Rob McElhenney is stepping up big time for his longtime friend Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife, Blake Lively, as they deal with what he calls a “difficult and challenging” legal mess involving actor and director Justin Baldoni.
The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star, who co-owns Wrexham AFC with Ryan, is making sure his pal knows he’s not alone as the drama surrounding It Ends With Us keeps snowballing.
Speaking to Variety, Rob shared, “It’s just our way of staying connected and navigating something together. And also me giving and showing as much support as I possibly can with all the other stuff that he’s got going on, that I know is so difficult and challenging.” He made it clear that he and his wife, Kaitlin Olson, are doing whatever they can to support the couple without adding fuel to the fire. “We both are just trying to offer our support in any way that we can that doesn’t just simply add oxygen to the fire.”
And yeah, this fire is raging. Blake Lively has been locked in a legal battle for months with her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni. She accused him of harassment on set, and in January, he hit back with a countersuit. That countersuit alleged defamation and extortion, claiming Blake brought in some heavy-hitting backup to intimidate him: her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and her best friend, Taylor Swift.
According to court documents, Justin’s lawyers painted a pretty intense picture. “The message could not have been clearer,” they wrote. “Baldoni was not just dealing with Lively. He was also facing Lively’s ‘dragons,’ two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who were not afraid to make things very difficult for him.”
But it gets even messier. The latest twist? A new court filing uncovered by Page Six alleges that Blake asked Taylor to delete their text messages. The docs say this came from an anonymous but “highly likely reliable” source, though the exact timing of that convo wasn’t mentioned.
That same filing drops another bomb: Blake’s lead attorney, Michael Gottlieb, allegedly reached out to Taylor Swift’s law firm, Venable, asking for a public statement of support. But it didn’t come off as a friendly favor. According to Justin’s legal team, there was an implied threat, if Taylor didn’t issue the statement, personal texts from Blake’s phone could be leaked.
Taylor’s side responded fast. A representative reportedly wrote directly to Blake’s attorney, and Taylor’s publicist later made a statement shutting it all down. They said Taylor “was not involved” in the making of It Ends With Us and had been “traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history.” Basically, Taylor had nothing to do with this mess.
Still, she’s been subpoenaed as a potential witness, which makes things extra awkward since she and Blake have been super close since way back in 2015. Michael Gottlieb, for his part, said the whole claim was bogus. He called the allegations “categorically false” and “completely untethered from reality” and said he “unequivocally” denied everything about the alleged threat to Taylor.
So yeah, the legal back-and-forth between Blake and Justin is already nasty, and now it’s dragging in people like Taylor Swift and Ryan Reynolds by association. In the middle of all this Hollywood-level courtroom chaos, Rob McElhenney is just trying to be the kind of friend everyone wishes they had, quietly supportive, fiercely loyal, and not afraid to stand by the people he loves.
His support is more than just emotional, it’s a way of helping Ryan and Blake stay grounded while the spotlight turns brutal. The Rob McElhenney Ryan Reynolds’s support isn’t just about business or fame. It’s about showing up when things get hard and staying in someone’s corner when everyone else is watching from the sidelines.
Jamie Wells has a knack for getting the inside scoop on Hollywood’s biggest stars and up-and-coming talent. With a sharp eye for industry trends and an ear for viral moments, Jamie covers everything from red-carpet events to behind-the-scenes drama in movies, TV, and celebrity culture.
Source:https://themusicessentials.com/entertainment/rob-mcelhenney-steps-in-as-ryan-and-blake-hollywood-crisis-hits-boiling-point/