NY Times sues Baldoni’s production company to recoup costs of tossed defamation suit

MANHATTAN (CN) — The New York Times on Tuesday added to the ongoing volleying of lawsuits in the Hollywood feud between “It Ends With Us” stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, suing Baldoni’s production company over its unsuccessful civil defamation suit surrounding the newspaper’s reporting on efforts to tarnish Lively’s industry reputation.

In a nine-page civil complaint filed in New York Supreme Court, the Times seeks compensatory and punitive damages from Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer for the costs of litigating defamation claims that were thrown out by a Manhattan federal judge in June.

Lively initially came forward with accusations of sexual harassment against Baldoni in December 2024 over his treatment of her on the set of the romance drama that Baldoni directed. The “Gossip Girl” actress sued him for sexual harassment, a retaliatory smear campaign and the intentional infliction of emotional distress.

She shared her claims with the Times, which published a story titled, “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” kicking off the flurry of legal action between the Hollywood A-listers.

Baldoni, in turn, accused Lively and her actor husband Ryan Reynolds of civil extortion and defamation, arguing in a countersuit that the couple had conspired to smear him by sharing the sexual misconduct claims with the Times.

He also named their publicist, Leslie Sloane, and later added a defamation count against The New York Times in an amended complaint.

In June, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman granted dismissal of Baldoni’s $400 million defamation and extortion countersuit, finding that Baldoni and his production company failed to state a viable claim. However, Liman ruled that Baldoni will be allowed to revise and refile some of the claims.

Three months after Liman’s dismissal, the Times brought a separate civil complaint under New York’s anti-SLAPP law, short for strategic lawsuit against public participation, which is designed to block lawsuits intended to chill speech.

Represented by in-house counsel David McCraw, the Times says it incurred a least $150,000 in legal fees and costs for defending against Wayfarer’s civil lawsuit, “which had no basis in law or fact.”

“It is clear from the district court’s opinion that the claims against The Times lacked any basis in fact or law,” the Times wrote in the complaint. “Under such circumstances, New York’s anti-SLAPP Law requires that The Times be awarded its costs and attorney’s fees and such other compensatory damages as the court deems just and proper.”

In his now-dismissed suit, Baldoni denied that he was ever inappropriate on or off the film set, and said it was Lively who had engaged in much of the behavior she called problematic.

Liman, a Donald Trump appointee, has tentatively set a trial date on Lively’s claims for March 9, 2026. The New York Supreme Court is a trial court, with the New York Court of Appeals ranking as the highest court in the state.

Representatives for Baldoni and Wayfarer did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday afternoon.

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