Ryan Reynolds was branded a ‘mean girl’ by fans over an awkward interview he conducted with his wife Blake Lively‘s It Ends With Us love interest, Brandon Sklenar.

A YouTube video of Reynolds, 48, interviewing Sklenar, 34, last August has gained traction online, amid his and Lively’s legal battle with her other co-star and the film’s director, Justin Baldoni, 41.

The clip starts out with just Ryan and Brandon, before Ryan’s mother, Tammy Reynolds, and later his best friend and Deadpool co-star, Hugh Jackman, 56, take turns grilling Sklenar as well.

Both jokingly allude that Sklenar — who plays Atlas Corrigan, a love interest of the main character, Lily Bloom, played by Lively — is trying to ‘replace Ryan as a husband.’

‘It’s not every day the husband gets to interview his wife’s love interest in a film. It’s kind of crazy,’ the actor — who, along with his wife, has been accused of trying to ‘hijack’ the movie from Baldoni — says at the start of the interview.

He goes on to say, ‘So I saw you posing in a photo with Mrs. Reynolds — I’m sorry, what do you call her, do you guys have a nickname or something?’

Ryan Reynolds, 48, was branded a ‘mean girl’ by fans over an awkward interview he conducted with his wife Blake Lively’s It Ends With Us love interest, Brandon Sklenar, 34

+18
View gallery

In the film, Sklenar plays Atlas Corrigan, a love interest of the main character, Lily Bloom, played by Lively; the two seen on set in 2023

Meanwhile Tammy called Sklenar, ‘The man trying to replace my sweet little gummy bear, Ryan.’

Hugh then steps in and calls Sklenar ‘the guy trying to replace Ryan as a husband and me as his best mate.’

Reynolds also showed Sklenar a photo of him with Lively, which saw him standing from the back, and launched into questions about Sklenar’s backside.

‘Is that genetics? Do you have some sort of low-angle squat routine to pop that region in that way? I mean, what’s going on here, man?’

He later joked about using methamphetamine, prompting Sklenar to ask, ‘Ryan? You wanna take a break?,’ to which Reynolds replied, ‘From Blake? Sure.’

Despite the intended humorous nature of the interview, many fans found the jabs awkward, and questioned Ryan’s involvement in the film.

‘Ryan the ultimate mean girl,’ one person wrote in the comments of the interview.

‘Ryan Reynolds is a mean high school girl trapped in a 40-something body,’ another chimed in.

+18
View gallery

A video of Reynolds interviewing Sklenar last August has gained traction online, amid his and Lively’s legal battle with her other co-star and the film’s director, Justin Baldoni, 41

+18
View gallery

The clip starts out with just Ryan and Brandon, before Ryan’s mother, Tammy, and later his best friend and Deadpool co-star, Hugh Jackman, 56, take turns grilling Sklenar as well

+18
View gallery

Both jokingly allude that Sklenar is trying to ‘replace Ryan as a husband’

+18
View gallery

At the start of the clip Reynolds says, ‘So I saw you posing in a photo with Mrs. Reynolds — I’m sorry, what do you call her, do you guys have a nickname or something?’

+18
View gallery

Meanwhile Tammy called Sklenar, ‘The man trying to replace my sweet little gummy bear, Ryan’

+18
View gallery

Hugh then steps in and calls Sklenar ‘the guy trying to replace Ryan as a husband and me as his best mate’

+18
View gallery

Towards the end of the interview, Ryan goes in for a hug

Despite the intended humorous nature of the interview, many fans found the jabs awkward, calling him ‘the ultimate mean girl’

They also questioned the extent of Ryan’s involvement in the film, with one fan writing he, ‘basically forced himself into this entire project’

‘Blake Lively’s dragon hard at work,’ another wrote, in reference to Lively’s text, where she compared herself to Game of Thrones’ character Khaleesi, and Ryan and her famous pal Taylor Swift to her ‘dragons’

Others also took issue with Ryan for such a lighthearted interview when the subject of the film is domestic violence

‘He basically forced himself into this entire project,’ another person wrote about Reynolds, who secretly contributed to the dialogue in the film according to Lively.

‘Not everyday a husband gets involved in the script, acting, production, press of his wife movie.’

‘Blake Lively’s dragon hard at work,’ another wrote, in reference to Lively’s text, where she compared herself to Game of Thrones’ character Khaleesi, and Ryan and her famous pal Taylor Swift to her ‘dragons.’

Others also took issue with Ryan for such a lighthearted interview when the subject of the film is domestic violence.

Fans on social media also previously bashed his wife for her seemingly lighthearted behavior and occasionally sarcastic responses in interviews and while discussing domestic abuse, a major subject of It Ends with Us.

‘Hijack an opportunity to address DV with your own personal vendetta is one of the most disrespectful things I’ve seen from an actor. The entitlement is wild,’ one person wrote under Ryan’s interview.

‘Turning a promotion about a movie with such serious theme into whatever the f**k this was.’

‘Damn… they really made a movie about DV look like a freaking comedy.’

It comes after Sklenar revealed he was open to do a sequel to It Ends With Us, despite Lively’s ongoing legal drama with Baldoni.

‘Yeah, absolutely,’ he told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview earlier this month.

‘I don’t know what’s happening with that, but I’m really proud of that movie and what it means and what it stands for. It was deeply personal to me. I’ve got someone very, very close to me who has been in that situation that Lily [Lively‘s character] has been in for years, and I’ve been really on the frontlines helping her. So it means a lot to me and I’m just happy that it meant a lot to so many people as well. I would love to continue the story if it ever happens.’

+18
View gallery

It comes after Sklenar revealed he was open to do a sequel to It Ends With Us, despite Lively’s ongoing legal drama with Baldoni; Lively and Sklenar seen in 2024

+18
View gallery

The actor also previously issued a statement urging fans not to ‘vilify’ the women in the movie amid the drama and controversy that was beginning to stir during their promo tour over the summer; Blake and Sklenar seen in a still

In December, he also showed his support for Lively amid her lawsuit against Baldoni.

The actor took to his Instagram Stories to share a link to a New York Times article that includes the lengthy legal complaint against Baldoni, which triggered their ongoing legal war.

Over the link to the report he wrote: ‘For the love of God, read this.’ He also tagged Lively in his post and added a red heart emoji next to her name.

In the film adaptation of It Ends With Us, which is based on the romance novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover, Sklenar plays Atlas, the childhood friend, first boyfriend and first love of Lively’s character, Lily.

The 1923 star also previously issued a statement urging fans not to ‘vilify’ the women in the movie amid the drama and controversy that was beginning to stir during their promo tour over the summer.

At the time, Lively was the target of backlash after clearly avoiding Baldoni while fulfilling her obligations to promote the movie.

When fans noticed that Lively unfollowed him, as well as a number of their fellow castmates, on social media, rumors of a feud between the leads ensued.

It comes after Blake and Ryan’s shock return to the spotlight at last Sunday’s SNL50: The Anniversary Special, which drew a strong reaction from fans.

+18
View gallery

In December 2024, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual assault and launching a smear campaign against her; they are seen in a still

+18
View gallery

Baldoni launched a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds last month in which he accused the couple of conspiring to trash his reputation, and hijacking the film; seen in 2024

Lively and Reynolds were joined by a litany of fellow A-listers at the event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the NBC staple, including SNL alums Eddie Murphy, Kristen Wiig, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Bill Murray, Leslie Jones, David Spade and Jon Lovitz.

But as the high-profile show concluded – marking the return of the couple to the limelight amid scandal and litigation – a number of social media users had critical words of Lively attending her first red carpet event in two months. She had not attended a public event since the scandal with It Ends With Us director Justin erupted late last year.

During the broadcast, Reynolds poked fun at their scandal with Baldoni in a skit with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Reynolds stood up from the audience alongside Lively and said, ‘I have a question.’

He was asked, ‘Oh Ryan Reynolds, how’s it going?’ to which the Deadpool star deadpanned, ‘Great – why, what have you heard?’ – in a nod to the months of headlines regarding the troubled production of the summer hit It Ends with Us.

On social media, the reaction was swift, as the consensus among many commenters was that the powerful couple was using their clout to try and maneuver public sentiment back on their side after months of bad headlines.

‘They really think they can fool us into thinking it’s all a big joke to them and they are above the disastrous narrative that’s forming around them???’ one asked.

In her lawsuit, Lively claims it was Baldoni’s smear campaign against her — which allegedly included resurfacing footage of Lively’s past interviews, which fans found distasteful — that triggered a flood of negative responses across social media.

+18
View gallery

Blake and Ryan were pictured for the first time on the red carpet in nearly two months since the scandal with Baldoni erupted late last year as they attended SNL50: The Anniversary Special last Sunday

In December 2024, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual assault and launching a smear campaign against her. At the same time, the New York Times released a story based on her legal filing.

Baldoni hit back by suing the publication for defamation before launching a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds last month in which he accused the couple of conspiring to trash his reputation with the allegations.

He also accused Lively of hijacking the filming of It Ends with Us, which he directed, and claimed she forced him and his family to wait in a basement holding area at the premiere so she did not have to see him.

Baldoni has denied the allegations brought by Lively, while Lively and Reynolds have denied his claims. The New York Times has denied the claims against it as well.

A trial is scheduled for March 9, 2026.