The director of “It Ends With Us,” Justin Baldoni, has requested Disney to retain any documents mentioning him after allegations surfaced that Ryan Reynolds used a character in “Deadpool & Wolverine” to ‘bully’ him.
This request is part of an ongoing legal dispute arising from sexual harassment allegations made by his former co-star, Blake Lively.
Lively has accused Baldoni of ‘disturbing behavior’ during their collaboration on the 2024 drama film and has claimed he damaged her public image.
Baldoni has refuted the allegations and has countersued The New York Times for libel regarding its reporting on Lively’s lawsuit.
Reynolds was implicated in the lawsuit through claims about his conduct during Baldoni’s visit to Reynolds and Lively’s home, alongside allegations related to the character ‘Nicepool’ in the latest “Deadpool” movie.
In response, Baldoni’s legal team has issued a litigation hold letter to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and Disney CEO Bob Iger, requesting them to preserve ‘any and all documents related to the Nicepool character’s development’ for potential use in court.
The letter, viewed by PEOPLE, also seeks access to ‘communications about the development, writing, and filming of storylines and scenes with Nicepool’.
The legal team aims to uncover evidence ‘suggesting a deliberate effort to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate, or bully Baldoni through Nicepool’, among other concerns.
In “Deadpool & Wolverine,” Nicepool, portrayed by Reynolds, is a Canadian version of the mercenary, characterized by his exceedingly nice demeanor.
The character is shown with perfect skin and a thick man bun, and he refers to Ladypool, played by Lively, as ‘gorgeous’ in the film.
In one scene, Nicepool remarks about Ladypool: “She just had a baby too and you can’t even tell.”
Those aware of Lively’s accusations against Baldoni might notice a connection between this comment and remarks Baldoni allegedly made, which Lively claims involved ‘indirectly criticizing her body and weight’ after she and Reynolds had their first child.
Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, discussed the alleged link between Baldoni and Nicepool in an interview on Megyn Kelly’s web show earlier this month.
In the conversation, Freedman asserted there was ‘no question’ that Nicepool ‘relates to Justin’.