Ryan Reynolds seemingly referenced Blake Lively’s grueling legal battle with Justin Baldoni during a panel at Stagwell’s Sport Beach at Cannes Lions 2025.
While tossing a water to an audience member combat the heat at the outdoor event, Reynolds told them to instead come to the stage. “I’m not throwing this,” he said, jokingly adding, “I’ve been around lawyers. You can walk up here and grab it.”
The “Deadpool” star was at the fest promoting Welsh football team Wrexham, which he owns with “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” actor Rob McElhenney.
While Reynolds says he started out not really knowing about soccer, he is now a full-blown convert to the sport.
“I’m used to being so tense at matches,” he said. “I get 8,000 steps in just pacing, like I have rabies. This is when I knew I was a fan… I now love the sport so much [that] I f–king hate it. That’s when everyone in Wales was like, ‘Ah, yes. Now you know. Now you’re a fan!’”
The city of Wrexham had fallen on hard times, something Reynolds sees a connection with across the globe.
“There is a Wrexham everywhere,” Reynolds told the crowd. “In every state in the United States, in every country in the world, there are towns that have lost industry, that lost hope. The beautiful thing about sports and storytelling is that it brings people together.”
He also thinks sports helps in divisive political times.
“We live in a world right now that is so… identity politics… almost a religion,” he said. “For that to be checked at the door in sports, in theatrical film, and in music, concerts, we all walk in, we go together, and the French call it collective effervescence.”
Reynolds added, “We’re all feeling the same thing at the same time and the same moment, and it’s almost like oxytocin with a baby. You have this bonding mechanism — and I don’t mean to over romanticize it, but it’s romantic. It’s a beautiful thing to watch people come together, especially when we feel so divided in every other aspect of our life.”
Reynolds also owns the Flying Roos, Australia’s SailGP team, with Hugh Jackman and it was noted that more celebs are buying teams.
NFL great Tom Brady has also gotten into international soccer, investing in Birmingham City, but Reynolds is not worried about the competition.
“Him joining sports is like a little bit less threatening because you’re like, ‘Yeah, we lost sports to Tom Brady,” he figured. “I was like, my only worry is, is he allowed to play? I don’t want him playing.”
