Ryan Reynolds breaks silence after skipping Critics Choice Awards despite WINNING as he and wife Blake Lively step back from public life amid Justin Baldoni scandal

Ryan Reynolds has broken his silence after he was a no-show during Friday night’s Critics Choice Awards.

During Friday’s ceremony in LA, it was revealed that Reynolds’ summer blockbuster Deadpool And Wolverine tied with A Real Pain for Best Comedy film.

After skipping the glitzy event, Reynolds, 48, took to Instagram just hours later to acknowledge Deadpool & Wolverine’s victory.

Posting on Instagram, the actor wrote: ‘Zoing! Thanks @criticschoice – whole team @deadpoolmovie is thrilled,’ while also congratulating fellow winner A Real Pain.

Reynolds wrote, produced and co-starred with BFF Hugh Jackman in the Shawn Levy-directed superhero flick that hit theaters the same weekend as Lively and Baldoni’s drama-plagued film It Ends With Us.

The R-rated Marvel film recently caught the ire of Baldoni, who suspects the character Nicepool — written and played by Reynolds — is a cruel parody of him.

Ryan Reynolds has broken his silence after he was a no-show during Friday night’s Critics Choice Awards (pictured with his wife Blake Lively in August 2024)

Ryan, 48, has chosen to stay out of the spotlight as his wife Blake Lively continues her legal fight with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni (pictured)

His absence from the ceremony comes as he has stepped back from the spotlight as his wife Blake Lively continues her legal fight with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni.

However, he did attend the JP Morgan summit on Friday alongside Disney boss Bob Iger and agent Bryan Lourd, sharing snaps from the event.

Reynolds’ absence from the Critics Choice Awards comes shortly after DailyMail.com revealed that Lively will not be attending Super Bowl LIX with pal Taylor Swift.

The Hollywood couple have virtually vanished from the spotlight amid the highly-publicized legal war that kicked off in late December.

During the Critics Choice Awards, host Chelsea Handler wasted no time referencing the high-profile feud.

She joked: ‘Thank you, Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively, for providing us with that distraction… I think we can all agree there won’t be a sequel. It ends with us, guys.’

The It Ends With Us scandal began when Lively publicly accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on set of It Ends With Us.

Baldoni has repeatedly denied Lively’s allegations. After suing the New York Times, Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against her, Reynolds and Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane over claims of extortion and defamation.

Despite skipping the glitzy event, Ryan still acknowledged Deadpool & Wolverine’s win for Best Comedy

Posting on Instagram, the actor wrote: ‘Zoing! Thanks @criticschoice – whole team @deadpoolmovie is thrilled,’ while also congratulating A Real Pain, which shared the award

Despite the ongoing drama with his wife’s legal fight, the actor has been juggling multiple projects, including attending the JP Morgan summit

Baldoni, who recently amended his complaint and launched a website telling ‘his side,’ says the trio concocted ‘false accusations of sexual harassment’ against him.

A source recently told TMZ that the Baldoni legal battle has taken ‘a deep emotional toll’ on Reynolds and Lively.

The couple have experienced ‘severe anguish’ amid the drama surrounding the production, promotion and release of the motion picture, the insider said, and she is striving ‘to get this all buttoned up.’

Lively, who played Lily Bloom opposite Baldoni’s Ryle Kincaid in the romantic drama, was ‘grateful’ for how a Monday hearing in New York City went, sources told the outlet.

Lively – who is mother to four kids with Reynolds – felt that Judge Lewis J. Liman ‘ruled in her favor’ by issuing a warning to Baldoni lawyer Bryan Freedman over statements made to the media that could impact the jury selection process over multiple cases.

In the hearing, the federal judge admonished attorneys on both sides to cease speaking publicly on the case out of fears it could impact potential jury selection, and said he could move up the slated March 9, 2026 trial date if they were unable to do so.

Sources close to Lively said the actress was ‘more than ready for her day in court’ and prepared to show the court and public the validity of sexual harassment and retaliation claims she made against Baldoni.

During Friday’s ceremony in LA, it was revealed that Reynolds’ summer blockbuster ‘Deadpool And Wolverine’ tied with ‘A Real Pain’ for Best Comedy film

The R-rated Marvel film recently caught the ire of Baldoni, who believes the character Nicepool — which was written and played by Reynolds — is a cruel parody of him

Lively’s attorneys Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson told Dailymail.com in a statement on Monday following court proceedings, ‘We are pleased with the result of today’s hearing and eager to move forward immediately with discovery in this case.

‘The Court granted our request that all attorneys in the matter actually follow the rule of law and not make any statements that could prejudice a jury. This case deals with serious allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation.’

Gottlieb and Hudson told Dailymail.com they intended to ‘hold the defendants accountable’ and ‘are confident that once all the evidence is submitted in this matter, Ms. Lively will prevail.’

Sources close to Justin Baldoni’s team had a clearly different interpretation of Monday’s hearings in remarks made to Dailymail.com.

‘The judge did not rule in Ms. Lively’s favor, what they had asked of the court was a gag order, for Blake not to be deposed by Bryan and for the entire case to be dismissed against them – none of that happened,’ insiders close to Baldoni said. ‘Therefore the court did not rule in her favor.’

They added, ‘Private individuals have suffered hugely due to celebrity Ms. Lively’s vastly untrue claims and they too, are looking forward to their day in court to show the truth.’

Lively feels Baldoni’s efforts – which include the publication of a website showcasing court filings containing text messages and other media related to the production of the movie – amount to a ‘counter claim sideshow,’ sources told TMZ Tuesday.

Baldoni’s team previously said that the communications shared in court filings on the website – which already has fans talking – makes things clear about the actions of both parties, marking the latest chapter in the feud between the lead stars of romantic drama.

Reynolds and wife Lively have virtually vanished from the spotlight amid the highly-publicized scandal that began when Lively publicly accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on set of ‘It Ends With Us’; Baldoni and Lively seen in January 2024

Baldoni has repeatedly denied Lively’s allegations. After suing the New York Times, Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against her, Reynolds and Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane over claims of extortion and defamation; Baldoni seen in December 2024

The website, which is live online at thelawsuitinfo.com, comes amid a spate of high-profile litigation between the collaborators on the film, which was a hit at the box office last August.

The site that contained that revelation and others went live days prior to the first hearing Monday, which was previously pushed up from an initial date of February 12, ahead of a trial with a starting date of March 9, 2026, in the case.

Lawyers for both parties were in accordance with a plan to compound both federal cases filed into one moving forward.

Lively in December sued Baldoni amid claims of sexual harassment during production of the motion picture, which was a hit when it arrived in theaters in August.

In Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni, the Gossip Girl alum accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways – including body shaming her – and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation.

Baldoni has denied all of the claims against him in Lively’s legal filing. He and his reps have said in response to the lawsuit that Lively twisted the meaning of text messages and mislead the public about their interactions while making the motion picture.

Lively filed an 80-page civil rights complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni December 20, before officially filing a federal lawsuit on December 31.

In her lawsuit, Lively named a number of Baldoni’s collaborators, including his company Wayfarer Studios, the studio’s CEO and financial backer, and PR personnel Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel.

‘I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,’ Lively told The New York Times the day after she filed the complaint.

A source recently told TMZ that the Baldoni legal battle has taken ‘a deep emotional toll’ on Reynolds and Lively; the couple seen in July 2024

Baldoni subsequently sued the newspaper for $250million in a defamation claim over a December 21 story titled ”We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine;’ the newspaper has denied the allegations.

Baldoni on January 16 filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane, alleging defamation and extortion. Baldoni told the court the trio had concocted ‘false accusations of sexual harassment’ against him.

Since Lively’s complaint was filed, Baldoni has faced a number of professional consequences, including a lawsuit from a former publicist; and being dropped by the agency WME, which also reps Lively and Reynolds.

WME has denied claims that Lively and Reynolds leaned on them to release Baldoni from their client roster, according to Variety.

It Ends with Us, which also starred Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar and Kevin McKidd, arrived in theaters August 9 and was a hit with audiences. The film, adapted from the 2016 Colleen Hoover novel, earned $148 million in domestic box office, and $350 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo.

Lively broke out with the 2005 movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants opposite Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and America Ferrera.

That led to her high-profile role on the TV show Gossip Girl, which she starred on from 2007-2012, playing lead character Serena van der Woodsen.

She has also appeared in movies such as 2010’s The Town, 2016’s The Shallows, 2018’s A Simple Favor and 2020’s The Rhythm Section.

Prior to It Ends with Us, Baldoni was best known for playing the role of Rafael Solano on the TV show Jane the Virgin from 2014–2019.

He also has directed films including 2019’s Five Feet Apart and 2020’s Clouds, and penned the 2021 book Man Enough, which tackled misconceptions of contemporary masculinity.