A $250 Million Lawsuit Against The New York Times Filed by Justin Baldoni Over Blake Lively Story

Option 2 (More concise):

> Justin Baldoni’s $250 Million Lawsuit: New York Times, Blake Lively Story at Issue.

Option 3 (More dramatic):

> $250 Million: Justin Baldoni Takes On The New York Times Over Blake Lively Story.

Option 4 (More journalistic, emphasizing the news):

> New York Times Faces $250 Million Lawsuit from Justin Baldoni Regarding Blake Lively.
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Justin Baldoni is suing The New York Times for $250 million, alleging libel, invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract. This stems from a New York Times article that detailed allegations of a smear campaign orchestrated by Baldoni and others against his “It Ends with Us” costar, Blake Lively. The article heavily featured Lively’s legal complaint accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment.

Baldoni, who directed and starred in the film, vehemently denies these accusations. He and nine other plaintiffs, including publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, claim the Times “cherry-picked” details and manipulated communications to create a misleading narrative. They contend that the article inaccurately portrayed Lively as the victim, alleging instead that she orchestrated a strategic smear campaign using false sexual harassment claims to gain control of the movie.

The lawsuit further alleges that Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, actively participated in this campaign. Baldoni claims Reynolds pressured his agent to drop him, even going so far as to reprimand him for allegedly “fat-shaming” Lively at the “Deadpool & Wolverine” premiere. This pressure, according to Baldoni, occurred well before the controversy became public.

The lawsuit contends that the Times relied heavily on Lively’s unverified account, ignoring contradictory evidence and overlooking claims that Lively’s PR representative planted negative stories about Baldoni. Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, stated in a statement to TMZ that the Times “cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful ‘untouchable’ Hollywood elites,” prioritizing a predetermined narrative over journalistic integrity. He asserted that the plaintiffs possess all the necessary communications to prove their claims.

In response, a New York Times spokesperson told TMZ that their reporting was “meticulously and responsibly” conducted, based on thousands of pages of documents, including accurately quoted text messages and emails. They stated that neither Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, nor their representatives have identified any factual errors in the article and that they published Baldoni’s full statement in response to the allegations. The Times plans to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.

Representatives for Lively and Reynolds have yet to comment.