The New York Times has reacted to Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit against them being dismissed by a judge.
“We are grateful to the court for seeing the lawsuit for what it was: a meritless attempt to stifle honest reporting,” a spokesperson for the New York Times said in a statement to Us Weekly on Monday, June 9. “Our journalists went out and covered carefully and fairly a story of public importance, and the court recognized that the law is designed to protect just that sort of journalism.”
The statement continued: “We will continue to stand up in court for our journalism and for our journalists when their work comes under attack.”
News broke on Monday that Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Baldoni’s lawsuit against the New York Times. Baldoni’s suit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane was also dismissed. Us has reached out to Baldoni for comment.
Baldoni, 41, and Lively’s legal back and forth began in December 2024, when the New York Times initially reported on the actress’ complaint against her It Ends With Us costar and director. Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment and orchestrating an alleged smear campaign against her.
Baldoni denied all allegations. He subsequently filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and Sloane, and a $250 million lawsuit against the New York Times. Lively and Reynolds filed motions to dismiss in March. Sloane, for her part, requested to be removed from the case. The New York Times also filed to dismiss the suit that same month. In March, the judge granted the newspaper’s request to pause the lawsuit while the motion to dismiss was under review.
After news broke of Lively’s win in court, the actress took to social media to speak out about her legal situation.
“Last week, I stood proudly alongside 19 organizations united in defending women’s rights to speak up for their safety. Like so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us,” she wrote via her Instagram Story on Monday. “While the suit against me was defeated, so many don’t have the resources to fight back.”
Lively added that while she was able to have backing and support, she acknowledged that others do not have that same privilege.
“I’m more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman’s right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story,” she continued. “There are protections out there.”
Lively shared a series of resources available to women in need of support, including the National Network to End Domestic Violence and National Organization for Women.
“With love and gratitude for the many who stood by me, many of you I know. Many of you I don’t, but I will never stop appreciating or advocating for you. — B,” she concluded.
