Justin Baldoni is facing a lawsuit from The New York Times, which is seeking to recover legal fees after a defamation case he filed over a Blake Lively story was dismissed.
Amid the ongoing It Ends With Us court battle, the publication has sought $150,000 from the Five Feet Apart for the costs of a lawsuit he launched but that was later dropped.
On Tuesday, NYT filed legal papers naming Baldoni‘s production company Wayfarer Productions after a defamation suit he filed against them was dismissed from court by a federal judge in June.
“The District Court’s opinion makes clear that Wayfarer and its affiliates both commenced and continued the lawsuit against The Times without a substantial basis in fact and law,” the filing stated.
The filing also claimed that “any statements in the article and video reporting on the alleged sexual misconduct experienced by Lively were not actionable because they were based on the CRD complaint and therefore were subject to New York’s fair report privilege and separately ‘were not plausibly made with actual malice.’”
Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios filed a lawsuit seeking $250 million against The New York Times, later changing it to a $400 million countersuit targeting Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist.
The case arose from the Green Lantern's star sexual harassment and retaliation claims first reported to California’s Civil Rights Department last year and later filed in New York.
In December 2024, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us, suing him for harassment, retaliatory smears, and emotional distress.
The New York Times reported on the Civil Rights Department filing on December 21, shortly after it was submitted.
