Dec. 31, 2024: Baldoni, Wayfarer & Others Sue The New York Times

Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace and Street Relations filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times on Dec. 31.

In the suit obtained by E!, The New York Times was accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract for its article about a retaliatory smear campaign that the plaintiffs allegedly conducted against Lively after she voiced concerns about purported misconduct on set.

The plaintiffs stated that the report was “false” and based on Lively’s CRD complaint, denying the accusations and claiming that messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context.

“Despite its claim to have ‘reviewed these along with other documents[,]’ the Times relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative,” the lawsuit said, “lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives.”

They alleged that “it was Lively, not Plaintiffs, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign.” She denied this.

The New York Times stated it planned to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”

“The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead,” it stated to E!. “Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.”