Actor Justin Baldoni has filed a $250 million lawsuit against him New York Times On Tuesday, Gray Lady allegedly smeared him and his team when she covered up “It Ends with Us” co-star Blake Lively's claim that he launched a “smear campaign” against her.
Lively previously sued Baldoni for sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and more. Lively also claims that Baldoni carried out and participated in a “social manipulation” campaign to destroy her career and reputation.
The Times published a story on December 21 titled “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside the Hollywood Smear Machine,” which reported on private emails and text messages that showed “a playbook for waging a largely undetectable smear campaign in the era.” Digital” is about Lively, a 37-year-old actress married to an actor Ryan Reynolds.
Actor Justin Baldoni is suing The New York Times for defamation. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
However, Baldoni and other plaintiffs, including Hollywood public relations experts, contend that the Times article “intentionally omitted portions of text messages exchanged and other information that conflicted with the actress's version of events.” They claim the Times defamed them in the process, leaving out critical context from communications that contradict many of Lively's claims.
“The article’s central thesis, wrapped in a defamatory headline designed to immediately mislead the reader, is that plaintiffs orchestrated a retaliatory public relations campaign against Lively for speaking out about sexual harassment — a premise that is categorically false and easily refuted.” The lawsuit, filed by attorney Brian Friedman in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims.
“The Times story relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving account, and presented it almost verbatim while ignoring an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives,” the suit continues.
Friedman He told Variety That the Times “subjected to the desires and whims of two powerful, 'untouchable' Hollywood elites,” ignoring journalistic practices and ethics that once befitted the venerable publication by using manipulated and manipulated texts and deleting texts that conflicted with their chosen public relations narrative. “
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. (Getty Images)
The Times stands by its reporting.
“It is the role of an independent news organization to follow the facts wherever they lead. Our story was reported accurately and responsibly. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including text messages and emails, which we quote carefully and accurately. Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhodes-Ha said: “I spoke at length in the article.” Fox News Digital.
“We deployed them Full statement She continued, “In response to the allegations in the article as well. We plan to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
The suit also alleges that the Times published its report before a deadline given for Baldoni's representatives to respond in order to “pay lip service to journalistic ethics and basic fairness” but “never intended — or wanted — Plaintiffs to respond.”
Talent agency William Morris Endeavor dropped Baldoni as a client in the wake of the Times article, the newspaper reported.
Friedman did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment about Baldoni's allegations about The Times. He previously told The Times that Lively's initial allegations were “completely false, outrageous and intentionally vulgar with the intent to publicly hurt and reshape the narrative in the media.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 08: Blake Lively attends the UK Gala Screening of “It Ends With Us” at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on August 08, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Leah Toby/Getty Images) (Leah Tobey/Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital's Lauren Overholtz and Cristina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.
