It Ends With Us director sues NYT over Blake Lively story

Justin Baldoni, the American director and co-star of the romance film It Ends With Us (2024), and his publicists sued The New York Times on Dec 31, claiming the news organization defamed them in a story about allegations by Blake Lively, his co-star, that she had been the victim of a smear campaign.

- Megan Twohey and Mike McIntire

Justin Baldoni, the American director and co-star of the romance film It Ends With Us (2024), and his publicists sued The New York Times on Dec 31, claiming the news organization defamed them in a story about allegations by Blake Lively, his co-star, that she had been the victim of a smear campaign.

The lawsuit, which seeks US$250 million (S$340 million) in damages, accuses the Times of uncritically accepting a "self-serving narrative" by the American actress that Baldoni, his production company and their public relations team worked to harm her reputation after she complained about misconduct during the film's shooting.

It asserts that the Dec 21 article deliberately omitted portions of text exchanges and other information that contradicted the actress' version of events.

"The article's central thesis, encapsulated in a defamatory headline designed to immediately mislead the reader, is that plaintiffs orchestrated a retaliatory public relations campaign against Lively for speaking out about sexual harassment - a premise that is categorically false and easily disproven," the lawsuit said.

The suit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by Mr Bryan Freedman, an attorney representing Baldoni, 40, and five others, including Ms Melissa Nathan, a crisis management expert whom Lively accused of helping orchestrate a campaign to manipulate news coverage and social media against her.

In addition to alleging libel by the