“The Times story relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives,” Baldoni’s complaint says.
Actor and director Justin Baldoni has filed a libel lawsuit against The New York Times.
Attorneys for Baldoni say there is seeking $250 million in damages over allegations that the Times uncritically accepted and published actress Blake Lively’s “self-serving narrative.”
Lively, who has publicly accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation, had earlier told the Times that Baldoni, his production company, and a public relations team had conspired to harm her reputation after she complained of misconduct on the set of “It Ends With Us.”
In his lawsuit, Baldoni says that the Times’ article intentionally omitted key words and context from text message exchanges—key words and context that, if present, could have rebutted elements of Lively’s claims.
“I’m just pumping [breast milk] in my trailer if you wanna work out our lines,” Lively wrote in one text message.
“Copy,” Baldoni responded. “Eating with crew and will head that way.”
Variety notes that, in its initial coverage of the exchange, the New York Times posited this interaction—and similar interactions—as far more sinister than they may have been.
“[Baldoni] repeatedly entered her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed, including when she was breastfeeding,” the Times wrote.
The lawsuit includes a series of similar allegations, and details out purported discrepancies.
“The Times story relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives,” Baldoni’s complaint says.
“The article’s central thesis, encapsulated 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 disproven,” the lawsuit alleges.
The New York Times has since said that it plans to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
“The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead,” the Times said in a statement. “Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.”
“To date, Wayfarer Studios, Mr. Baldoni, the other subjects of the article and their representatives have not pointed to a single error,” the Times said. “We published their full statement in response to the allegations in the article as well. We plan to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
Sources
‘It Ends With Us’ Actor and Director and His Publicists Sue The Times for Libel
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