December 31, 2024: Baldoni, Wayfarer, and Others Take Legal Action Against The New York Times
On December 31, Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace, and Street Relations initiated a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times.
Court documents shared with E! reveal that The New York Times has been charged with libel, presenting individuals in a misleading light, promissory fraud, and breaching an implied contract concerning an article that accused the plaintiffs of orchestrating a retaliatory smear campaign against Lively, who raised issues of alleged on-set misconduct.
The plaintiffs refuted the claims outlined in the article, describing them as “false” and informed by Lively’s CRD complaint. They argued that the messages referenced were contextually misrepresented.
According to the lawsuit, the Times allegedly claimed to have reviewed numerous documents, but primarily relied on Lively’s account, which they characterized as unverified and biased. The suit noted the article included her narrative almost word-for-word, neglecting substantial evidence that contradicted her assertions and uncovered her real intentions.
They alleged “it was Lively, not Plaintiffs, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign.” She denied this.
The New York Times said 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.”