Justin Baldoni’s Claim Against Ryan Reynolds Shot Down by Agency

Justin Baldoni’s former agency, WME, has insisted that Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively didn’t pressure bosses into dropping the It Ends With Us director and co-star and director—despite his claims in an explosive new lawsuit.

A lawsuit filed against the New York Times earlier this week claims that Reynolds personally pressured Baldoni’s then-agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. “The wielding of power and influence became undeniable,” the lawsuit states. “Baldoni and Wayfarer (his production company) grew increasingly fearful of what Lively and Reynolds were capable of, as their actions seemed aimed at destroying Baldoni’s career and personal life.”

But WME, who dropped Baldoni the day after Lively accused him of sexual harassment on Dec. 20, has now seemingly poured cold water on that claim.

“In Baldoni’s filing there is a claim that Reynolds pressured Baldoni’s agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. This is not true,” the agency said New Year’s Day in a statement. “Baldoni’s former representative was not at the ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ premiere nor was there any pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time to drop Baldoni as a client.”

Baldoni’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for a response to WME’s rebuttal of his claims.

The high profile Hollywood spat comes after Lively made a legal complaint against Baldoni, alleging harassment and a smear campaign orchestrated by her co-star’s team. Baldoni and Wayfarer deny these claims. They accused the actress of “another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation.”

On Tuesday, Lively and Baldoni both filed lawsuits related to the actress’ original claims. Within hours of Baldoni’s move, Lively filed her own lawsuit against Baldoni for sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign. The actress also named Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer Studios, and his PR representatives, Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, in the suit.

In his lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Baldoni accuses the New York Times of conspiring with Lively’s public relations team to advance an “unverified and self-serving narrative” using “cherry-picked and altered communications stripped of necessary context” while ignoring evidence that contradicted her claims.

The actor and director is bringing claims related to fraud and breach of contract, as well as libel. In a previous statement to the Daily Beast, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said that the paper “cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful ‘untouchable’ Hollywood elites.”

The Times told the Daily Beast that it plans to “vigorously” defend its reporting in court.

“The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead,” spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades said in a statement. “Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article. We published their full statement in response to the allegations in the article as well.”