Ryan Reynolds is arguing that he couldnt have defamed Justin Baldoni because he genuinely believes the It Ends With Us director engaged in predatory behavior.

In a bid to dismiss the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Reynolds takes advantage of the high legal bar to prove defamation against a public figure in which it must be found that the allegedly libelous statements were made with knowledge they were false or reckless indifference to their truth. He claims First Amendment protections and points to previous statements from Baldoni over allegedly mistreating women and pushing the boundaries of consent. Baldonis lawsuit does not allege any plausible facts that would remotely suggest, let alone establish, that anyone interpreted Mr. Reynolds statements as reflecting anything other than his genuinely held belief about Mr. Baldonis character, writes Michael Gottlieb, a lawyer for the actor, in the filing.

The filing is the latest in a multifront legal battle featuring Blake Lively and Baldoni in which both sides accuse the other of orchestrating a smear campaign. After the actress sued, Baldoni filed his own lawsuit alleging extortion, defamation and claims related to breach of contract, among several others. Reynolds has been drawn into the litigation for allegedly approaching Baldonis agency, namely an executive at WME, and claiming that Baldoni is a sexual predator. Later, Reynolds demanded that the agency, which also represents him and Lively, drop Baldoni, the lawsuit alleged.

In Tuesdays filing, Reynolds argues that the lawsuit does not identify a single allegedly defamatory statement he directed toward Baldoni. Replying to accusations that he characterized Baldoni as a predator on a call with WME, Reynolds says that the lawsuit must allege specifics of the conversation, including the substance, date and context.

The absence of these details makes it impossible, for example, to determine whether this statements falls within the applicable one-year statute of limitations for defamation, Gottlieb writes.

And regardless of whether Baldoni can meet the standards to allege defamation, Reynolds says that his statement should be interpreted as an opinion rather than fact. He points to the lawsuit alleging that he expressed his deep disdain for Baldoni in his alleged conversation with the WME executive, saying that he has the First Amendment right to criticize the It Ends With Us director or any man who [he] believes sexually harassed his wife. He also cites statements from Baldoni indicating sexual misconduct. One example: Baldoni said on a podcast, Im sure I have crossed boundaries and lines in my teens and twenties not even thinking about it simply because of the porn I was consuming.

Responding to other claims, Gottlieb writes in the motion to dismiss: The Wayfarer Parties say that Mr. Reynolds extorted them, but fail to allege that he received any money or property. They claim he interfered with a contract without identifying what that contract is, what provisions were allegedly breached, or even which of them were parties to it. They assert $400 million in damages without explaining anything about who suffered that loss, in what proportion, as a result of which claims, or what proximately caused such losses.

In a statement, Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, lawyers for Reynolds, said the actor has a First Amendment right to express his opinion. They added that Baldoni must prove that Reynolds didnt believe that his characterization of Baldoni as a predator to prevail on his defamation claim.

Baldoni didnt immediately respond to requests for comment.