Actor Justin Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times on Tuesday, claiming Ms. Gray was launching a “smear campaign” against her after reporting that he and his “This Is Us” co-star Blake Lively claimed slandered him and his team.
Lively previously filed a lawsuit against Baldoni on charges of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. Lively also claimed that Baldoni executed and participated in a campaign of “social manipulation” to destroy her career and reputation.
The Times published a Dec. 21 story titled “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside the Hollywood Smear Machine,” which reported on private emails and text messages that showed how “waging war in the digital age” A script for a largely imperceptible smear campaign.” The 37-year-old actress is married to actor Ryan Reynolds.
Justin Baldoni calls Blake Lively’s accusations ‘false and damaging’, lawyer says new lawsuit will reveal truth
Actor Justin Bardoni sues The New York Times for defamation. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
However, Baldoni and other plaintiffs, including a Hollywood public relations guru, claimed that the Times article “intentionally omitted parts of the text exchange and other information that contradicted the actress’s version of events.” They claim The Times defamed them in the process, leaving out critical context in the correspondence that cast doubt on many of Lively’s claims.
“The article’s central argument, encapsulated in a defamatory headline designed to immediately mislead readers, is that the plaintiffs orchestrated an elaborate retaliatory PR campaign because Lively spoke out about sexual harassment — a premise that is absolutely false,” Easily proven wrong,” the 87-page lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by attorney Bryan Freedman.
“The Times’ reporting relied almost entirely on Lively’s unsubstantiated and self-serving account, quoting it almost verbatim while ignoring substantial evidence that contradicted her account and exposed her true motives,” the lawsuit continues.
Friedman told Variety that The Times “caved to the needs and whims of two powerful ‘pariah’ Hollywood elites, ignored journalistic practices and ethics that were once appropriate for a respected publication, and used the tampered with and manipulated texts, and deliberately omitted texts that disputed their chosen PR narrative.
Blake Lively sues Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment, retaliation and emotional distress
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. (Getty Images)
The Times stands by its reporting.
“The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts. Our story was reported carefully and responsibly. It is based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including text messages and emails that we accurately quoted and detailed in the article That,” New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha told Fox Digital News.
“We have also issued their full statement in response to the allegations in the article,” she continued. “We plan to aggressively pursue this lawsuit.”
The lawsuit also claims that the Times published its report before a deadline for a response from Baldoni’s representatives to “pay lip service to journalistic ethics and fundamental fairness,” but “never intended or expected the plaintiffs to make response”.
After the Times article was published, the brokerage firm William Morris Endeavor dropped Baldoni’s client, the newspaper reported.
Friedman did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment on Baldoni’s claims to The New York Times. He previously told The Times that Lively’s initial claims were “completely false, outrageous and deliberately obscene in an effort to publicly hurt and retell a story in the media.”
LONDON, UK – AUGUST 8: Blake Lively attends the UK Grand Screening of It Ends With Us at Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square on August 8, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Leah Toby/Getty Images) (Leah Toby/Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital’s Lauryn Overhultz and Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.
