Ryan Reynolds avoided the spotlight of the 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards amid his and wife Blake Lively’s ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni.
The Deadpool & Wolverine actor, 48, was not in attendance for the Sunday, February 23, event at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles. Though he had never been confirmed to appear, some wondered if he’d attend to support his superhero flick’s SAG Awards nod.
Reynolds’ film Deadpool & Wolverine — which he starred in, cowrote and produced — was nominated for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture at the awards show. The Marvel movie was up against Dune: Part Two, The Fall Guy, Gladiator II and Wicked, and The Fall Guy ultimately won the category. (Like Reynolds, The Fall Guy stars Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling also were not seen at the 2025 SAG Awards. The stunt categories were announced during the red carpet preshow.)
The SAG Awards come amid a turbulent time for Reynolds and Lively, 37, as the couple — who tied the knot in September 2012 and share daughters James, 10, Inez, 8, and Betty, 5, and son Olin, 2 — face off against her It Ends With Us director and costar, Baldoni, in a highly contentious legal battle that began in December 2024.
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Lively has accused Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment and a smear campaign against her, which he has vehemently denied. Baldoni subsequently filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane in January, with Lively’s legal team telling Us Weekly at the time that Baldoni’s case would ultimately “fail.”
A trial is scheduled to begin in 2026. Earlier this month, Lively and Baldoni’s teams rejected mediation to potentially settle the dispute.
Lively and Reynolds have kept a relatively low profile amid the ordeal. He skipped the 2025 Golden Globe Awards in January despite Deadpool & Wolverine’s nomination for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. (The Marvel film ultimately lost to Wicked.)
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Regardless of the optics, a source told Us at the time that Reynolds and his costar Hugh Jackman “were not confirmed to attend” the Golden Globes and their decision to miss the event had “nothing to do” with the legal dispute.
Reynolds also skipped the 2025 Critics Choice Awards earlier this month, where Deadpool & Wolverine tied with A Real Pain for Best Comedy.
Reynolds and Lively later stepped out for the SNL 50 Anniversary Special in New York City on February 16. During the broadcast, he joked about the It Ends With Us drama in a Q&A segment with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
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When asked by Fey, 54, and Poehler, 53, how he was doing, Reynolds replied, “[I’m doing] great. Why, what have you heard?”
Lively, meanwhile, maintained a blank expression while seated next to Reynolds during the exchange.
The day after the special aired, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman reacted to the moment.
“I’m unaware of anybody, frankly, whose wife has been sexually harassed and has made jokes about that type of situation. I can’t think of anyone who’s done anything like that,” Freedman said on the “Hot Mics With Billy Bush” podcast. “So it surprised me.”
