Ryan Reynolds Called Justin Baldoni a “Predator and Sociopath” in Newly Unsealed Texts to Colleen Hoover

Newly unsealed court documents have made public a private text exchange in which Ryan Reynolds unloaded on Justin Baldoni, calling the actor and director a “predator and sociopath.” The messages, sent as the “It Ends With Us” promotional backlash was unfolding, show Reynolds venting to author Colleen Hoover and privately scripting mockery of Baldoni’s crisis PR response — months before the legal war between the two camps went public.

The exchange began with Reynolds questioning why his wife, Blake Lively, was taking the blame for the backlash when he sent Colleen Hoover an Aug. 10, 2024, text attacking Baldoni, whose novel became the film.

At AMC Lincoln Square 13 on September 29, 2026, Colleen Hoover appeared in a gold satin gown for the New York premiere of Amazon MGM Studios’ “Verity.” Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images.

“It’s amazing to me that you can have everybody involved with a production completely run away from a person who is obviously a predator and sociopath and the narrative must first land on why a woman is the problem,” Reynolds wrote.

Baldoni directed the film about domestic violence and starred alongside Lively. The texts date to months before Lively filed her December 2024 complaint alleging sexual harassment during production and a retaliatory smear campaign. Baldoni denied her allegations.

Justin Baldoni and his wife Emily Baldoni walk hand-in-hand as they exit federal court in New York following a court-ordered settlement conference on February 11, 2026. Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images.

“It’s amazing to me how low people still go,” Reynolds continued. “But people are already coming forward and soon enough someone is just gonna go on record.”

Hoover replied, “It’s mind blowing.” She described the loudest critics as “mostly 13-year-olds who don’t have fully developed brains yet and will be mortified by their thought process a few years from now.” She added, “Good to hear it’s already beginning to skew away from him.”

Reynolds said most of the criticism he’d seen came from girls, while the conversation also centered on the movie’s performance and how much audiences liked it. Hoover responded to that message with a heart.

At Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 27, 2025, the ‘Another Simple Favor’ New York screening drew couple Blake Lively — in a latticed mint gown — and Ryan Reynolds, suited in grey herringbone. Photo by Michael Loccisano / Getty Images.

Elsewhere in the exchange, Reynolds scripted a fictional conversation mocking Baldoni’s crisis PR strategy. His imagined instructions from the team read: “Crisis team: okay, Justin, all you do is talk about DV and how wonderful Blake is. And we’ll handle the online stuff. No matter what, you keep up your feminist advocacy. And speak like an emotionally elevated thought leader. Understood?”

Reynolds then supplied an imagined reply from Baldoni: “Justin: Namaste. Let’s get this bitch.” Those were Reynolds’ words, written as a parody of Baldoni, and Hoover reacted with a laugh.

In a separate Aug. 9, 2024, text to his agent, Warren Zavala, Reynolds called Baldoni a “human rounding error” while celebrating the movie’s success.

A large teddy bear in hand, Blake Lively stands on the pitch in Wrexham, Wales, during the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round clash between Wrexham and Chelsea on March 7, 2026. Photo by Carl Recine / Getty Images.

A source close to Reynolds said he was trying to protect Lively from Baldoni’s crisis PR team, which the source said had been accused of similar smear tactics in at least five other lawsuits.

In June 2025, the court dismissed Baldoni’s $400 million suit accusing Lively, Reynolds and their PR team of defamation and extortion. A May 2026 settlement resolved Lively’s case with the remaining defendants.

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