All Deadpool’s Lines That Made Justin Baldoni Thinks ‘Nicepool’ Is Based on Him
The feud between It Ends With Us co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni continues, with Baldoni claiming that Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, mocked him in the latter’s recent movie, Deadpool & Wolverine. Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, sent a litigation hold letter to Kevin Feige, Marvel president, and Bob Iger, Disney CEO.
Variety viewed a copy of the letter and reported it calls for Marvel and Disney to preserve “Any and all documents relating to the development of the ‘Nicepool’ character” and “communications relating to the development, writing, and filming of storylines and scenes featuring ‘Nicepool,’ as well as “any and all documents relating to or reflecting a deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate, or bully Baldoni through the character of ‘Nicepool.’”
For those who have not seen Deadpool & Wolverine yet, spoilers below.
Deadpool’s Quip Allegedly Mocking Justin Baldoni
Deadpool and Wolverine were sent by the Time Variance Authority to the Void, where they met Cassandra Nova, Charles Xavier’s supervillain twin. Both have the power of telepathy; however, with Cassandra, she needed to touch a person before she could read their thoughts.
Cassandra read Deadpool’s thoughts by touching him. Deadpool yelled, while breaking the fourth wall, “And where in God’s name is the intimacy coordinator?”
The lawsuit against Justin Baldoni claimed that he was improvising sexual scenes without an intimacy coordinator, something Baldoni and his team refuted by exposing text messages between Baldoni and Lively, with the latter declining to meet one immediately.
When Deadpool first met another variant inside the Void, he introduced himself as Nicepool and told him, “Oh, my goodness, wait ’til you see Ladypool. She is gorgeous. She just had a baby, too. And… [you] can’t even tell.” Deadpool said, “I don’t think you’re supposed to say that,” to which Nicepool replied, “That’s okay. I identify as a feminist.” Ladypool was voiced by Lively, and one of her issues raised against Baldoni is how she felt “fat-shamed” after Baldoni allegedly asked her how much she weighed after giving birth.
Baldoni is also known to be a feminist. In fact, he was given an award last December acknowledging him for his “courage and compassion in advocating on behalf of women and girls,” but according to The Guardian, it was later rescinded after Lively’s allegations.
In a deleted scene, Deadpool also has a line about wanting to start a podcast. “I’d be fighting alongside you, but my calling is to one day start a podcast that monetizes the women’s movement.”
Fans believed it was another dig at Baldoni whose podcast, The Man Enough “explores what it means to be a man today and how rigid gender roles have affected all people. The show creates a safe environment for a range of perspectives to meet and stay at the table, exploring how the messages of masculinity show up in relationships, body image, privilege, fatherhood, sex, success, mental health and so much more. Instead of polarizing and demonizing men and masculinity, it invites all humans to participate and thrive in the world,” per Variety.
Liz Plank, Baldoni’s co-host in the podcast, resigned after Lively’s lawsuit.
Nicepool also has his hair in a man bun, like Baldoni, which Freedman pointed out in an interview with Megyn Kelly (via Screen Rant). He also raised the point that sexual harassment is a serious allegation, and if someone’s wife was sexually abused, you don’t make fun of it. “What I make of that is that 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, but again, if somebody is seriously sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of it.”
