“The entirety of Plaintiffs’ defamation claim appears to be based on two times that Mr. Reynolds allegedly called Mr. Baldoni a ‘predator,’” the motion reads. “But, the FAC alleges no plausible facts that suggest Mr. Reynolds did not believe this comment to be true.”
The “allegations suggest that Mr. Reynolds genuinely, perhaps passionately, believes that Mr. Baldoni’s behavior is reflective of a ‘predator,’” it continues. “(T)he law establishes that calling someone a ‘predator’ amounts to constitutionally protected opinion… While Mr. Baldoni ‘may not appreciate being called’ a predator, those hurt feelings do not give rise to legal claims.”
In Baldoni’s amended lawsuit earlier this year, he also claimed Reynolds was “bullying” him with the Deadpool character “Nicepool”; the film’s misogynistic male ally with a man bun who identified as a feminist and said lines like, “I’d be fighting alongside you, but my calling is to one day start a podcast that monetizes the women’s movement.”
Reynolds’ lawyers did not dispute that “Nicepool” is based on Baldoni, instead stating that Baldoni is just complaining and showing “thin-skinned outrage over a movie character.”
Baldoni sued the New York Times for libel for $250 million in December and then filed a second $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, and their publicist, Leslie Sloane in January. Sloane filed a motion to dismiss in February.
I’m sure Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, already has at least two random right-wing podcast appearances lined up to rage about this.
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