Did Ryan Reynolds Reference Justin Baldoni with His Nicepool Character in “Deadpool & Wolverine”?

• TikTok and internet users are noticing potential similarities between Deadpool & Wolverine's Nicepool character in the wake of Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's legal battles regarding accounts of Baldoni's alleged behavior on It Ends with Us, contained in Lively's complaint.

• Reynolds portrays Nicepool — a variant of Deadpool who announces, "I identify as a feminist" in his first scene and is brutally killed in the movie's climax — as "Gordon Reynolds."

• A TikTok showing what appears to be deleted footage from the movie also shows Nicepool saying he wants to "start a podcast that monetizes the women's movement" is circulating on the social media app.
  

The internet wants to know: did Ryan Reynolds add thinly-veiled jabs at Justin Baldoni into Deadpool & Wolverine?

Following Blake Lively's lawsuit alleging sexual harassment by Baldoni on the set of It Ends with Us and a retaliatory smear campaign, and Baldoni's subsequent lawsuit against The New York Times and pledge to countersue the actress, TikTok users and fans of Reynolds' hit Marvel movie are looking back on Deadpool & Wolverine's character Nicepool in a different light. Reynolds is credited as a co-writer on the blockbuster film.

"I mean, come on guys. That's not even subtle," said TikTok user americastia on Monday, Jan. 6, sharing what appears to be a Deadpool & Wolverine deleted scene in which Reynolds' character says: "I'd be fighting alongside you, but my calling is to one day start a podcast that monetizes the women's movement."

The clip is one of a number of social media posts that note perceived similarities between Nicepool and Baldoni, 40.

Baldoni co-hosts the podcast The Man Enough with his producing partner Jamey Heath, who is also named in the sexual harassment complaint Lively filed on Dec. 20, along with a formal lawsuit filed in New York on Dec. 31. Liz Plank, the podcast's third co-host, announced on Dec. 23 that she was leaving the series, which explores "how the messages of masculinity show up in relationships, body image, privilege, fatherhood, sex, success, mental health and so much more," according to the show's website.

A rep for Reynolds did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment Jan. 7.

Related: Blake Lively's Lawyers Condemn 'More Attacks' from Justin Baldoni's Team: 'Not a He Said/She Said'

In Deadpool & Wolverine, the Nicepool character makes pointed comments about Ladypool, whom Lively played, when Wolverine and Deadpool first meet the character.

"Oh my goodness, wait until you see Ladypool. She is gorgeous," Nicepool says in the film. "She just had a baby, too — you can't even tell." "I don't think you're supposed to stay that," Deadpool responds, only for Nicepool to say, "That's okay. I identify as a feminist."

Lively alleged in her complaint against Baldoni that the actor-director "routinely degraded" her during production on It Ends with Us by “finding back channel ways of criticizing her body and weight,” including calling Lively's trainer behind her back and implying that he “wanted her to lose weight in two weeks,” less than four months after Lively gave birth to her and Reynolds' fourth child. The complaint also alleged Baldoni and another producer entered her trailer “uninvited” while she was undressed or “vulnerable."

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Lively, who has been married to Reynolds since 2012, also alleged in her complaint that a Jan. 4, 2024 meeting was held in New York "to address the hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production" attended by Baldoni, Heath, a Sony Pictures executive, other producers on the film and Reynolds as her representative, which resulted in a list of 30 protections created to ensure production resume.

Reynolds was first seen wearing the Nicepool costume on Deadpool & Wolverine's set on Jan. 21, 2024. The actor is credited as "Gordon Reynolds" — a fake twin brother of Deadpool's he created for a 2016 GQ interview — for portraying Nicepool in the movie.

Baldoni has denied all allegations made against him by Lively, and he filed a $250 million lawsuit against theTimes on Dec. 31 over an article published Dec. 21 that reported on Lively's complaint. "We plan to release every single text message between the two of them," Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman told NBC News on Jan. 2, speaking of plans to file Baldoni's countersuit "soon." PEOPLE learned the same day that Baldoni plans to sue Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane and Baldoni's former publicist Stephanie Jones in the suit. "This is not a response or countersuit — it’s a deliberate pursuit of truth,” Freedman told PEOPLE of the upcoming suit on Dec. 29.

Related: Justin Baldoni Accuses Ryan Reynolds of 'Berating' Him in 'Traumatic Encounter' Over Comments He Made About Blake Lively

In his lawsuit against the Times, Baldoni alleged that Reynolds "aggressively berated" him during that January 2024 meeting regarding It Ends with Us at Lively and Reynold's New York City apartment. Baldoni claimed that Reynolds "demanded" an apology for Lively, accusing him of "fat-shaming" her, and when Baldoni "resisted apologizing for what he had not done, Reynolds became further enraged."

On Monday, Jan. 6, Lively’s legal team condemned what they called "more attacks" on Lively by Baldoni since she filed her complaint, saying her “serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation” are “backed by concrete facts.”

“This is not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences’ or a ‘he said/she said’ situation,” her lawyers' statement to PEOPLE read.

Baldoni's lawyer Freedman responded by promising receipts. "We are releasing all of the evidence which will show a pattern of bullying and threats to take over the movie," he said in a statement Jan. 7, referencing It Ends with Us.

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