Ryan Reynold's New Approach To Blake Lively Drama Sends Red Flag His Career Is Feeling The Heat

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively's reps seem to be making up the plans for curbing the professional and personal fallout related to Lively's legal back-and-forth with Justin Baldoni — her "It Ends With Us" co-star and director — as they go along. February saw Reynolds and Lively make a messy misstep by showing up to "SNL 50" amid their PR disaster. The negative reactions from those who felt that Reynolds' joke about the legal battle downplayed the seriousness of Lively's sexual harassment allegations against Baldoni seem to have influenced the way the couple's PR teams handle their public appearances. Unfortunately, another questionable PR decision sent the message that Reynolds might be deeply concerned about how his career will be impacted by the messy drama.

For context, Lively is currently in the middle of a promotional tour for "Another Simple Favor," the sequel to 2018's "A Simple Favor." While she appeared to be in great spirits for her first post-Baldoni-lawsuit film premiere, folks couldn't help but notice that Reynolds skipped out on the event. According to the Daily Mail, his absence was intentional; the couple reportedly decided not to walk the red carpet together after seeing how poorly received their "SNL" appearance was. 

However, Reynolds' absence could be construed as a sign that he's more concerned about salvaging his career than showing up to support his wife. One insider did previously tell the Daily Mail that Reynolds was fretting over his work being effected by legal proceedings. "Ryan's production company has a lot of projects in the works right now and Ryan would be devastated if this impacted these," said the source. And while his rep insists all is well, the "Deadpool" star reportedly made a career decision that reeks of desperation to avoid becoming one of the actors Hollywood won't cast anymore.

To promote her movie, Blake Lively, who's been involved in a few scandals over the years, had to brave the public amid increasing discourse about the validity of her allegations against Justin Baldoni. However, it was Ryan Reynolds' PR team that released a statement about the "Another Simple Favor" premiere. Despite the increasingly negative press, his rep had a different perception of the response to the event. "[The Another Simple Favor premiere] was a resounding success, both fans and critics in attendance loved the movie," they shared with the Daily Mail in a statement. They also downplayed the speculation about what Reynolds' absence meant about the state of the couple's relationship or their legal strategy. "Blake attended with her cast and filmmakers and had a great time," they continued, adding, "Several other actors attended premieres at SXSW without their spouses or significant others." 

According the Daily Mail's source, fans may be seeing a lot less of Reynolds and Lively together on-screen as well because they have reportedly decided to keep their professional lives separate. "Ryan and Blake both [now] realize that, if their careers are to survive, they cannot be involved in the same projects because everything will be heavily scrutinized," the insider stated. So, there goes everyone's dream of a "Green Lantern" sequel. 

Reynolds' career could also take a hit if Hollywood stops seeing him as its go-to nice guy. "If this case spirals, it could chip away at his sterling reputation," communications advisor Alexandra LaManna told Fox News. Meanwhile, PR expert Kevin Mercuri suggested Reynolds' best move would be to play the role of "supportive husband." Now, we wait to see if Lively and Reynolds share another tasteless marriage update to assure fans all is well.