Justin Baldoni Is Suing 'The New York Times' for $250 Million Following Blake Lively's Complaint

Justin Baldoni is suing The New York Times for $250 million following its bombshell story reporting on Blake Lively's legal complaint against the actor and director. On Tuesday, Baldoni filed the libel lawsuit in response to the publication's December 21 article that highlighted Lively's complaint against Baldoni, which claims he sexually harassed her on the set of their movie, It Ends With Us, and orchestrated a retaliatory smear campaign after she complained.

The suit, which slams both Lively's claims and the newspaper's reporting, names Baldoni as one of the 10 plaintiffs, in addition to publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel. The lawsuit claims that the Times did not show proper care when reporting on Lively's allegations. "Despite its claim to have 'reviewed these along with other documents[,]' the Times relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives," the suit states.

The suit also claims that the Times' story, which was written by Megan Twohey, Mike McIntire, and Julie Tate, featured a defamatory headline and that the outlet failed to review all text communications and only referenced the "doctored" messages provided by Lively.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman said in a statement that the Times "cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood elites." A representative for the Times responded to Baldoni's suit stating, "Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article." The statement added that the Times plans “to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”

Baldoni's complaint also alleges that Lively did not initially formally file a lawsuit against Baldoni because her "administrative complaint is rife with blatant falsehoods and egregious misrepresentations that would have subjected her to dismissal if not sanctions. Second, pursuing formal legal action would have derailed her true objective: an orchestrated campaign to rehabilitate her public image." It further alleges that despite Lively's accusation that Baldoni and his team launched a smear campaign, it was actually her that created a “strategic and manipulative” narrative about Baldoni in the press.

Later on the same day that the libel lawsuit was filed, Lively formally filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York. Its allegations mirror those in her earlier legal complaint. When reached for comment, representatives for Lively provided the following statement from Lively's attorneys to InStyle: “Nothing in [Baldoni's] lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively’s California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint, filed [on December 31]. This lawsuit is based on the obviously false premise that Ms. Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ruse. ... While we will not litigate this matter in the press, we do encourage people to read Ms. Lively’s complaint in its entirety. We look forward to addressing each and every one of Wayfarer’s allegations in court.”

Regarding her own federal lawsuit, attorneys for Lively told InStyle, "Unfortunately, Ms. Lively’s decision to speak out has resulted in further retaliation and attacks. As alleged in Ms. Lively’s federal complaint, Wayfarer and its associates have violated federal and California state law by retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns. Now, the defendants will answer for their conduct in federal court."

“I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,” Lively said in a statement that was shared with InStyle on December 21.

Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, is also mentioned in Baldoni's complaint, which alleges that during a meeting at Reynolds and Lively's townhouse, Baldoni, as well as producers Jamey Heath, Todd Black, and Alex Saks, a representative of Sony, and the Films 1st AD, were "blindsided" with a "list of grievances that were both unanticipated and troubling." The suit adds that "Reynolds launched into a tirade, berating Baldoni in what Baldoni later described as a 'traumatic' encounter, stating he had 'never been spoken to like that in his life.'” (Lively’s earlier legal complaint claims that the meeting at her home was "convened to address the hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production.") Reps for Reynolds did not immediately respond to InStyle's request for comment.

Following Lively's complaint, Baldoni's talent agency William Morris Endeavor, more commonly known as WME, dropped the actor and director. Baldoni’s new complaint alleges that Reynolds pressured WME to take this action. According to Variety, a rep for the agency denies his claims.

Read the original article on InStyle