Justin Baldoni is facing a major new legal blow.
On Monday, July 27, TMZ reported that the 42-year-old American actor and director has been ordered to pay a sum of whopping $171,616 to The New York Times for the newspaper’s legal fees.
What is the It End with Us legal case?
The major ruling comes in the aftermath of a highly publicized legal drama that dates back to December 2024 when actress Blake Lively sued her It Ends with Us costar and director Baldoni for sexually harassing her during the film production.
She also accused him of participating in a smear campaign to tarnish her reputation after she raised concerns.
However, Baldoni denied the allegations and countersued the Gossip Girl star in a $400 million lawsuit.
How did The New York Times get involved?
The New York Times became involved in the legal drama after publishing a report in December 2024 detailing Blake Lively’s allegations.
While the newspaper said that the report was based on Lively’s civil rights complaint and supporting documents, Baldoni stated that the article was intent to defame him and sued The New York Times for $250 million.
The Times then sued Baldoni back under New York’s anti-SLAPP law, seeking "compensatory and punitive damages against plaintiffs who, like Wayfarer, commence or continue meritless legal claims for the purpose of 'harassing, intimidating, punishing or otherwise maliciously inhibiting the free exercise of speech."
Justin Baldoni reflects on It Ends with Us legal battle
In an Instagram video posted on Wednesday, July 8, Justin appeared alongside his wife, Emily Baldoni, as he began addressing the situation, saying, “We have not spoken publicly for the better part of the last two years, and it’s not because we haven’t had anything to say.”
“Because lord knows we have, but it just felt like every time we went to make a video like this, we wanted to speak, something was telling us not to,” he continued, adding, “It just didn’t feel like the right time, and we were talking about it and feeling into it and praying about it.”
Emily said it felt like the right moment to speak, adding that there was a lot they wanted to share. She also expressed immense gratitude for the support they had received and the experiences they had gone through.
