Ready to respond to the allegations against him, Justin Baldoni has filed a lawsuit against the New York Times over the Blake Lively allegation story.
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The actor/filmmaker seeks $250 million in his legal battle with the media outlet.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Baldoni filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, Dec. 31. He accused the New York Times of conspiring with his It Ends With Us co-star’s public relations team to advance what he describes as the “unverified and self-serving narrative” that used “cherry-picked and altered communications stripped of necessary context.
Baldoni also accused that media outlet of ignoring evidence contradicting Lively’s claims.
Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment and “severe emotional distress.” The incidents happened while the two worked on It Ends With Us.
In her claim, Lively accused Baldoni of being part of the smear campaign against her.
The New York Times denied the allegations in Baldoni’s lawsuit and stated that its story was “meticulously and responsibly reported.”
The New York Times further stressed its reporting was “based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents.” This also includes the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.
The media outlet then noted that Baldoni had “not pointed to a single error” in the story.
Justin Baldoni’s Attorney Speaks Out After the Lawsuit Against the New York Times Was Filed
Bryan Freedman, the attorney representing Justin Baldoni in the lawsuit, released a statement about the situation.
“In this vicious smear campaign fully orchestrated by Blake Lively and her team, the New York Times cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful ‘untouchable’ Hollywood elites,” Freedman stated. “Disregarding journalistic practices and ethics once befitting of the revered publication by using doctored and manipulated texts and intentionally omitting texts which dispute their chosen PR narrative.”
Freedman further stated that the New York Times had “pre-determined the outcome” of its story. He then accused the media outlet of aiding and abetting its own smear campaign against Baldoni. The goal, Freedman claimed, was to “revitalize” Lively’s “self-induced floundering public image.” It also was to “counter the organic groundswell of criticism amongst the online public.”
“The irony is rich,” he declared.
Along with the New York Times, Freedman stated additional lawsuits would be filed against “those individuals who have abused their power to try and destroy the lives” of his clients.
“The public will decide for themselves as they did when this first began,” he added.
Jami Kandel, a representative of Lively, stated that nothing in Baldoni’s lawsuit changed anything about the claims “advanced in the actress’ California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint, which was filed on Tuesday as well.
“This lawsuit is based on the obviously false premise that Ms. Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ruse based on a choice ‘not to file a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer,’ Kandel shared. “And that ‘litigation was never her ultimate goal.’ As demonstrated by the federal complaint filed by Ms. Lively earlier today, that frame of reference for the Wayfarer lawsuit is false.”