Ryan Reynolds has faced criticism from some online users after footage of his interaction with a child at an event last year reappeared.
The Deadpool actor was interviewed by a young participant at the Toronto International Film Festival in September of the previous year, around the time when it became public that Reynolds and his spouse Blake Lively were involved in a legal dispute with Justin Baldoni.
Despite these circumstances, Reynolds continued his public appearances to promote his John Candy documentary, conducting numerous interviews during that period.
In a CTV interview, Reynolds was seen conversing with a child, a moment that remains a significant topic of discussion on social media.
“Hi, what’s your question for me buddy?” Reynolds inquired, to which the child responded: “Hi Ryan, nice to meet you.” Reynolds swiftly interjected with: “Nice to meet you too, let’s skip to the question.”
The child then asked: “Why is there so much Chipotle mayo on your Tim Horton breakfast?” prompting Reynolds, aged 49, to joke: “You know what, I wish I had some control over that, I can send a strongly-worded letter to the chef. Consider it done young man.”
Reynolds continued: “What’s your name? Liam? I’ll make it downright vicious, but I’ll say it’s from you though.”
The actor then exited as the crowd observed the moment awkwardly.
Recently, many have taken to X to discuss the video after it was recirculated on the platform.
“He really is nasty and vicious,” one person commented on X, adding: “I wonder how cruel he is to his own four kids? They’re screwed, with those two as parents.”
Another user remarked: “I’ve noticed now that his humor is mean girl bullying disguised as comedy through sarcastic tone. Every time.”
Conversely, many were quick to support Reynolds, with one social media user stating: “This is the most delusional post and thread I’ve read in a really long while. The forced hate is hilarious. Bots everywhere.”
Another person humorously added: “I’m so confused lmaoo I was trying to figure out what he did wrong like maybe I was missing an underlying subliminal message.”
A source close to Reynolds shared with the Daily Mail at the time that red carpet staff were in the process of closing the area and ushering people indoors, which led to the hurried and awkward exchange.
“They mentioned Ryan couldn’t pause for more interviews, and he actually stopped for the kid reporter on his own. He was in no way being rude,” the insider explained.
“There were also numerous other reporters trying to ask questions, which is why he leaned down to the kid to allow him to ask his question.”