Ryan Reynolds has spoken out in passionate defense of his wife Blake Lively as their high-profile legal battle with Justin Baldoni continues to play out in public, pushing back at reports that the lawsuit has damaged her standing in Hollywood.
The Deadpool star, 49, told Willie Geist during a live taping of Sunday Sitdown that he has never felt more proud of anyone.
“I’ve just never been more proud in my life of someone with that level of integrity who brings that with them and carries it with them in everything they do,” he said.
When asked how the pair were coping with the fallout, Reynolds was measured but determined.
“People have no idea what’s really going on, you know? You really see some kind of illusion behind so much of this, you know? Digital life versus real life.”
His comments came in direct response to a wave of negative press surrounding Lively, 38, including a report in Daily Mail with an anonymous Disney executive claiming that the lawsuit had “ruined her in Hollywood,” adding that she “had a reputation for being difficult.”
The same report suggested Reynolds and Lively were considering moving to the UK so she could rebuild her profile there.
Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni in December 2024, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation stemming from their time on the set of It ends with us.
Baldoni, 42, denied the allegations and filed a $400 million countersuit, which was thrown out in June.
Earlier this month, a federal judge dismissed ten of Lively’s thirteen claims, including the sexual harassment allegations, on legal and technical grounds, though her retaliation case continues in court on May 18.
Lively addressed the verdict on Instagram, making it clear that she had not wanted to press charges but felt she had no choice.
“The last thing I wanted in my life was a lawsuit, but I filed this case because of the pervasive ATTACK I faced and continued to privately and professionally plead for a safe work environment for myself and others,” she wrote.
With settlement talks broken down, the two sides are now headed for a courtroom showdown next month.
