What we know about the Justin Baldoni lawsuit against The New York Times
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Baldoni directed and starred in the film ‘It Ends With Us’ alongside Blake Lively, who has now filed a lawsuit against him accusing him of sexual harassment. The lawsuit, reviewed by The Independent, claims the Times “relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative” and disregarded “an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives.”.
![[Blake Lively sued Baldoni last month, arguing he sexually harassed her and conducted a targeted effort to ‘destroy’ her reputation]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/24/08/newFile-3.jpg)
Baldoni and the other plaintiffs, which include Wayfarer Studios and his PR executives, are suing for $250 million in damages. Here’s everything we know about the lawsuit:. Baldoni’s lawsuit argues the legacy media outlet pushed a “false narrative” by “cherry-picking out-of-context (and in some cases doctored) private communications” that weren’t intended for outside eyes.
![[The lawsuit alleges Lively conducted a ‘hostile takeover’ of ‘It Ends With Us’]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/02/17/GettyImages-2189129222.jpg)
Baldoni and the plaintiffs claim the Times designed their report to “villainize” him and “manufacture an impression of impropriety where none exists.”. The Times’s story came out after Lively, 37, accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her and organizing a “smear campaign” against her in the months that followed the filming of It Ends With Us.
The film is an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel of the same name. The story centers around a flower shop owner, played by Lively, and her abusive relationship with her partner Ryle Kincaid, played by Baldoni. Lively argued Baldoni and his associates conducted a targeted effort to “destroy” her and tarnish her reputation in the media, which she says has caused her “severe emotional distress.”.
