Justin Baldoni sues New York Times for $250m over ‘smear campaign’ article

Actor Justin Baldoni has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, alleging that a recent exposé on an alleged smear campaign against actress Blake Lively misrepresented facts and omitted key communications that would challenge her claims.

Lively, who previously accused Baldoni of sexual harassment, retaliation, and other misconduct, claimed in her lawsuit that Baldoni sought to ruin her career through coordinated social manipulation.

The December 21 article by NYT detailed private emails and messages that purportedly outlined tactics used to damage Lively’s reputation. However, Baldoni and his team argue that the piece presented a biased narrative and excluded context from their correspondence.

In response NYT has stood by its reporting, stating that the article was “meticulously and responsibly reported” after reviewing thousands of pages of documents, including key messages cited in the story. The paper maintains that Baldoni and his associates chose not to engage directly with their reporters, instead providing a joint statement that was published in full. Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, accused NYT of catering to Hollywood elites and intentionally framing the story to support Lively’s narrative. The newspaper, however, asserts it provided ample opportunity for a response and plans to “vigorously defend” its journalism against what it views as misleading accusations.