In a high-stakes Hollywood battle over reputation, Justin Baldoni has launched a multi million-dollar lawsuit against The New York Times for publishing serious harassment claims made by Blake Lively.
- January 1, 2025
AceShowbiz - Actor and filmmaker Justin Baldoni, best known for his role on the hit TV series "Jane the Virgin," is taking The New York Times to court. The lawsuit, which seeks $250 million, accuses the publication of libel and false light invasion of privacy. This dramatic legal move follows harassment accusations from Baldoni's "It Ends With Us" co-star, Blake Lively.
The lawsuit, filed jointly by Baldoni and publicists Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan, criticizes the newspaper's article titled " 'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine."
According to the lawsuit, The New York Times committed "promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract" by relying on " 'cherry-picked' and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead."
One notable example involves Blake Lively's claim that Justin Baldoni "repeatedly entered her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed, including when she was feeding her baby." Baldoni's defense points to a text exchange where Lively allegedly invited him to work on their lines together, stating, "I'm just pumping in my trailer if you wanna work out our lines."
The lawsuit, obtained by Variety, argues that The New York Times article "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 lawsuit also highlights that Blake Lively never actually pursued legal action against Justin Baldoni, despite widespread media reports suggesting otherwise. Instead, Lively's team filed an 80-page letter with the California Civil Rights Department but refrained from initiating a lawsuit.
Baldoni's lawsuit suggests this choice was deliberate, sparing Lively from undergoing the discovery process, where she would have to answer questions under oath and produce her communications.
This high-profile case underscores the complex dynamics and reputational risks in Hollywood, as well as the responsibilities of media outlets in reporting sensitive matters. As both sides prepare for an intense legal confrontation, the entertainment industry and the public will be closely watching to see how these serious accusations and defenses unfold.
