in life. You have to be perfect. You have to hide your strength. You must change shape or appease. But Donna Langley and Universal, they know where and who to put their trust in, and it paid off in this movie.”
Reynolds and his wife Lively, 37, have been keeping secret in the weeks since Lively filed a lawsuit against her on Dec. 20 It ends with us Costar-director Baldoni, 40, and others, including several of his producing partners and publicists, allege sexual harassment and a campaign of retaliation against her.
Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, called the claims “false, outrageous and intentionally depraved” and Jane the Virgin the star, his production company Wayfarer Studios, business partners and public relations team subsequently sued The New York Times Dec. 31 for $250 million over their article about Lively’s allegations against him.
The same day, the actress-producer escalated her own legal action by officially filing a federal lawsuit against Baldoni’s company and others.
Ryan Reynolds on January 7th.
John Nacion/Variety via Getty
Blake Lively focused on making Christmas special for her four kids amid legal action against Justin Baldoni (exclusive source)
In her original filing on Dec. 20, Lively alleged that Baldoni exhibited “disturbing” and “unprofessional” behavior on set that led to a “hostile work environment.” Lively’s complaint includes allegations that Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath entered her trailer “uninvited” while she was undressed or “vulnerable,” alleging that Baldoni “suddenly” forced her to “simulate full nudity” in the birth scene and “improvised physical an intimacy that was not rehearsed, choreographed or discussed with Ms. Lively, without an intimacy coordinator involved.”
Her complaint alleges that following the experience and the alleged smear campaign against her, Lively “suffered grief, fear, trauma and extreme anxiety” and said Reynolds “has also been mentally, physically and professionally affected by the pain of his wife and children.” , noting “the impact on their young children, who were traumatized and emotionally uprooted in ways that significantly affected their well-being.”
Baldoni’s legal team strongly denied Lively’s claims. Baldoni’s lawsuit against time claimed that no smear campaign had been carried out, stating that the actress was “the one who participated in a calculated smear campaign” and that times used “‘certain’ and altered communications devoid of necessary context and deliberately combined to mislead.”
Among Baldoni’s accusations in his times the lawsuit alleges a disputed meeting with producers at Livelyn and Reynolds’ New York apartment in January 2024, just before filming resumed after the union strikes ended.
While Lively’s complaint alleges that the “all hands” meeting “was called to address a hostile work environment that nearly derailed production,” Baldoni’s lawsuit alleges that Reynolds “began a tirade, berating Baldoni in what Baldoni later described as ‘ traumatic’ encounter, saying that he had ‘never been talked to like that in his life’.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(997x462:999x464)/Ryan-Reynolds-and-wicked-cast-010725-fb755ce893c24ea094b1605680cc0ddb.jpg)
Ryan Reynolds (center) with ‘Wicked’ stars Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater.
Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock
Justin Baldoni for Sue It ends with us Blake Lively’s costar ‘coming soon’ after her sexual harassment lawsuit (exclusive details)
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Last August in It ends with us Premiere in New York, said Lively Hey! News that Reynolds wrote a scene in the film. “We help each other,” she said then. “He works on everything I do; I work on everything he does. So his victories, his celebrations are mine and mine are his.”
Reynolds and Lively last stepped out together in early December to support Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at a screening of Jon M. Chu’s film Wicked: Part One. The film musical topped the National Board of Review’s honors with awards for Best Picture and Best Director, as well as the NBR Spotlight Award for “creative collaboration” between the actresses behind Oz’s The Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education