Make a list of celebrities who are hilarious on Instagram. Done? Good. Is Ryan Reynolds on it? Statistically speaking, he should be. The Deadpool star is notoriously hilarious, regularly (and expertly) trolling himself, his brilliant and beautiful wife, Blake Lively, and just about anyone else who comes in contact with him on Instagram.
That's what makes today such a momentous occasion. The king of playful Instagram trolling was playfully trolled and the prank is perfect in its simplicity. To understand the greatness of the prank, however, a little background is necessary.
For a few years now, Reynolds has been nurturing a faux feud with X-Men star Hugh Jackman, who has played superhero Wolverine in nine movies (with photo and archival appearances as the character in two more—Deadpool and Deadpool 2). The idea behind the long-running joke is that Reynolds' character, the snarky, wise-cracking, only-kind-of-sort-of-a-hero and, most importantly, fourth wall breaking Deadpool delights in mocking the face of the X-Men franchise, Jackman.
To that end, Reynolds has poked fun at Jackman on his own Instagram account from time to time. There was the time Jackman tried to record a heartfelt birthday message, but was interrupted by the true Greatest Showman, Reynolds-as-Deadpool, singing "Tomorrow" from Annie in the background.
And the time he used this picture to wish Jackman a happy birthday:
The feud is all fake though, of course, as evidenced by the cute pictures they pose for together:
And the genuine support Reynolds has shown for Jackman and his work:
Reynolds also has a playful, fun relationship with his Life costar, Jake Gyllenhaal:
Now you're all caught up and ready to appreciate the glory of the prank Jackman and Gyllenhaal teamed up to pull on Reynolds. It's so simple, yet so brilliant. It's so Legally Blonde. They invited him to a party and pretended there was a theme when, in fact, there was no theme. Behold:
Reynolds, who took the joke well enough to post about it on his own Instagram, captioned a series of photos from the prank, "These f**king a**holes said it was a sweater party. 🎄"
If you're thinking, "Well, this is a Comments by Celebs goldmine," you're right, because it is.
The posted has been liked by and commented on by the likes of Emilia Clarke, LeBron James, and Josh Brolin:
And, while Reynold's wife, Blake Lively, does not appear to have jumped in on the trolling, her half-sister, Teen Witch actress Robyn Lively, did:
Jackman and Gyllenhaal (who joined Instagram just two short weeks ago), took things to the next level with their posts about the prank, which included some hilarious photoshopping: