Justin Baldoni sues New York Times for libel over Blake Lively harassment allegations
Share:
Actor and director Justin Baldoni has sued The New York Times newspaper for libel after it published allegations that he had sexually harassed and tried to smear the reputation of his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively. The lawsuit, which seeks at least $250m (£199m) in damages, was the latest in a legal battle that has engulfed the two stars. Lively has filed a separate federal lawsuit against Baldoni and others alleging harassment.
The Baldoni lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday by the director, 40, and by other defendants named in the Lively lawsuit. It accuses The New York Times of accepting a "self-serving narrative" by the actress, 37, who claimed Baldoni, production company Wayfarer Studios and others attempted to damage her reputation after she and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, addressed "repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour" by the actor and a producer on the set of the film.
According to Lively's complaint, the plan included a proposal to plant theories on online message boards, engineer a social media campaign and place news stories that are critical of her. But Baldoni's libel lawsuit claims The Times article, which was called 'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine, "disregard[s] an abundance of evidence" that contradicts Lively's accusations.
