Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool’s Viral Dance Scene Sparks IP Lawsuit with Sony Over *NSYNC Dance

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Honestly, it’s been a rough time for Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. Blake’s heading to trial on May 18th with her claims against the people behind the It Ends With Us movie – she feels they retaliated against her. And get this – something from Ryan’s big 2024 film is now part of a lawsuit with Sony, though it’s a bit roundabout. It’s just one thing after another for those two!

2024 proved to be a significant year for Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds with the back-to-back releases of Deadpool & Wolverine and It Ends With Us. Though intended to solidify their status as a Hollywood power couple, the year ultimately brought unexpected challenges. Specifically, a popular scene from Deadpool & Wolverine – Reynolds performing an *NSYNC dance – led to a lawsuit, as reported by Billboard.

*NSYNC’s Choreographer Is Suing Sony Over Deadpool’s Viral Dance Scene

Darrin Henson, who created the famous dance for NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye,” is taking legal action against Sony Music. He claims the dance was used without permission in the new Marvel movie, Deadpool & Wolverine*. The film’s opening scene features Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds, fighting while performing the “Bye Bye Bye” choreography.

Although many thought Ryan Reynolds learned the dance moves himself, it was actually professional dancer and choreographer Nick Pauley who performed the scene, listed in the credits as “Dancepool.”

According to a new lawsuit reviewed by Billboard, choreographer Fatima Henson—who won an MTV Video Music Award for the dance sequence—claims she owns the copyright to the choreography featured in the film. She alleges that Sony has falsely presented itself as the copyright owner.

The dance video became incredibly popular online, and Henson is now saying that his choreography is being wrongly connected to Marvel. He also claims Sony licensed something they didn’t have the rights to.

According to the complaint filed on March 27th, the work rightfully belongs to Henson. To ensure he receives full credit and all earnings from SME and those using their work, the plaintiff is asking the court to officially recognize his ownership.

It wasn’t just Deadpool & Wolverine that Sony allegedly licensed without permission. They also let Epic Games use the property in the game Fortnite. The legal filing states that Henson tried to resolve this issue peacefully, but Sony wouldn’t cooperate. Sony argues that because they own the rights to the NSYNC music video for “Bye Bye Bye,” they are entitled to license the dance featured in it.

As a film buff, I found it interesting that the lawsuit didn’t target Marvel, Ryan Reynolds himself, or even Epic Games – nobody was claiming they did anything wrong. It’s worth noting that Reynolds wasn’t just the star of the superhero movie; he actually helped write and produce it too!

Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool & Wolverine Was Dragged in Blake Lively’s Lawsuit

Since December 2024, the actor has been supportive of his wife following her public complaint. Recently, Justin Baldoni shared evidence that led many online to believe one of Ryan Reynolds’ characters from the movie Nicepool was based on a real person.

After the director and producer of It Ends With Us sued the Gossip Girl actress and the Deadpool star, they also asked for certain documents. The upcoming film Deadpool & Wolverine includes many versions of its main characters from different universes, and one new character, Nicepool, was created for the movie. However, the lawsuit hasn’t progressed, as the judge has already thrown out some of the claims made by the director in his defamation case.

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2026-04-07 23:53