A Wrexham director has opened up on how Blake Lively’s ongoing legal drama with Justin Baldoni is affecting her and Ryan Reynolds
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have been at the centre of a legal battle with Justin Baldoni(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Wrexham director Humphrey Ker says he feels sorry for Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively amid the actress’s ongoing legal battle with director Justin Baldoni.
Lively and Baldoni, who appeared together in the 2024 movie It Ends with Us, have been involved in a bitter row since last December. It comes after Lively sued her co-star, accusing him of sexual harassment and launching a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni retaliated by filing his own lawsuit against Lively and her husband Reynolds, along with their publicist and the New York Times. His case, claiming he had been the subject of civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy, was dismissed in June.
However, with Lively’s original lawsuit against Baldoni ongoing, Ker has revealed how the heated dispute has affected her and her husband, who co-owns Championship side Wrexham alongside fellow actor Rob Mac. Ker, who played a key role in the club’s Hollywood takeover in 2021, also disclosed how he is considering moving from the US to the UK with his wife due to the current political turmoil across the pond.
Speaking to the Telegraph, the comedy actor and writer said: “Ryan and Blake have obviously been slightly through the ringer over the last 18 months with all of that business and are still going through that in some ways. It waxes and wanes in the public interest but things still continue to rumble on in the background.
“I think what they love about coming to Wrexham is that no one there gives two s**** about [their celebrity]. What they care about is whether he’ll buy them a new centre back. It’s an escape. But yeah, I feel for them.”
Wrexham director Humphrey Ker (second from right) has reflected on his role at the club since it was bought by Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac(Image: PA)
Ker was instrumental in setting in motion the chain of events that led to Reynolds and Mac buying Wrexham. In early 2020, he was working with the latter on Apple TV comedy series Mythic Quest, co-created by Ker’s wife Megan Ganz.
When Covid lockdown measures led to production being paused, he managed to get Mac hooked on football and he then decided he wanted to buy a club. Reynolds came on board as co-owner while Ker was tasked with finding the right team, ultimately settling on Wrexham.
The club has since enjoyed huge success, achieving three consecutive promotions, with Ker featuring prominently on the Welcome to Wrexham documentary which charts their rise. The London-born actor has lived with Ganz in California for the last 12 years, but said the pair are now considering returning to the UK, partly due to the current political turmoil over the pond.
He said: “We’re now quite eager to move back, for a variety of reasons – some of which I don’t want to print, because I’ll get thrown in a detention centre. Loads of American friends are moving here now. I know about five or six couples who’ve just gone, ‘You know what? We’ve had enough.'”
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During Covid, Ker was one of the first people on the ground in Wrexham after the takeover was approved following his appointment as executive director. He admits he initially felt out of place whilst serving as a conduit for the new owners due to his lack of experience in the football industry, but has gradually found his feet and recently switched to the role of community director.
He said: “When I first arrived, there were two or three pretty determined voices saying I was bad news. I was an Old Etonian and therefore there must be some ulterior motive. But one of the things I realised is I can’t disguise myself.
“I can’t roll in here doing a Guy Ritchie mockney accent. I’m an affable public schoolboy. That’s sort of my thing. And it’s allowed me to get more comfortable with myself, which I wasn’t terribly before.
“It’s been good for me psychologically to go out on a limb and say, ‘I’m going to try and help your football team. My heart’s in the right place and I’m enthusiastic’, then the proof being in the pudding, that we do care and want to take it seriously.”
