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Justin Baldoni Sued by Novel York Times Over His $400 Million Defamation Case
A new model in Justin Baldoni’s countersuit against Blake Filled with life has emerged.
A final judgment became entered in the It Ends With Us actor and director’s $400 million defamation and extortion case against his costar, her husband Ryan Reynolds and The Novel York Times, in accordance with court docket paperwork obtained by E! News.
After Reach to a name Lewis J. Liman brushed off Baldoni’s case in June, the 41-year-traditional and his Wayfarer Studios did now not file an amended complaint sooner than the deadline net web page online by the court docket. Furthermore, on Oct. 17, the court docket issued all parties an characterize to expose aim as to why a final judgment shouldn’t be entered in the case, which Baldoni and his co-plaintiffs did now not answer to, in accordance with the Oct. 31 characterize.
Then again, Baldoni retains the lawful to charm the judgment once the court docket rules on Filled with life’s ask to recoup her real fees.
And Baldoni’s ongoing his real war with Filled with life is essential from over. The Gossip Girl alum’s own lawsuit against her traditional colleague—by which she accused him of sexually harassing her on net web page online of the 2024 romantic drama and hiring a disaster PR skilled to support tarnish her recognition, both of which he has denied—is determined to head to trial in March 2026.
And in October, the Times filed its own lawsuit against Baldoni searching for out compensatory damages and punitive damages against him for fees connected to his countersuit, which eager an article published by the outlet detailing his fallout with Filled with life. Nevertheless, the Jane the Virgin alum intends to fight the case.
Kristin Callahan/Shutterstock; Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
“Obtain, lose or scheme, we refuse to cave to vitality brokers even in the face of seemingly now not possible odds,” his lawyer Bryan Freedman said in an announcement to People at the time. “We continue to face mountainous for a reason: the pursuit of truth, in the face of giants.”
CORRECTION: A outdated version of this epic incorrectly said that the deadline for Justin Baldoni to charm the dismissal of his case had expired. Baldoni would possibly maybe well perhaps perhaps additionally charm the dismissal after the court docket decides Blake Filled with life’s pending chase for real fees.
For a closer look at the It Ends With Us saga, preserve reading…
Lisa/Shutterstock; AFF-USA/Shutterstock
Dec. 20, 2024: Blake Filled with life Files CRD Complaint In opposition to Justin Baldoni and His Wayfarer Friends
Four months after the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover‘s e book It Ends With Us debuted in theaters, Blake Filled with life filed a California Civil Rights Division (CRD) complaint against her costar Justin Baldoni and his friends on Dec. 20, in accordance with The Novel York Times.
Within the complaint obtained by E! News, Baldoni, his manufacturing firm Wayfarer Studios (Wayfarer), its CEO Jamey Heath, its cofounder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni’s publicist Jennifer Abel, her firm RWA Communications, disaster communications specialist Melissa Nathan, her firm The Agency Community PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace and his firm Motorway Relatives Inc. were listed as defendants.
Filled with life alleged in her complaint that Baldoni and his Wayfarer friends “embarked on a sophisticated press and digital plan in retaliation” for her voicing her concerns about purported misconduct on net web page online—with her announcing she and various forged and crew contributors “experienced invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional and sexually inappropriate behavior” by Baldoni and Heath.
The actress added the alleged campaign against her introduced on “substantial harm” to her in my opinion and professionally.
The accusations listed in the complaint consist of sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent and/or therapy harassment; helping and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract; intentional infliction of emotional harm; negligence; wrong light invasion of privateness and interference with potential economic income.
Gary Hershorn/Getty Pictures
Dec. 21, 2024: The Novel York Times Publishes Account About the Alleged Smear Campaign In opposition to Filled with life
The next day, The Novel York Times published a characterize just a few retaliatory smear campaign Baldoni and his friends allegedly waged against Filled with life—citing her CRD complaint. In its article, the outlet quoted messages sent from Baldoni and his group—including publicist Abel and disaster communications specialist Nathan—that were segment of her complaint. Readers would possibly maybe well perhaps perhaps additionally additionally scroll thru the court docket paperwork on The Novel York Times‘ net net web page online.
“I’m hoping that my real action helps pull lend a hand the curtain on these deplorable retaliatory tactics to harm of us that talk about up about misconduct,” Lively told the outlet, “and helps give protection to others who would possibly maybe well perhaps perhaps additionally be targeted.”
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Pictures/Jeff Spicer/Getty Pictures for Sony Pictures
Dec. 21, 2024: Baldoni and Wayfarer’s Felony unswerving Responds to Filled with life’s CRD Complaint
After recordsdata of Filled with life’s complaint broke, Bryan Freedman—the authorized unswerving for Baldoni, Wayfarer and its representatives—slammed Filled with life’s allegations.
“It’s coarse that Ms. Filled with life and her representatives would develop such serious and categorically wrong accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate are attempting to ‘fix’ her unfavorable recognition which became garnered from her own remarks and actions for the length of the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were noticed publicly, in actual time and unedited, which allowed for the accumulate to generate their very own views and opinions,” he said in a observation on The Novel York Times net net web page online. “These claims are fully wrong, unsuitable and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly distress and rehash a story in the media.”
Freedman additionally defended Wayfarer’s decision to hire a disaster manager, announcing this became performed sooner than the advertising and marketing campaign of the movie.
“The representatives of Wayfarer Studios level-headed did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and exclusively replied to incoming media inquiries to develop obvious balanced and actual reporting and monitored social exercise,” he later added. “What is pointedly lacking from the cherry-picked correspondence is the evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with media or in every other case; real inner scenario planning and inner most correspondence to strategize which is customary working job with public relations mavens.”
Nathan Congleton/NBC thru Getty Pictures
Dec. 21, 2024: Baldoni Is Dropped by Abilities Agency
Abilities agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) dropped Baldoni after The Novel York Times’ article became published on Dec. 21, Ari Emanuel, CEO of the agency’s mum or dad firm Endeavor, confirmed to the outlet.
Nevertheless, WME denied that Filled with life’s husband Ryan Reynolds became responsible for the agency’s parting of systems with Baldoni, which the It Ends With Us director later alleged in his lawsuit filed against The Novel York Times (more on that below).
“In Baldoni’s submitting there would possibly maybe be a claim that Reynolds compelled Baldoni’s agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. This is now not actual,” WME—which additionally represents Reynolds and Filled with life—said in an announcement to The Hollywood Reporter Jan. 1. “Baldoni’s former representative was not at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere nor was there any pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time to drop Baldoni as a client.”
John Nacion/Diversity thru Getty Pictures
Dec. 21, 2024: It Ends With Us Forged Members and More Stars React to Filled with life’s Allegations In opposition to Baldoni
Within the days following Filled with life’s CRD submitting and The Novel York Times article, several eminent figures shared their reactions to her allegations against Baldoni—including It Ends With Us author Hoover.
“@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met,” she wrote on Instagram Tales Dec. 21, linking out to The Novel York Times. “Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
Jenny Slate, who performed the sister of Baldoni’s personality Ryle, additionally eminent she stood with Filled with life.
“As Blake Filled with life’s castmate and buddy, I reveal my increase as she takes action against these reported to own deliberate and performed an attack on her recognition,” Slate said in a Dec. 23 observation to Today. “Blake is a race-setter, actual buddy and a relied on offer of emotional increase for me and so many who know and treasure her.”
“What has been printed in regards to the attack on Blake is extremely sunless, anxious, and wholly threatening,” she added. “I commend my buddy, I treasure her bravery, and I stand by her facet.”
As well to, Brandon Sklenar—a treasure interest for Filled with life’s personality Lily Bloom—shared a screenshot of the complaint published to The Novel York Times‘ net net web page online and linked out to the outlet writing, “For the love of God read this.”
Plus, Filled with life’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars The united states Ferrera, Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn wrote they “stand with her in team spirit.”
Roy Rochlin/Getty Pictures for The Ford Basis
Dec. 23, 2024: Baldoni and Heath’s Cohost on The Man Enough Podcast Leaves Present off
Liz Plank additionally announced her departure from The Man Enough Podcast, which she cohosted with Baldoni and Heath, on Dec. 23.
“I’m writing to you today to let you know that I have had my representatives inform Wayfarer that I will no longer be co-hosting The Man Enough podcast,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “Thank you for trusting me with your hearts and stories, for holding space for mine, and for making this show what it was. I will miss you, the listeners, so much. I love what this community created together with every fiber of my being, and that’s because of you.”
While Plank did now not give a aim of her exit from the podcast, it got here days after Filled with life’s complaint against Baldoni and his Wayfarer friends.
“As this chapter closed for me, I remain committed to the values we’ve built together,” the author persevered in her message to her followers. “Thank you for being here, for trusting me, and for being by my side for the last four years. We all deserve better, and I know that together, we can create it.”
She added, “I will have more to share soon as I continue to process everything that has happened. In the meantime, I will continue to support everyone who calls out injustice and holds the people standing in their way accountable.”
Nicholas Hunt/Getty Pictures
Dec. 24, 2024: Baldoni’s Outmoded Publicist Sues Him, Abel, Nathan and Wayfarer
Baldoni’s traditional publicist Stephanie Jones and her agency Jonesworks LLC filed a lawsuit against him, his firm Wayfarer, his most contemporary publicist Abel and disaster communications specialist Nathan in Novel York Dec. 24.
“Defendants Abel and Nathan secretly conspired for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and Jonesworks, to breach multiple contracts and induce contractual breaches, and to steal clients and business prospects,” the lawsuit obtained by NBC Novel reads. “Behind Jones’s back, they secretly coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to implement an aggressive media smear campaign against Baldoni’s film co-star, and then used the crisis as an opportunity to drive a wedge between Jones and Baldoni, and to publicly pin blame for this smear campaign on Jones—when Jones had no knowledge or involvement in it.”
Per Abel’s LinkedIn profile, she labored at Jonesworks unless final summer. The lawsuit alleges Abel and Nathan “continue to point the finger falsely at Jones now that their own misconduct is coming to light,” and “defame and attack” her in the industry.
As for Baldoni and Wayfarer, who must now not any longer Jonesworks potentialities, the swimsuit alleges they “repudiated their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and rebuffed Jones’s efforts to settle this dispute privately in arbitration.”
E! News reached out to the defendants for commentary.
Gotham/GC Pictures
Filled with life’s attorneys suggested Diversity in a Dec. 23 piece that they obtained the texts featured in The Novel York Times article thru a subpoena to Jonesworks. Freedman—who represents Nathan and Abel apart from Baldoni and his Wayfarer friends—added to the outlet none of his potentialities were subpoenaed over this topic and that he meant to sue Jones for releasing messages from Abel’s phone to Filled with life’s attorneys.
Araya Doheny/Diversity thru Getty Pictures
Dec. 31, 2024: Baldoni, Wayfarer & Others Sue The Novel York Times
Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace and Motorway Relatives filed a $250 million lawsuit against The Novel York Times Dec. 31.
Within the swimsuit obtained by E!, The Novel York Times became accused of libel, wrong light invasion of privateness, promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract for its article just a few retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs allegedly conducted against Filled with life after she voiced concerns about purported misconduct on net web page online.
Announcing the characterize became “false” and in accordance with Filled with life’s CRD complaint, the plaintiffs denied the accusations and alleged 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 “it was Lively, not Plaintiffs, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign.” She denied this.
The Novel York Times said it deliberate to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
“The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead,” it said 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.”
Lia Toby/Getty Pictures
Dec. 31, 2024: Filled with life Files Lawsuit In opposition to Baldoni and Wayfarer Friends
That very same day, Filled with life filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, manufacturing entity It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, Nathan’s firm TAG and Abel in Novel York.
In accordance with the court docket paperwork obtained by E! News, she is suing the defendants for sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent and/or therapy harassment; helping and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional harm, negligence infliction of emotional harm and wrong light invasion of privateness.
The allegations in the lawsuit were first detailed in the CRD complaint Filled with life filed earlier that month.
As for Filled with life’s response to the lawsuit Baldoni and his friends filed against The Novel York Times—which did now not listing her a defendant—her attorneys eminent in an announcement to E! that “nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims” in her CRD and federal complaints.
“This lawsuit is based on the obviously false premise that Ms. Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ruse based on a choice ‘not to file a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer,’ and that ‘litigation was never her ultimate goal,'” they persevered. “As demonstrated by the federal complaint filed by Ms. Lively earlier today, that frame of reference for the Wayfarer lawsuit is false.”
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Pictures
Jan. 2, 2025: Baldoni’s Attorney Expresses Intent to Sue Filled with life
In Baldoni and his friends’ lawsuit against The Novel York Times, the plaintiffs expressed that they “are not done.”
“There are other bad actors involved,” the court docket paperwork said, “and make no mistake—this will not be the last lawsuit.”
In a Jan. 2 interview with NBC News, Baldoni and Wayfarer’s authorized unswerving Freedman said they “absolutely” deliberate to sue Filled with life.
Noam Galai/Getty Pictures for Netflix / Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal thru Getty Pictures
Jan. 7, 2025: Baldoni’s Attorney Calls Out Deadpool & Wolverine
The headlines about Baldoni and Filled with life did now not pause there.
Let’s utter, social media users speculated that her husband Reynolds trolled Baldoni in his movie Deadpool & Wolverine thru the personality Nicepool.
Reynolds has now not publicly commented on the rumors; on the different hand, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman shared his reaction.
“What I make of that is that if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of Justin Baldoni,” Freedman said for the length of an interview on The Megyn Kelly Present off posted to YouTube Jan 7. “You don’t make fun of the situation. You take it very seriously. You file HR complaints. You raise the issue and you follow a legal process. What you don’t do is mock the person and turn it into a joke.”
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Pictures
Within the intervening time, Filled with life’s attorneys said there were more “assaults” against her since her lawsuit.
“Ms. Lively’s federal litigation before the Southern District of New York involves serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation, backed by concrete facts,” her lawyers said in a Jan. 7 observation to E! News. “This is not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences’ or a ‘he said/she said’ situation. As alleged in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and as we will prove in litigation, Wayfarer and its associates engaged in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Ms. Lively for simply trying to protect herself and others on a film set. And their response to the lawsuit has been to launch more attacks against Ms. Lively since her filing.”
“While we go through the legal process, we urge everyone to remember that sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in every workplace and in every industry,” they added. “A classic tactic to distract from allegations of this type of misconduct is to ‘blame the victim’ by suggesting that they invited the conduct, brought it on themselves, misunderstood the intentions, or even lied. Another classic tactic is to reverse the victim and offender, and suggest that the offender is actually the victim.”
Filled with life’s lawyers said “these concepts normalize and trivialize allegations of serious misconduct.” They additionally eminent “media statements are not a defense” to her claims and that they are going to prosecute her claims in court docket.
John Nacion/Diversity thru Getty Pictures
In response, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman suggested E!, “It is painfully ironic that Blake Lively is accusing Justin Baldoni of weaponizing the media when her own team orchestrated this vicious attack by sending the New York Times grossly edited documents prior to even filing the complaint.”
“We are releasing all of the evidence which will show a pattern of bullying and threats to take over the movie,” he added. “None of this will come as a surprise because consistent with her past behavior Blake Lively used other people to communicate those threats and bully her way to get whatever she wanted. We have all the receipts and more.”
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin / GC Pictures / Robert Kamau / GC Pictures
Jan. 16, 2025: Baldoni, Wayfarer, Nathan & Abel File Lawsuit In opposition to Filled with life, Reynolds & Others
Baldoni, Heath, Wayfarer, publicist Abel, disaster verbal replace specialist Nathan and manufacturing entity It Ends With Us Movie LLC filed a lawsuit against Filled with life, Reynolds, her publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane’s agency Vision PR in Novel York Jan. 16.
In accordance with the swimsuit obtained by E! News, the plaintiffs accused the total defendants of civil extortion, defamation and wrong light invasion of privateness. As for Filled with life and Reynolds particularly, she became accused of breach of implied covenant of real faith and excellent dealing, and they were both accused of intentional interference with contractual relations and economic income as successfully as negligent interference with potential economic income.
Within the swimsuit, the plaintiffs denied Filled with life’s allegations of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign against her. They additionally accused her of seizing preserve a watch on of It Ends With Us and dealing with Reynolds, Sloane, Jones and others to “tar and feather Plaintiffs in the press” after she obtained backlash for her advertising and marketing of the film. (Filled with life said in her filings she promoted the movie in accordance with Sony’s advertising and marketing conception.)Plaintiffs alleged in the lawsuit the defendants labored with The Novel York Times “to put out a blockbuster news report as devastating as it was false.” The outlet stood by its report.
In part of a statement to E!, Freedman said, “Blake Filled with life became both severely misled by her group or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the real fact.”
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Pictures
Jan. 16, 2025: Filled with life’s Attorneys Slam Baldoni’s “Determined” Lawsuit
Filled with life’s real group known as his lawsuit “one more chapter in the abuser playbook,” saying in a statement to E! News, “This is an age-traditional epic: A girl speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to flip the tables on the sufferer. This is what consultants name DARVO. Roar. Assault. Reverse Sufferer Culprit.”
She further accused him of retaliating once she made allegations against him, saying Baldoni is trying to shift the narrative that Lively “seized inventive preserve a watch on and alienated the forged from Mr. Baldoni.”
“The evidence will expose,” it continued, “that the forged and others had their very own unfavorable experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer. The evidence will additionally expose that Sony asked Ms. Filled with life to oversee Sony’s gash of the film, which they then selected for distribution and became a resounding success.”
Her team went on to slam Baldoni’s reaction to her allegations of harassment.
“Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wished it, it’s her fault. Their justification for why this came about to her: look what she became wearing,” her lawyers added. “Briefly, whereas the sufferer focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the sufferer. The technique of attacking the woman is desperate, it doesn’t refute the evidence in Ms. Filled with life’s complaint, and it would possibly maybe well in point of fact perhaps perhaps fail.”
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Pictures
Jan. 21, 2025: Within the lend a hand of-the-Scenes Pictures of It Ends With Us Launched
Baldoni’s real counsel launched unhurried-the-scenes footage from the filming of It Ends With Us, announcing that the actor’s actions in the video “clearly refute Ms. Lively’s characterization” of him.
“The scene in question was designed to show the two characters falling in love and longing to be close to one another,” Baldoni’s attorneys said in an announcement. “Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism.”
Nevertheless, Filled with life’s real group believes the video “corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described” in her lawsuit and that “every second of this became improvised by Mr. Baldoni and not using a dialogue or consent upfront.”
“The video reveals Ms. Filled with life leaning away and constantly soliciting for the characters to real talk,” they suggested E! News in an announcement. “Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively’s discomfort.”
Araya Doheny/Diversity thru Getty Pictures and Gotham/GC Pictures
Jan. 22, 2025: Filled with life and Reynolds Scrutinize Gag Describe on Baldoni’s Attorney
The couple issued a letter to the decide overseeing their case, asking for that Freedman—the head of Baldoni’s counsel—be positioned beneath a gag characterize amid their real lawsuits to “avoid improper conduct.”
Gregory Tempo/Shutterstock
Jan. 27, 2025: Baldoni’s 2 AM Issue Memo to Filled with life Published
A seven-minute reveal memo Baldoni allegedly sent to Filled with life for the length of It Ends With Us‘ manufacturing became published online. In it, the director regarded to reference the movie’s rooftop scene Filled with life had rewritten and how the adjustments were equipped to him for the length of an alleged assembly with Reynolds and their buddy Taylor Swift.
“We should all have friends like that aside from the fact that they’re two of the most creative people on the planet,” he suggested Filled with life. “The three of you guys together, it’s unbelievable.”
Within the recording, Baldoni additionally seemingly apologized to the actress for his lukewarm reception to her script, announcing, “I f–ked up. One thing you should know about me is that I will admit and apologize when I fail.”
NILS MEILVANG/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP thru Getty Pictures
Jan. 27, 2025: Filled with life vs. Baldoni Trial Location
One month after Filled with life filed a proper lawsuit against Baldoni, a court docket date became net web page online for March 9, 2026.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP thru Getty Pictures
Jan. 31, 2025: Baldoni Adds The Novel York Times to $400 Million Lawsuit
Baldoni’s group amended his Jan. 16 counterclaim to the U.S. District Court against Filled with life, Reynolds, Sloane and Sloane’s PR firm Vision PR, Inc. to consist of The Novel York Times, in accordance with paperwork obtained by E! News.Within the amended epic, Baldoni accused Filled with life and her group of spending months “colluding” and “feeding falsehoods to the New York Times.”The submitting alleged that the newspaper “cherry picked” and altered communications stripped of a in point of fact powerful context and deliberately spliced to mislead.”
Bryan Bedder/Getty Pictures for A will must own Voices Global Partnership
Feb. 2, 2025: Baldoni’s Employees Launches a Website
Baldoni created a net net web page online with recordsdata regarding his lawsuit against Filled with life that contained his amended complaint and a “timeline of connected events.” Among the information in the latter document was alleged screenshots of texts exchanged between Lively, Reynolds and Baldoni.The website’s launch came one month after Freedman said his team planned to release “every single textual philosophize material message between the two.”“We desire the real fact to be available,” Baldoni’s attorney told NBC News in a Jan. 2 interview. “We desire the paperwork to be available. We desire of us to develop their determination in accordance with receipts.”
Jeff Spicer/Getty Pictures for Sony Pictures
Feb. 18, 2025: Filled with life Files Her Maintain Amended Complaint
Filled with life’s attorneys filed an amended complaint claiming that two assorted females who labored on It Ends With Us had come forward feeling melancholy by Baldoni’s habits on net web page online.“Ms. Filled with life became now not alone in complaining about Mr. Baldoni,” the complaint, obtained by E! News, claimed. “The experiences of Ms. Filled with life and others were documented at the time they occurred starting in Could also of 2023. Importantly, and opposite to the total story Defendants own invented, Mr. Baldoni acknowledged the complaints in writing at the time. He knew that females assorted than Ms. Filled with life additionally were melancholy and had complained about his habits.”The amended complaint did not name the two witnesses, whom Lively said would testify, due to the “harmful climate of threats, harassment, and intimidation fueled by the Defendants’ retaliation campaign.”In a statement to E!, Freedman accused the complaint of being filled with “unsubstantial hearsay” and alleged that the unidentified persons were “clearly now not willing to come lend a hand forward or publicly increase her claims.”
Monica Schipper/Getty Pictures for Netflix
Feb. 20, 2025: Filled with life and Reynolds’ Publicist Asks to Be Dropped From Lawsuit
After Baldoni accused Sloane of propagating “malicious stories” that portrayed him as “a sexual predator” as successfully as orchestrating a “smear campaign” beneath Filled with life’s route, Sloane filed a motional of dismissal from the lawsuit.
Within the paperwork obtained by E! News, Sloane’s authorized unswerving alleged that there became no “basis” for the accusations made against their client and that she became merely “dragged” into the lawsuit as a “smoke and mirrors exercise to distract from” Filled with life’s accusations.
Lia Toby/Getty Pictures
Feb. 28, 2025: Filled with life Hires CIA Alum
Filled with life introduced onboard CIA’s traditional Deputy Chief of Workers Prick Shapiro to “advise on the legal communications strategy for the ongoing sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit occurring in the Southern District of New York,” a member from her litigation group Willkie Farr & Gallagher suggested Diversity on Feb. 28.
Shapiro—who labored for the CIA from 2013 to 2015 beneath the Obama administration—went on to change into Visa’s vp of worldwide security and communications after which Airbnb’s global head of disaster management. After three years at the condo firm, he founded his own consulting agency, tenth Avenue Consulting LLC.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Pictures
Feb. 28, 2025: The Novel York Times Files Circulation to Exit the Lawsuit
The Novel York Times filed a chase to brush off itself from the $400 million lawsuit that additionally involves Filled with life, Baldoni, Sloane and Sloane’s firm in paperwork obtained by E! News.
The newspaper argued in the submitting that Baldoni’s group became telling a “one-sided tale that has garnered plenty of headlines” but that “The Times does not belong in this dispute.”
The Novel York Times‘ attorneys additionally eminent that the $250 million lawsuit Baldoni and his Wayfarer friends had at the originate filed against The Novel York Times became brushed off after The Novel York Times became added to the $400 million lawsuit, per court docket paperwork obtained by Closing date.
Picture by John Nacion/Diversity thru Getty Pictures
March 4, 2025: Reach to a name in Baldoni’s $400 Million Lawsuit Pauses Discovery
Following The Novel York Times chase for dismissal, U.S. District Reach to a name Lewis J. Liman granted the newspaper’s ask for preserve of discovery, in accordance with paperwork obtained by E! News.The submitting, which requested that the decide temporarily pause parties from having to commerce recordsdata or paperwork, became granted as the decide regarded over The Novel York Times‘ Feb. 28 chase.Liman eminent in the March 4 epic that the The Novel York Times equipped “substantial grounds” and “a strong showing that its motion to dismiss is likely to succeed on the merits.”The decide added that he did now not imagine Baldoni’s group would possibly maybe well perhaps perhaps be “unfairly prejudiced by a stay while the Court decides the pending motion.”In an announcement to E! News, a Novel York Times spokesperson addressed the change, writing, “We appreciate the court’s decision today, which recognizes the important First Amendment values at stake here. The court has stopped Mr. Baldoni from burdening The Times with discovery requests in a case that should never have been brought against.”
Stewart Cook dinner/Shutterstock; Frazer Harrison/Getty Pictures; Lia Toby/Getty Pictures
Could also 2025: Baldoni’s Employees Makes an are attempting to Subpeona Taylor Swift
After Baldoni accused Filled with life of the exercise of her friendship with Swift as leverage for more inventive preserve a watch on over It Ends With Us, with his real group searching for out to subpeona the singer, a procure for the singer fired lend a hand.
“Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie,” the spokesperson suggested E! News in a Could also 9 observation. “She was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film.”
“The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, ‘My Tears Ricochet,'” Swift’s manual persevered. “Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
Baldoni’s attorneys withdrew their ask later that month, per Filled with life’s real group.
TheStewartofNY/GC Pictures; James Devaney/GC Pictures
June 9, 2025: Baldoni’s Countersuit In opposition to Filled with life & Reynolds Pushed aside
A decide granted a chase to brush off the countersuit against Filled with life, Reynolds, their publicist Sloane, Sloane’s firm Vision PR and The Novel York Times, announcing that Baldoni and his real group did now not impress their allegations of defamation or civil extortion.
“Like so many others, I’ve felt the distress of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to interrupt us,” Filled with life shared on Instagram Tales after the dismissal. “While the swimsuit against me became defeated, so many set aside now not own the resources to fight lend a hand.”
She added, “With treasure and gratitude for the a quantity of who stood by me. Many of you I do know. Many of you I develop now not. But I could maybe well perhaps perhaps additionally now not ever pause appreciating or advocating for you.”
Within the intervening time, Baldoni’s authorized unswerving suggested E! News in an announcement that Filled with life’s “predictable declaration of victory is wrong.”
“This case is about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign,” the lawyer said, “which Ms. Lively’s own team conveniently describes as ‘untraceable’ because they cannot prove what never happened.”
Raymond Hall/GC Pictures
July 31, 2025: Filled with life Deposed
Filled with life sat down for a deposition at her attorneys’ Novel York place of work. Although media experiences surfaced claiming that it became a “face-to-face showdown” between Filled with life and Baldoni, her attorneys later filed a chase slamming the so-known as story that she “needed a large contingent of people with her to testify.”
The truth, in accordance with Filled with life’s counsel, became that Baldoni became in the room alongside assorted defendants named in her lawsuit as successfully as their respective real illustration.
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