Ryan Reynolds Embraces Dissent on Set Amid Blake Lively’s Legal Battle with Justin Baldoni

Ryan Reynolds said he welcomes employees disagreeing with him, amid wife Blake Lively’s ongoing workplace-based legal battle with her It Ends with Us co-star Justin Baldoni.

The Deadpool star, 49, took part in a discussion at The Wall Street Journal CMO Council Summit last Tuesday.

The A-list actor explained to WSJ Leadership Institute Chair Maryam Banikarim that he felt it was essential to have multiple ideas in play for any healthy functioning company.

‘I’m screwed if people start agreeing with me because I’m the boss or something,’ Reynolds said.

Reynolds spoke not only as an entertainment business figure as an actor-producer with his company Maximum Effort, as he also has business endeavors in the liquor, communications and sports sectors.

Daily Mail has reached out to reps for both parties for further comment on the story. 

Reynolds he wishes he took firmer leadership on the set of 2011 film Green Lantern – a movie that he says his toddler son, Olin, two, ‘watches … every f***ing day.’

Said Reynolds: ‘Do you understand the work I’ve had to do to get to the place where I can just pass by that screen and not go, “Well, we could have…?”‘

In the interview, Reynolds said that he had a more passive attitude in the industry about 15 years ago, with starring roles in films such as 2008’s Definitely Maybe and 2009 The Proposal.

Reynolds said that his mentality was “Yes, sir; no, sir; how high can I jump, sir?’ despite having ‘strong opinions’ that he often kept to himself with workplace politics in mind.

Reynolds said that the accountability that he faced as a leading man – regardless of if he voiced his opinion or not – led him to take more charge on sets.

‘They don’t say “This producer’s movie flopped” or “This director’s” – that’s me,’ Reynolds said. ‘So if I’m going to be on that headline, I’d like to be the architect of my own demise or success.’

Reynolds said that when he’s leading projects now, he will ‘take control’ if he is quite sure of something, but still welcome harsh feedback from his underlings during writing sessions.

‘I say, here’s the s***** version, and I’m saying that because I want dissent,’ Reynolds said. 

Reynolds says he gets ill when he knows people are falsely agreeing with him due to his star stature.

Reynolds said that he like likes when people respond to him, ‘Yes, Mr. Reynolds, it is s*** – but what if we added this and that and this and that, and this and that?’

He said that it’s the type of discussion that paves way to creative revelations.

‘Next thing you know, we’re exploring some incredibly fun, sparkly idea that it gets to be executed,’ said Reynolds.  

Reynolds, who is father to four kids with Lively, said his children view him as ‘a winner’ because of how they see he’s treated when he steps into the public sphere.

‘That’s the thing I worry about most with this ecosystem you’re talking about here,’ he said. ‘When I go outside, I get pats in the back, and it’s a selfie parade, and I oblige everyone, pretty much, and my kids only see that.

‘So I’ve learned lately to make sure to talk about the failures, and that how that is literally the base and ingredient for everything else.’

Lively’s 2024 movie It Ends with Us earned $148 million in domestic box office, and $350 million globally – but whatever goodwill the film garnered has since been overshadowed by the allegations made by its stars.

The motion picture, which also starred Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar and Kevin McKidd, was based on the 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover. 

The storyline of the film centered around a toxic relationship between Lily Bloom (played by Lively) and Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni).

According to a logline for the film, Lily ‘overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life,’ as ‘a chance meeting with a neurosurgeon sparks a connection but Lily begins to see sides of him that remind her of her parents’ relationship.’ 

In December of last year, Lively named Baldoni in a lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment, retaliatory conduct, and intentional infliction of emotional stress.

In her lawsuit, the actress accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways – including body shaming her – and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation.  

In her lawsuit, Lively named a number of Baldoni’s collaborators, including his company Wayfarer Studios, the studio’s CEO and financial backer, and PR personnel.

Baldoni had initially asked for $250 million in damages from The New York Times, mentioning a report it published on the topic, then added it to the $400 million lawsuit he filed this past January.

In the suit, Baldoni named Lively, her spouse Ryan Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane, citing the aforementioned report in legal documents. It was thrown out of court this past June. 

All parties have denied all of the allegations against them.