Justin Baldoni, has through his lawyer, spoken out against Ryan Reynolds' motion to have the defamation case against him dismissed.
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Justin Baldoni's lawyer has accused Ryan Reynolds of "arrogantly asking to be dismissed" from a defamation lawsuit.
The 48-year-old actor recently filed a motion to dismiss Baldoni's complaint, insisting that the “It Ends with Us” director's accusations have no legal merit - but Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's lawyer, has now hit back at the “Deadpool” star.
Freedman said in a statement: "Mr. Reynolds now attempts to reduce plainly cognisable claims to 'hurt feelings,' sending a clear message that bullying is acceptable.
"After lighting a match, Mr. Reynolds now seeks to run from the flames. It won’t work. The Wayfarer Parties’ claims against him are real, and they are serious.
"Mr. Reynolds can appear on as many sketch shows as he wants and feebly try to make light of his current situation but we will not stop until he is held accountable for his actions."
Reynolds - who is married to Blake Lively, Baldoni's former co-star - recently rubbished the defamation lawsuit.
Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, Reynolds' attorneys, said in a statement: "The entirety of Mr. Baldoni’s case appears to be based on Mr. Reynolds allegedly privately calling Mr. Baldoni a ‘predator’ but here’s the problem - that is not defamation unless they can show that Mr. Reynolds did not believe that statement to be true.
"The complaint doesn’t allege that. In fact, it suggests the opposite: that Mr. Reynolds genuinely believes Mr. Baldoni is a predator."
Reynolds's legal team insisted that the actor is entitled to "express his opinion of Mr. Baldoni".
They said: "Mr. Reynolds has a First Amendment right to express his opinion of Mr. Baldoni, which should be comforting to a group of people who have repeatedly called Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds ‘bullies’ and other names over the past year."
Meanwhile, Lively previously launched a lawsuit against her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star, accusing him of harassing her while making the romantic drama film.
The actress accused Baldoni of causing her "severe emotional distress".
Lively, 37 - who played Baldoni's on-screen love interest in “It Ends with Us” - previously told the “New York Times”: "I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted."
Baldoni later denied the allegations, with his lawyer describing the claims as "categorically false".
