Rob McElhenney reflects on Ryan Reynolds’ ‘difficult and challenging’ time during Justin Baldoni legal battle

“Difficult and challenging”: Ryan Reynolds’ close friend, actor Rob McElhenney, has opened up about his and his wife’s turbulent chapter.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia alum Rob McElhenney opened up about his tight bond with Ryan Reynolds and how he’s supporting his Welcome to Wrexham co-star and Blake Lively in their legal feud with Justin Baldoni.

Addressing the controversy to Variety in a joint interview with his wife, actress Kaitlin Olson, McElhenney said that they are doing their best to support their pals during this “difficult and challenging” time.

In November 2020, McElhenney and Reynolds bought the struggling Wrexham A.F.C., a Welsh professional soccer team in the United Kingdom, reports the New York Post.

Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Picture: Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images

Within three years, the football enthusiasts have turned the English Football League team into a success story, garnering several promotions and a huge win last month that sent it to the EFL Championship level.

Wrexham A.F.C. is now just one step away from the coveted Premier League, a shock to all. Not only did McElhenney and Reynolds bring the love for the team back to life, but the boys have also helped revive the local community.

The purchase of the team also opened another door for McElhenney and Reynolds, with the pair documenting the process of growing the soccer empire in their FX documentary Welcome to Wrexham.

The series, which premiered in August 2022, is currently airing its fourth season and has earned them two Emmys.

McElhenney’s love for his friend Reynolds runs deep, and he shared that it hasn’t changed despite the ongoing high-profile legal battle.

“It’s just our way of staying connected and navigating something together,” he told Variety about lending support to the Deadpool actor and Lively. “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.”

Lively and Reynolds at the 2025 TIME100 gala last month. Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP

The emotional assistance doesn’t stop with McElhenney, either.

“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,” McElhenney added, including his “Always Sunny” co-star-turned-wife into the conversation.

Lively has been in a legal war with Baldoni since December last year, when she sued him and claimed he sexually harassed her on the set of It Ends With Us.

He denied the accusations and dragged Reynolds into the battle by countersuing the couple for $400 million.

Baldoni and Lively are engaged in a legal war. Picture: Nicole Rivelli/Sony Pictures via AP

Baldoni — who served as the director and Lively’s love interest in the film — is suing for alleged civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage, according to the 179-page complaint obtained by The Post.

In his countersuit, Baldoni also claimed that Reynolds and Taylor Swift allegedly pressured him to change the iconic rooftop scene in the movie, noting a pivotal meeting at Lively and Ryan’s NYC penthouse that he alleged both the actor and superstar singer were present for.

Baldoni also filed alleged text messages he claimed Lively sent post-meeting, in which she reportedly called her husband and Swift “my dragons” while also referring to herself as Khaleesi from Game of Thrones.

The couple also denied the accusations.

The singer, who is the godmother of Lively and Reynolds’ children, was recently subpoenaed as a witness by Baldoni’s legal team, which has allegedly caused her to pump the brakes on her friendship with the Another Simple Favor actress.

“Their friendship has halted,” a source told People on May 15, adding, “Taylor wants no part in this drama.”

In response to the subpoena, a Swift representative told The Post: “Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was travelling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history.”

Baldoni and Lively’s trial has been set for March 2026.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Rob McElhenney reflects on Ryan Reynolds’ ‘difficult and challenging’ time during Justin Baldoni legal battle