Blake Lively has been linked to legal drama for nearly two years now due to her court battle with It Ends with Us collaborator Justin Baldoni. At this point, the case has been settled, though further developments continue to arise, including a set of newly revealed texts from Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, which recently hit the web. There’s apparently been a question regarding how Lively’s reputation and that of her husband will hold up amid the situation. With that, several alleged industry bigwigs are sharing their takes.
On Friday, newly unsealed court documents revealed text correspondences that Reynolds allegedly had with It Ends with Us author Colleen Hoover and more. Reynolds reportedly made blistering comments about Baldoni, calling him a “predator and sociopath.” According to Daily Mail, the Deadpool star also spoke to talent agent Warren Zavala and blasted Sony Pictures (which distributed IEWU) for supposedly not defending Lively. One LA source spoke to the outlet about what the industry’s perception of Lively and Reynolds is now:
Two years ago, having Blake and Ryan at your party made you look important. Today, having them there might make people uncomfortable. They’re still famous. They’re just not the social prize they used to be.
In one of his texts to Zavala, Reynolds reportedly said, “[Sony] need[s] to frame it the right way” and, in another, he asserted that the studio needed to “get in front of” the Lively/Baldoni controversy. Zavala apparently concurred that the company was “covering” itself. The contents of the texts aside, sources seem to be in agreement that the optics of such messages don’t bode well for Reynolds and his spouse. Daily Mail’s second insider, a Hollywood casting director, added:
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The question isn’t whether Blake and Ryan are talented. It’s whether working with them comes with complications.
Over the last few years, Reynolds has appeared in a few films produced under his Maximum Effort production banner, including Deadpool & Wolverine and Mayday. It’s worth noting, however, that both movies were either released or in production by the time Lively filed her legal complaint of alleged sexual harassment and defamation against Baldoni (who denied the claims). Throughout the nearly year-and-a-half-long case, both Lively and Baldoni’s reputations apparently took hits, and much was said about the immense time and money they were putting into their eventual lawsuits. Unnamed execs have weighed in on Baldoni and Lively’s professional prospects, and all seem to believe they’re in for a tough time.
Still, Baldoni announced big news weeks ago. It was confirmed that Baldoni’s company, Wayfarer Studios, would produce a boxing movie called House of Guerrero, with his Jane the Virgin co-star Gina Rodriguez, set to star. Meanwhile, Lively is reportedly planning a career comeback and, just recently, it was reported that she made a big professional change by firing her longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane. Per reports, Reynolds played a role in that decision. Despite the changes, the alleged casting director still says this about the texts:
Nobody wants their private texts appearing in the next lawsuit. Executives have careers to protect, too.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds haven’t spoken candidly about the former’s legal conflict in any public setting. Any discussion about what may or may not happen with their careers moving forward can only be regarded as speculation.