Ryan Reynolds Appears To Throw Shade At Justin Baldoni In TIME Interview

Ryan Reynolds may have just thrown some serious shade at Justin Baldoni.

In his latest profile for TIME100 Companies, published Thursday, the "Deadpool" star opened up about his growing empire, his leadership style, and how the intense legal battle involving his wife, Blake Lively, and actor-director Baldoni has impacted him.

Though Ryan Reynolds didn’t mention Baldoni by name, his pointed remarks about integrity and public perception have many fans convinced he was addressing the drama directly.

“Accessibility and accountability are a big part of how I do things,” Reynolds told the outlet. “The people that I work with know me, so there’s never a question of anything like that. If you operate with some degree of core values and integrity, they’re going to help you up. If you’re an a–hole, they’re not. And that’s pretty simple.”

The 48-year-old actor, who co-owns businesses like Maximum Effort, Aviation Gin, Mint Mobile, and Wrexham AFC, said the surrounding controversy has actually drawn more attention to his work, explaining, “It’s given my business endeavors more visibility.”

Reynolds also dismissed the noise from the court of public opinion, adding, “I can read something that says, ‘He should be drawn and quartered.’ I could read something that says I should win a Nobel Prize. Both are meaningless."

He added, "None of us are comprised of our best moments. None of us are defined by our worst moments. We are something in the middle.”

The comments come on the heels of explosive allegations against Baldoni made by Lively in a sexual harassment complaint, which sparked a firestorm of lawsuits, including a defamation and extortion claim against Lively, Reynolds, and Lively’s longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane.

Baldoni, who directed and starred opposite Lively in "It Ends with Us," has vehemently denied the claims through his legal team.

As The Blast reported, the complaint details a troubling list of alleged behaviors by Baldoni, including showing Lively “nude videos or images of women,” discussing his past “porn addiction” and sexual history on set, and making inappropriate comments about cast members’ bodies.

The complaint also alleges that an “all-hands” meeting took place to address the actor-director’s behavior, with Reynolds reportedly in attendance.

Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios’ attorney, Bryan Freedman, called the complaint a “precursor to a lawsuit” and denied all allegations, calling them “completely false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.”

Freedman further claimed that Lively made “multiple demands and threats,” including allegedly threatening not to appear on set or promote the film unless certain conditions were met, all of which, according to him, led to the film’s underperformance.

This wasn’t the first time the "Free Guy" actor appeared to take a playful swipe at the ongoing legal drama. When he and Blake Lively made a high-profile return to the spotlight at the star-studded "SNL 50: The Anniversary Special" taping in New York City on Sunday, February 16, the impeccably dressed couple sat side by side in the audience, but Reynolds couldn’t resist seizing the moment to acknowledge the swirling media frenzy around them cheekily.

During a sketch featuring longtime "SNL" favorites Amy Poehler and Tina Fey taking mock audience questions, Reynolds stood up to ask, “How’s it going?”

The response was met with laughter as Poehler turned the question back on him. Without missing a beat, and with Lively smiling by his side, the "Red Notice" star cheekily responded, “Great. Why? What have you heard?” The quip, clearly referencing the headline-making lawsuits he and Lively are currently facing, drew a big reaction from the audience.

He quickly pivoted into a comedic bit about ingesting toxic Coneheads prosthetics, but the moment didn’t go unnoticed.

While Ryan Reynolds has largely kept quiet about the high-profile legal clash, his recent comments in TIME may mark a subtle but firm shift in tone, emphasizing personal values over public spin. And for fans paying attention, the message between the lines couldn’t be clearer.