Justin Baldoni Sues New York Times Over Blake Lively Claims
On Tuesday, Justin Baldoni and nine other plaintiffs, including publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, filed a $250M lawsuit against the New York Times, alleging libel and false-light invasion of privacy.
Facts
- On Tuesday, Justin Baldoni and nine other plaintiffs, including publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, filed a $250M lawsuit against the New York Times, alleging libel and false-light invasion of privacy.[1]
- This comes 11 days after Blake Lively filed a 10-claim complaint with the California Civil Rights Department accusing Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios of sexually harassing her and plotting "to destroy her reputation."[2][3]
- The New York Times published an article titled "We Can Bury Anyone: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine" on Dec. 21 detailing Lively's allegations against Baldoni.[4][5]
- Following the article's publication, Baldoni was dropped by his management agency WME, and his podcast co-host Liz Plank resigned in an open letter to listeners.[6][7]
- Baldoni's lawsuit claims the Times "cherry-picked" and altered communications, stripping them of necessary context and deliberately splicing them to mislead readers about the situation.[8]
- Blake Lively also filed a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni and his publicity team on Tuesday, alleging "repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior" during the filming of "It Ends With Us."[9][10]
Sources: [1]New York Post, [2]Deadline (a), [3]Deadline (b), 4]Independent, [5]The New York Times, [6]USA Today, [7]Cosmopolitan, [8]TheWrap, [9]CBC and [10]BBC News.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Variety and USA Today. The allegations against Baldoni are false and intentionally salacious, designed to publicly harm his reputation. Text messages show Lively actually invited Baldoni to her trailer while pumping, contradicting her claims of uninvited entry. The entire narrative is based on manipulated evidence and unverified claims.
- Narrative B, as provided by Rolling Stone and The New York Times. Baldoni engaged in systematic harassment and retaliation, creating a hostile work environment through inappropriate sexual conduct and discussions. When confronted about his behavior, he orchestrated a coordinated smear campaign to destroy Lively's career, causing severe emotional distress and professional damage.
