NYT Wins Stay, Halts Justin Baldoni's Defamation Discovery

Justin Baldoni’s legal battle isn’t ending anytime soon.

As an over-the-moon fan, I’ve got some exciting news to share! The New York Times managed to postpone their involvement in the whopping $400 million federal defamation lawsuit against the director of “It Ends With Us,” a lawsuit that also implicated Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist. On March 4, following a plea from The New York Times, a judge granted them a stay of discovery, as reported by TopMob News in their latest documents. This means the discovery process, where evidence is gathered, has been put on hold for now. I can hardly contain my excitement!

The request for a temporary pause in the exchange of information and documents between parties was approved by U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman as he considers the outlet’s motion to dismiss filed on February 28.

He pointed out in the latest record that The New York Times, which is part of the ongoing lawsuit due to its December reporting concerning Lively’s Civil Rights Department complaint, provides “solid evidence” and “a compelling argument that their motion to discard could be upheld on valid grounds.

Although Baldoni’s group contended that the “discovery process against The New York Times won’t involve a large amount of material due to its focus on a limited time period,” Liman countered by stating that “the effort required for discovery isn’t just about the quantity of pages.

He highlighted that the outcome is also influenced by “the intricacy of the problems that the discovery might unveil, as well as the confidential nature of the records that may be demanded.

In addition to his ruling, the judge mentioned that if the Court refuses the New York Times’ motion, Baldoni’s legal team (who have filed a separate $250 million defamation lawsuit against the newspaper) will be allowed to ask for the “degree of investigation” they are requesting.

Liman stated that the Wayfarer Parties should not be unfairly disadvantaged by a pause in proceedings while the court considers their pending motion. He pointed out that The New York Times didn’t delay in filing its motion, instead, it was filed within 3 weeks of being served. The court plans to address the motion to dismiss swiftly once all necessary information is submitted.

For now, it’s clear that both sides will focus on gathering documents from each other and external sources. Depositions aren’t expected to start right away. The Court aims to settle the motion ahead of when depositions commence.

A representative from the New York Times commented on the recent development to TopMob News, saying, “We are grateful for the court’s ruling today, which acknowledges the significance of First Amendment principles involved. The court has prevented Mr. Baldoni from overwhelming The Times with discovery demands in a lawsuit that lacked merit.

TopMob News has reached out to Baldoni’s team and has not heard back.

After the NYT successfully argued for dismissal, Danielle Rhoades Ha, senior vice president of external communications, strongly asserted that “the lawsuit was unwarranted and unjustly targeted” against them.

Last month, I disclosed to Deadline that Blake Lively voiced significant concerns about her treatment on set and post-movie release. In line with our journalistic responsibility, we made the public aware of her complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department. Mr. Baldoni’s ill-advised crusade against a major news outlet—questioning its ethics, attempting to undermine its reporting, and filing a groundless lawsuit—will not suppress our voice.

Read on for a breakdown of Baldoni and Lively’s sprawling legal battle.

Four months after the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book “It Ends With Us” premiered in cinemas, Blake Lively submitted a complaint to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) against her costar Justin Baldoni and his associates on December 20, as reported by The New York Times.

In the complaint obtained by TopMob News, Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios (Wayfarer), its CEO Jamey Heath, its cofounder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni’s publicist Jennifer Abel, her company RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, her company The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace and his company Street Relations Inc. were named as defendants.

Lively claimed in her complaint that Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates “initiated a complex press and digital strategy in retaliation” for expressing concerns about alleged misconduct on set, with her stating that she and other cast and crew members “experienced intrusive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior” by Baldoni and Heath.

The actress further stated that this alleged campaign against her caused significant harm to her personally and professionally. The accusations detailed in the complaint include sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent, or remedy harassment; aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligence; false light invasion of privacy, and interference with prospective economic advantage.

The following day, The New York Times revealed a damning report about a supposed smear campaign orchestrated by Baldoni and his team against Lively, backed by her CRD complaint. In the article, they shared messages from Baldoni, Abel (his publicist), and Nathan (crisis communications specialist) – all implicated in the complaint. The Times even provided access to the court documents on their website for further scrutiny. Here I am, an ardent fan, fervently hoping that Lively’s legal action serves to expose these underhanded retaliatory tactics aimed at silencing those who speak up against misconduct. May it serve as a shield for others who may find themselves in similar circumstances.

Following the release of Lively’s complaint, attorney Bryan Freedman – who represents Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their associates – strongly refuted Lively’s accusations. In a statement published on The New York Times website, he criticized Lively and her representatives for making baseless, damaging allegations against Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives. He described these claims as “completely false, outrageous, intentionally salacious, and with the intent to harm publicly and perpetuate a negative narrative in the media.”

Freedman further defended Wayfarer’s decision to hire a crisis manager, stating that this was done before the marketing campaign for the movie began. He explained that Wayfarer’s representatives only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure accurate and balanced reporting, and monitored social activity. He also pointed out that the correspondence selectively shared does not show evidence of proactive measures taken with the media or otherwise; instead, it reveals internal planning and private discussions among public relations professionals – a standard practice in the field.

After an article by The New York Times published on December 21, William Morris Endeavor (WME) ended their association with Baldoni. Ari Emanuel, CEO of the agency’s parent company Endeavor, confirmed this to the outlet. However, it was clarified that Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s husband and also represented by WME, was not responsible for the separation between WME and Baldoni. This point was later disputed by Baldoni in a lawsuit he filed against The New York Times (more on that below). In response to this allegation, WME stated to The Hollywood Reporter on January 1 that Baldoni’s claim about Reynolds pressuring Baldoni’s agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere was not accurate. Furthermore, they added that Baldoni’s former representative was not present at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere and there was no pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time to drop Baldoni as a client.

After Lively’s CRD filing and the New York Times article, several well-known personalities expressed their support for her accusations against Baldoni. For instance, Hoover, the author of It Ends With Us, posted a message on Instagram Stories linking to The New York Times, praising Lively for her honesty, kindness, support, and patience.

Similarly, Jenny Slate, who played Ryle’s sister in the series, expressed her solidarity with Lively. In a statement to Today on December 23rd, she declared her support for Lively as she took action against those accused of damaging her reputation. She admired Lively’s courage and stood by her side.

Brandon Sklenar, who had a romantic role in the series with Lively, shared a screenshot of the complaint published on The New York Times’ website and linked to the outlet, urging others to read it.

Furthermore, Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn also expressed their solidarity with her.

Liz Plank recently shared that she is no longer co-hosting “The Man Enough Podcast” with Baldoni and Heath, as stated on Instagram on Dec 23rd. In her post, she expressed gratitude for the trust placed in her by listeners, and for the community created together over the past four years. Although she did not provide a reason for her departure, it followed closely after Lively’s complaint against Baldoni and his associates at Wayfarer. Plank emphasized her commitment to the values built during this time and expressed hope that they can create something better in the future. She also mentioned plans to share more details as she reflects on recent events, and vowed to continue supporting those who speak out against injustice.

Stephanie Jones, Baldoni’s former publicist, and her agency, Jonesworks LLC, have filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, his company Wayfarer, his current publicist Abel, crisis communications specialist Nathan, and others in New York on December 24. The lawsuit states that Defendants Abel and Nathan secretly colluded for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and Jonesworks, breach contracts, induce contractual breaches, and steal clients and business prospects. Behind Jones’s back, they allegedly coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to launch a smear campaign against one of Baldoni’s film co-stars, using the ensuing crisis as an opportunity to create a rift between Jones and Baldoni, and to falsely blame Jones for the smear campaign when she had no involvement in it.

Abel, who worked at Jonesworks until last summer according to her LinkedIn profile, is accused of continuing to falsely implicate Jones now that their own misconduct is being exposed, and of defaming and attacking her within the industry. Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer Jonesworks’ clients, are alleged to have repudiated their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and refused Jones’s attempts to settle this dispute privately through arbitration.

TopMob News reached out to the defendants for comment.

In a conversation with Variety on December 23rd, Lively’s lawyers revealed that they obtained the texts mentioned in The New York Times article through a subpoena issued to Jonesworks. Freedman, who represents Nathan, Abel, Baldoni, and their Wayfarer associates, also shared with the outlet that none of his clients were served a subpoena regarding this matter. Furthermore, he expressed his intention to sue Jones for disclosing messages from Abel’s phone to Lively’s lawyers.

As an ardent fan, I can’t help but share some exciting news! On December 31st, Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace, and Street Relations took legal action against The New York Times.

According to a lawsuit obtained by TopMob News, The New York Times is being accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract due to an article about a supposed retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs allegedly conducted against Lively. This was in response to her voicing concerns about purported misconduct on set.

The report, they claim, is false and based solely on Lively’s CRD complaint. The plaintiffs deny the accusations and allege that messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context. They argue that “The Times” relied heavily on Lively’s unverified narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives.

They also allege that it was Lively, not the plaintiffs, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign – an allegation she denies. The New York Times has stated that they plan to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.” They claim their story was thoroughly and responsibly reported, based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails quoted accurately in the article.

On that very day, Lively initiated a legal action against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, his company TAG, and Abel in New York. The court documents reveal that she is accusing the defendants of various offenses such as sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to address harassment, aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and false light invasion of privacy.

The accusations against the defendants were initially detailed in the CRD complaint Lively filed earlier that month. In response to this lawsuit, Baldoni and his associates have filed a lawsuit against The New York Times (which does not name Lively as a defendant). However, Lively’s lawyers have stated in response to TopMob News that “the content of this lawsuit doesn’t alter any aspect of the claims made in her CRD and federal complaints.”

They further noted that “the basis for the lawsuit against Wayfarer and others is built on a false premise, suggesting that Lively’s administrative complaint was merely a tactic to avoid filing a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer, and that litigation was never her ultimate goal. However, as demonstrated by the federal complaint filed by Lively today, this perspective on the Wayfarer lawsuit is incorrect.

In their legal action against The New York Times, Baldoni and his fellow plaintiffs have made it clear that they are not finished taking action. Court documents reveal that there are more wrongdoers involved, and they intend to file additional lawsuits. In a January 2 interview with NBC News, Baldoni’s attorney Freedman confirmed their plans to sue Lively.

The speculation surrounding Baldoni and Lively hasn’t ended there. For example, people on social media have suggested that Reynolds made fun of Baldoni in his movie “Deadpool & Wolverine” through the character Nicepool.

Reynolds has not responded to these rumors publicly; however, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman has shared his thoughts on the matter.

“In my opinion,” Freedman stated during an interview on “The Megyn Kelly Show” (available on YouTube from Jan 7), “if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make light of Justin Baldoni. You don’t joke about the situation. Instead, you treat it seriously. You file complaints and follow a legal process. What you definitely shouldn’t do is mock the person and make it into a joke.

In their statement, Lively’s legal team emphasized that the ongoing lawsuit against Wayfarer Entertainment in the Southern District of New York is about substantial charges of sexual harassment and retaliation, supported by tangible evidence. They clarified that this isn’t a dispute born from creative disagreements or a he-said-she-said scenario. Instead, as outlined in Lively’s complaint, Wayfarer Entertainment and its affiliates are accused of engaging in unlawful retaliatory astroturfing against Lively for standing up for herself and others on set. Since the lawsuit was filed, they have continued their attacks on Lively.

The legal team also reminded everyone that sexual harassment and retaliation are unacceptable in any workplace or industry. They cautioned against tactics commonly used to deflect allegations of such misconduct, like blaming the victim or reversing the roles of the offender and the victim. These strategies serve to minimize and trivialize serious accusations. Lastly, they emphasized that media statements do not constitute a defense for Lively’s claims, and they will vigorously pursue her case in court.

On January 16th, Baldoni, Heath, Wayfarer, publicist Abel, crisis communication specialist Nathan, and It Ends With Us Movie LLC filed a lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, Leslie Sloane (Lively’s publicist), and Sloane’s firm Vision PR in New York. The lawsuit alleges that all defendants have committed civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy through false light. Specifically, Lively is accused of breaching the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and both she and Reynolds are charged with intentional interference with contractual relations, economic advantage, and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.

The plaintiffs deny Lively’s allegations of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign against her. Instead, they claim that she seized control of the movie “It Ends With Us” and collaborated with Reynolds, Sloane, Jones, and others to harm the plaintiffs in the media following negative reactions to her film marketing. (Lively asserts that she marketed the movie according to Sony’s plan.)

In their lawsuit, plaintiffs claim defendants collaborated with The New York Times to release a sensational yet false news report. Despite this, the media outlet maintains its report’s integrity. In response to TopMob, Freedman stated that either Blake Lively was deceived by her team or she deliberately misrepresented the truth.

In a statement provided to TopMob News, Lively’s legal team described his lawsuit as “just another page in the playbook of an abuser.” They explained that this situation follows a familiar pattern: when a woman presents evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation, the perpetrator often tries to shift the blame onto the victim. This tactic is commonly referred to as DARVO – Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim Offender.

Additionally, she asserted that he responded adversely after her accusations, implying that Baldoni is attempting to change the focus of the situation, suggesting that Lively took over creative control and distanced the cast from Mr. Baldoni.

The speaker went on to say, “The proof will make clear that both the cast and others had unfavorable encounters with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer. Moreover, it will be demonstrated that Sony requested Ms. Lively to supervise their portion of the film, which they then chose for distribution and ultimately proved to be a significant success.

Her team went on to slam Baldoni’s reaction to her allegations of harassment.

In response to accusations of sexual harassment, they blamed her for wanting it and considered her responsible. They justified the incident by pointing out what she was wearing, as stated by her legal team. Essentially, while the victim is focusing on the abuse, the abuser is targeting the victim. This tactic of attacking the woman is a last-ditch effort, it does not disprove the evidence presented in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will ultimately fall short.

In simpler terms, Baldoni’s lawyer made public unseen footage from the set of ‘It Ends With Us’, stating that the depicted actions by the actor contradict Ms. Lively’s portrayal of him.

According to Baldoni’s lawyers, the particular scene was meant to depict the two characters developing feelings for each other and yearning to be near one another. It is evident that both actors are portraying their roles appropriately within the context of the scene, maintaining a level of respect and professionalism towards each other.

Nevertheless, Lively’s legal representatives argue that the video aligns word-for-word with what Ms. Lively stated in her lawsuit, claiming that each instance depicted was spontaneously created by Mr. Baldoni without any prior consultation or approval.

The video depicts Miss Lively pulling back and continually urging the characters to simply converse, as shared with TopMob News in a communique. A sense of unease similar to that of Miss Lively is likely to be recognized by any woman who has experienced workplace harassment.

In their case, the pair penned a note to the presiding judge, asking for Freedman, who leads Baldoni’s legal team, to be subjected to a restraining order on speech, as they wanted to prevent any inappropriate behavior during their ongoing court proceedings.

I, a fervent admirer, stumbled upon a fascinating revelation: A seven-minute voice memo supposedly sent by Baldoni during the production of “It Ends With Us” has surfaced online. In this recording, it seems that the director subtly referenced the iconic rooftop scene Lively rewrote, and how these alterations were discussed in an alleged meeting with Reynolds and our beloved Taylor Swift, their cherished companion.

He shared with Lively, “It’s not just that they’re among the most imaginative individuals globally, but we all ought to be fortunate enough to have friends like them. The trio of you, it’s simply astounding.

In the recording, it appears Baldoni also seemed to express an apology towards the actress for his cool response to her script. He said, “I made a mistake. Something important for you to understand about me is that I’ll acknowledge and apologize when I fall short.

Approximately a month following the submission of Lively’s legal complaint against Baldoni, a court hearing was scheduled for March 9, 2026.

2025-03-05 22:49

NYT Wins Stay, Halts Justin Baldoni’s Defamation Discovery

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