The director and main actor of the film It Ends With UsJustin Baldoni, has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the New York Times earlier this week for his article on allegations that he sexually harassed and sought to smear the reputation of the film’s star, Blake Lively.
• Also read: “It Ends With Us”: Blake Lively Sues Colleague Justin Baldoni for Sexual Harassment
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. It states that New York Times and Blake Lively coordinated a smear campaign against Justin Baldoni, among others.
The New York Times defends the information reported in its article published on December 21.
The day before, actress Blake Lively filed a complaint with the California Department of Civil Rights for sexual harassment and retaliation against Justin Baldoni, as well as eight other people allegedly involved in the case.
According to the media, the director and main actor of the film It Ends With Us allegedly brought in publicists and crisis managers in an effort to destroy Blake Lively’s reputation if she publicly revealed her problems on set.
Justin Baldoni’s complaint states that the newspaper “relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving account, repeating it almost word for word while ignoring an abundance of evidence that contradicts her claims and exposes her true motivations”.
Legal battle
The New York Times intends to defend itself “vigorously” against this legal action.
“Our story was reported meticulously and responsibly,” said media spokesperson Danielle Rhoades.
“It was based on the review of thousands of pages of original documents, including messages and emails that we accurately cited in the article. To date, Wayfarer Studios, Mr. Baldoni, the other persons targeted by the article and their representatives have not reported the slightest error,” specifies the press release from the New York Times.
The actress’ lawyers said in a statement that “nothing in this complaint changes anything from the assertions made in Ms. Lively’s California Department of Civil Rights complaint.”
Justin Baldoni was fired by his agency, WME, immediately after the publication of the New York Times article.
— With information from New York Times et Global News et Variety
