Some fans of Hugh Jackman have praised him for showing loyalty to his friend, Ryan Reynolds, by embracing him on the red carpet before Monday night’s screening of a new movie starring Reynolds’ controversial wife, Blake Lively.
But others have warned Jackman to keep his distance from Reynolds and Lively as the embattled Hollywood super-couple wage a toxic, high-stakes legal battle with Justin Baldoni, Lively’s co-star and director on the film “It Ends With Us.” They say Jackman should be especially careful, given that his own public image has been “on shaky ground” since he went public with his romance with actor Sutton Foster amid his increasingly “messy” divorce from his longtime wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, the Daily Mail reported.
For the time being, Jackman has let it be known that he’s “Team Blake” by posing for photos with both Lively and Reynolds, his “Deadpool and Wolverine” co-star, at the New York screening for Lively’s “Another Simple Favor.” Jackman then welcomed the couple backstage Tuesday night when they attended his new play, “Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Class.”
The legal battle between Lively and Baldoni began late last year when she sued her “It Ends With Us” co-star and director for alleged sexual harassment and detailed her claims against him in a blockbuster New York Times story. But Baldoni hired an aggressive Hollywood attorney and counter-sued, denying the sexual harassment claims and alleging that she and Reynolds engaged in a media campaign to defame his character and ruin his career.
Sources close to Jackman told the Daily Mail that the film and Broadway star has been concerned about getting dragged into the couple’s court fight with Baldoni.
“Hugh is one of the only people who Ryan opens up to,” an insider told the Daily Mail. “He does support Ryan, but he has his divorce to deal with right now, and the last thing he wants to do is be dragged into this.”
After Jackman posted an Instagram photo of himself, Reynolds and “Deadpool and Wolverine” producer Shawn Levy at Monday night’s screening, Jackman also heard from fans who were either concerned or outraged.
“Ryan is trouble,” one person said. “Might wanna stay away from that side for awhile. The more I hear about him and Blake, the more a break is needed if you want to keep your head above water.”
Another person called Jackman “cheatman” and questioned his moral character, both because of his support for Lively and Reynolds and because of reports that he and Foster began a backstage romance when they starred together in the Broadway revival of “The Music Man.” At the time, he was still married to Furness, Foster was married to screenwriter Ted Griffin.
Jackman sources have insisted that his relationship with Foster didn’t began until after “The Music Man” had closed, and after he and Furness announced their split in September 2023. But New York City-based outlets began reporting that Jackman and Sutton’s romance was an “open secret” on Broadway during the run of “Music Man,” from late 2021 to early 2023.
While Furness has never directly addressed her split from her husband of 27 years, Us Weekly reported this past October that she appeared to confirm a gossip blogger’s social media post that said she was “blindsided” by news of his relationship with Foster. This Us Weekly report also put the blame for the couple’s divorce on his backstage relationship with Foster.
The Daily Mail reported last month that Jackman and Furness had hit an “impasse” over their divorce because Furness believes she is “entitled” to more money than Jackman is willing to fork over. A source told the Daily Mail that Furness has come to believe that she’s owed a bigger chunk of their estimated $250 million fortune, in part, because of his romance with Foster.
“While he didn’t physically cheat on her with Sutton, Deborra-Lee believes they were having an emotional affair and she feels he betrayed her,” a source told the Daily Mail last month.
Now, Jackman is facing blowback in some quarters because he’s announced himself as “Team Blake.”
In response to Jackman’s photo with Reynolds, some expressed disappointment that Jackman continued to associate with Reynolds, given Reynolds’ actions in regard to Baldoni. The director also has accused Reynolds and Lively of trying to seize control of the production of “It Ends With Us,” even though he had spent years developing it from a best-selling Colleen Hoover novel.
“Very close to unfollowing HJ as well…very disappointing that he is co-signing this behavior,” one person said on Jackman’s post, while another expressed “disgust.”
“To stand by a man who’s knowingly letting his wife exaggerate, lie, and much worse in trying to ruin a man’s life, is not being a good friend at all, in fact it’s enabling bad behavior! Disgusting,” the person said.
Not all comments directed at Jackman were negative, as the Daily Mail reported.
“Telling someone to drop their friends, when you don’t even know anyone in the situation you are talking about…That’s pretty messed up,” one person said, while another added: “Friends don’t bail on friends.”
The Daily Mail reported last week that Jackman should expect to be subpoenaed soon by Baldoni’s attorney, even if he’s not named in the lawsuits. It’s believed that Jackman has insight into Reynolds’ involvement in the case, and Baldoni’s attorney will want to have him sit for a deposition so that he can grill him on what he knows.
Jackman and Reynolds starred together in the blockbuster Marvel film “Deadpool and Wolverine,” which was released in July 2024. That’s a couple weeks before “It Ends With Us” was released and became a surprise hit, even with its serious take on a woman’s experience with domestic violence.
Filming for “Deadpool” kicked off in May 2023, around the same time that Lively and Baldoni were working together on “It Ends With Us.” “Deadpool and Wolverine,” which Reynolds co-wrote, also features a much-maligned character called Nicepool, who is believed to be modeled on Baldoni. He wears a man bun, as Baldoni wore in the past, and talks about his concerns for feminism and social activism, similar to the way Baldoni positioned himself as a crusader for women and against toxic masculinity.
“It’s unlikely Hugh wasn’t aware of this,” a source old the Daily Mail. Jackman also helped promote “It Ends With Us” as part of a cross-promotional effort with “Deadpool.”
If Jackman is deposed, he will be sworn to give testimony under oath. Depositions are part of the trial discovery process, and attorneys can ask a range of questions about the case, but they can ask personal questions as well. Depositions often are videotaped, and the information that Jackman provides could one day be made public.