Months after breaking box office records and scoring a Billion dollars at the box office, Ryan Reynolds’Deadpool , wolverine‘ is back in the spotlight amid his wife, Blake Lively’s lawsuit against ‘It Ends With Us‘ director Justin Baldoni.
The third installment of ‘Deadpool’ which Reynolds co-wrote and co-produced, is making waves online with netizens putting his character ‘Nicepool’ under the scanner. Played by Reynolds himself, nicepool is a Deadpool variant with a man bun, a detail that has led fans to draw comparisons to Justin Baldoni, who has famously sported the same hairstyle for years.
Nicepool’s appearance and mannerisms have sparked speculation that the character may be a parody of Baldoni with twitterati comparing the similarities that the two share and the surprising link to the ongoing legal drama. In one scene, Nicepool comments on “Ladypool”, played by Blake Lively, and says, “Oh my goodness, wait til you’ve seen LadypoolShe is gorgeous. She just had a baby too, and [you] “Can’t even tell.”
Deadpool immediately chastises Nicepool, saying, “I don’t think you’re supposed to say that,” to which Nicepool responds with his hand on his chest, “That’s OK. I identify as a feminist.”
Netizens were quick to connect the dots, noting the parallels between Nicepool’s dialogue and Baldoni’s public persona, particularly his podcast Man Enough, which explores themes of women’s empowerment.
A notable scene features Deadpool requesting an “intimacy coordinator,” a possible nod to Blake Lively’s earlier legal battle with Baldoni over their film It Ends With Us, in which she alleged the absence of an intimacy coordinator. Baldoni’s legal team dismissed the claim, but the timing of this moment in the film has fueled speculation.
One fan tweeted,”I’ve seen people point out that the Nicepool character in Deadpool and Wolverine might be a parody of Justin Baldoni.” He went on to add, “But it’s the fact that the character appears a few minutes after this “intimacy coordinator” line means Ryan Reynolds is playing chess not checkers.”
Another scene has Nicepool making a reference to a feminist podcast. In the clip, Nicepool says, “My calling is to one day host a podcast that monetises the women’s movement.” Many are now speculating that this scene was a diss at Baldoni’s ‘Man Enough’ podcast on the same topics of women empowerment.
“Nicepool in “Deadpool & Wolverine” is supposed to be Justin Baldoni” read a tweet.
Justin Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freeman, addressed the growing rumors during an interview with Megyn Kelly. Freeman called the portrayal “obvious,” pointing to the man bun and the pregnancy comment. He criticized Reynolds, saying, “If your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of Justin Baldoni. You don’t make fun of the situation. You take it very seriously, you file HR complaints, you raise the issue and you follow a legal process. What you don’t do is mock the person and turn it into a joke.”
Netizens soon took to social media to discuss the allegations, linking moments from the film to Baldoni’s real life. Sharing a video compilation of scenes from the film, a netizen wrote, “Watch the scene, tell me Ryan Reynolds didn’t take a shot.”
One even pointed out that the Nicepool’s death scene was coincidentally played out in front of a flower shop, with Ryan’s Deadpool holding him as a human shield while Blake’s LadyDeadpool keeps firing him in the back.
“Nice Pool gets killed by Lady Pool in front of a freaking FLOWER SHOP???? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Wow the animus that Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds had for Justin Baldoni is really astounding,” a fan commented.
Another responded saying, “Now the Nicepool death scene makes perfect sense. They’re so petty modeling Nicepool looking like Justin Baldoni in manbun and the Ladypool looking like Blake Lively killing him in front of the flower shop in reference to #ItEndsWithUs”
While Reynolds has not confirmed any intentional parallels, the controversy has only added to the buzz surrounding the case, with fans eager to see if Baldoni really files a counter lawsuit against Blake Lively.
