Ryan Reynolds Can’t be Sued over “Hurt Feelings” Claim Explained

[Source: Merit TV]

Celebrity lawyer and legal analyst Christopher C. Melcher, who is ranked as a best family law attorney in California, explains Ryan Reynolds‘ claim that Justin Baldoni can’t sue over “Hurt Feelings.”

Fanchon: All right. Step aside, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Ryan Reynolds has something to say now. The It Ends with Us saga, it continues. It’s dragging on. Reynolds is now calling out his wife’s former co-star for filing a lawsuit against him based on what he calls “hurt feelings.” Reynolds is being accused of labeling Baldoni a predator and bullying him through his new satirical Deadpool movie character that allegedly mocks Baldoni’s feminist persona.

Now, Reynolds has asked the court to dismiss Baldoni’s legal claims against him while Baldoni’s team believes Reynolds is exploiting his Hollywood power. It goes back and forth and back and forth. Now, this bitter feud all stems, you may remember, from Blake Lively accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment on set and orchestrating a smear campaign against her. So joining us now is Chris Melcher, celebrity divorce lawyer and partner at Walzer Melcher & Yoda, which is ranked as a top family law firm in California. Good morning to you, Chris. I can’t believe this is still going on. There’s a quote now. It says, hurt feelings do not give rise to legal claims. That’s Ryan Reynolds’ perspective. Does he have a point?

Ryan Reynolds’ Sexual Predator Remark

Chris Melcher:

Well, he does, Fanchon if that were the case. But Ryan’s not being sued for hurt feelings. He’s being sued for calling Justin a sexual predator, and Justin’s saying he’s lost work as a result of that so it’s much more serious than Ryan’s portraying it to be.

Fanchon:

Yeah. And what is Reynolds’ argument, I should say, for referring to Baldoni as a predator? Why does he say, or why does he believe he has the evidence to back that up?

Chris Melcher:

So Ryan’s doubled down on this, and he’s saying in court papers that this is true, that Justin is a predator. But what he’s citing to are statements that Justin Baldoni had made earlier about when he was a teenager in his early twenties about not respecting boundaries with women or watching pornography or making crude remarks. And even if all those things are true, I don’t see that as being a sexual predator. There’s a vast difference there. So the justification does not seem to be present that Ryan says exists.

Nicepool Character Based on Justin Baldoni

Fanchon: Let’s talk a little bit about Reynolds’ movie character. What part of his movie character Nicepool is playing? What part is that playing in this back and forth legal battle because now he’s being accused of making fun, I guess, of Baldoni?

Chris Melcher: Well, this is an area where I agree with Ryan Reynolds that if this character, Nicepool, is based on Justin and it’s being used to make fun of Justin, Ryan is well within his rights to do that. Justin is a public figure and can be made fun of. So I really don’t see… that does fall into the hurt feelings category. So I really don’t see that Justin has any gripe there legally.

Fanchon:

Yeah. How is Justin’s team responding to the dismissal request?

Justin Baldoni Fights for Reputation

Chris Melcher:

Well, this is a really serious fight and I think that Justin needs to have this fight to get his reputation back and the ability to work and earn money. So my sense is that Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds would like to get away from this as much as possible because it’s spiraled out of control and Blake Lively is looking more like the aggressor than the victim who she portrayed herself to be. So Justin’s doing a very good job in countering all this and pushing it, and I think it’s going to go on for quite a bit longer.

Fanchon:

Yeah. I was just going to ask you, how long do you think this will go on? Because this is the biggest case in Hollywood right now. Everyone is watching this. Chris Melcher, thank you for getting us up to date and giving us your perspective. Good to see you.

Make sure to follow Chris Melcher on Twitter at @CA_Divorce.