The New York Times Moves to Dismiss Justin Baldoni’s Defamation Lawsuit

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As an ardent follower, I’m sharing that The New York Times, who found itself at the center of the heated verbal dispute between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni due to their coverage of the alleged misconduct on the set of “It Ends With Us,” has chosen to counter a defamation lawsuit. This lawsuit alleges that they colluded with the actress’ PR team to spin an inaccurate tale. Now, they are seeking its dismissal.

In a court filing made in New York’s federal court on Friday, The Times stands by their reporting, stating that the controversial comments Baldoni disagrees with were truthful and accurate representations of what transpired during the filming of the movie.

In the document, it’s mentioned that despite the Wayfarer Parties trying to involve “The Times” in their broader conflict with Lively, all “The Times” has been accused of is collecting news and publishing an article and video concerning the Wayfarer-Lively disagreement.

As a gamer, I’m diving into the latest buzz surrounding Jason Baldoni, who’s been in the spotlight due to Megan Twohey’s article titled “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.” This piece delved deep into allegations of sexual harassment and workplace retaliation that I, Blake Lively, had made, which were filed with the California Civil Rights Department. The article also shed light on private communications between Baldoni, his publicist Jennifer Abel, and Melissa Nathan, a crisis PR specialist.

The Times article shares details about how Megan Twohey reported the story, which includes her contacting Baldoni and his team on December 20th to request their comments regarding the claims in Lively’s complaint. She also asked them to inform her of any inconsistencies. Approximately two hours later, Abel received a 307-word denial from Bryan Freedman, who is a lawyer for Baldoni and his company Wayfarer, refuting all allegations.

According to The Times, no one asked for extra details or more time to respond. The following day, the article was published, featuring extensive quotes from the response and providing a link to the full statement. Baldoni stated that a claim in a related video, alleging that “Baldoni and Heath hired a crisis PR manager [Nathan] who coordinated a smear campaign against Lively,” is libelous.

In their defense, The Times claims immunity under the fair report privilege, a protection that shields media outlets from libel charges when they truthfully report on official documents. This is because the article drew its information primarily from the complaint submitted to the California Civil Rights Department regarding Lively’s allegations. The article uses phrases such as “according to a legal complaint” and “it claims” to describe Lively’s accusations. Furthermore, the filing states that the article extensively quotes texts and emails between Baldoni, Heath, Nathan, and Abel, which are also included in the CRD Complaint.

In his court case, Baldoni raised concerns about the Times receiving a premature copy of Lively’s complaint and apparently failing to explore her accusations. Additionally, he argued that the article should have explained the rationale behind hiring Nathan to “dispose of” Lively’s case.

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2025-03-01 02:24