By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-02-01 16:41:39 | Updated at 2025-02-01 19:49:46
3 hours ago
Justin Baldoni has filed an amended version of his $400 million defamation suit accusing Blake Lively of giving The New York Times advance access to her sexual harassment complaint – after a stunning DailyMail.com discovery.
The alleged head-start gave the Gray Lady’s staffers time to prep a 4,000-word article with photos, graphics and excerpts from the explosive filing which Lively submitted to the California Civil Rights department on December 20.
The #metoo style takedown - entitled ‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine - was published the following day as a major exclusive detailing how the Gossip Girl alum was hit with a negative PR blitz when she complained about Baldoni’s on-set behavior.
But - as DailyMail.com reported – the online version of the story also contained buried clues in its metadata that suggested the outlet’s reporters had been working on it for much longer than a day.
These included a composite page ‘topper’ image of the It Ends with Us co-stars which had the date ‘2024-12-16’ embedded into its code.
Our discovery was just the tip of the iceberg, according to an amended complaint filed by Baldoni's team late Friday, which says they have proof the Times started work on its scoop as far back as October.
Justin Baldoni has filed an amended version of his $400 million defamation suit accusing Blake Lively of giving The New York Times advance access to her sexual harassment complaint – after a stunning DailyMail.com discovery; seen in December 2024
A technical feature first spotted by internet sleuths and described as a ‘message-embed-generator’ can be found within the article’s source code with the date ‘2024-10-31’, according to the filing.
The finding left many convinced the outlet and Lively were plotting for 'for him several months' before she dropped her bombshell complaint against him just five days before Christmas.
‘Of course, it may be the case that the New York Times just happened to load a new tool for embedding text messages within an article as part of routine system upgrades, only to stumble six weeks later upon the perfect opportunity to show off this new graphic tool in an article that relied heavily upon cherry-picked and misleadingly reframed text messages,’ it alleges.
‘But the simpler explanation is that the New York Times had already begun building its defamatory Article no later than October 31, 2024, including developing a slick new graphic display module to prominently feature the misleadingly edited and context-stripped text messages centered in the Article.’
The amended suit also takes aim at a promotional video created for the Times article that promised its readers: ‘This story reveals a new playbook for waging a far-reaching and largely undetectable smear campaign in the digital age.’
Baldoni’s team says it has a December 12 date in its web URL indicating it was another pre-packaged element made in advance of the California filing date.
Any such material, they argue, would not enjoy the usual legal protections afforded to reporters who are quoting from published legal documents.
As their filing explains: ‘It may seem unsurprising and even respectable that a news organization should work for weeks or months before publishing a purported investigative report.
‘But the significance of the timing of these elements of the defamatory Article is that they strip away the legal shields that Lively, the Times, and the other Lively Parties were likely relying on to protect their malicious acts of defamation, such as the litigation privilege and the fair reporting privilege.’
Baldoni amended suit suggests The New York Times' story contained buried clues in its metadata that suggested the outlet’s reporters had been working on it for much longer than a day (Blake Lively seen last year)
Their amended suit also adds an updated timeline going back to January 1, 2019, when Baldoni first emailed Colleen Hoover, the author of It Ends with Us, about turning her acclaimed book into a movie.
It includes his communications with both Lively and her megastar husband Ryan Reynolds, as well as details of the release and reaction to It Ends with US, and every development in the ensuing legal battle.
Lively, 37 and Baldoni, 40, gelled beautifully on screen for the 2024 adaptation of Hoover’s acclaimed novel exploring domestic violence and emotional abuse, which became a surprise hit at the box office, grossing $351 million.
But dueling lawsuits have since revealed how relations soured as Lively allegedly fought Baldoni for greater artistic control and started to feel increasingly uncomfortable during their intimate scenes.
Lively was the first to file, alleging that Baldoni entered her trailer while she was topless, showed her graphic video of his wife giving birth and bit and sucked on her lips during an improvised kissing scene.
She further accused him of conspiring to smear her reputation, citing a text message from Baldoni’s publicist Melissa Nathan which read: ‘We can bury anyone.’
Lively, 37 and Baldoni, 40, gelled beautifully on screen for the 2024 adaptation of Hoover’s acclaimed novel exploring domestic violence and emotional abuse, which became a surprise hit at the box office, grossing $351 million; pictured last year on set
Her sexual harassment claims made global headlines thanks to the near-simultaneous publication of the Times’ story that quoted heavily from the complaint.
Baldoni responded by suing the Times for $250 million, claiming it ‘relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims.’
The newspaper plans to ‘vigorously defend against the lawsuit,’ per its spokesman.
Next, Baldoni countersued Lively and Reynolds, turning the narrative on its head by claiming it was their team doing the smearing and asking for $400 million in damages.
He accused her of twisting the meaning of his texts and emails and working in tandem with Leslie Sloane, a powerful Hollywood publicist, to plant damaging stories about him in the media.
It was all a ploy, Baldoni argued, to rebuild Lively’s reputation after she came in for criticism for being prickly and difficult in interviews and promotional events.
The It Ends With Us costars have been embroiled in a tense legal battle, which began after Lively accused him of sexual harassment; Baldoni seen last month
Any negative publicity surrounding his blonde leading lady had arisen ‘organically’, his suit contends.
The feud took yet another explosive twist when DailyMail.com published previously unseen raw video footage of Baldoni and Lively filming a romantic dance scene as their characters Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid.
Lively’s suit alleges that Baldoni ‘leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, it smells so good’ during the interaction.
In the footage obtained by DailyMail.com the pair are seen engaging in what appears to be playful but professional banter between takes.
In the pivotal moment, Baldoni asks Lively if he’s ‘getting beard’ on her. ‘I’m probably getting spray tan on you’ she replies. That prompts Baldoni to say ‘it smells good’ before they both laugh.
Baldoni’s celebrity attorney Bryan Freedman flagged the footage as proof that his client behaved appropriately and had ‘nothing to hide’. Lively countered that it confirmed her claims of harassment.
DailyMail.com further revealed on Friday that Lively's lawyers want Freedman barred from taking her deposition as well as being slapped with a gag order for making ‘harassing and retaliatory’ comments to the media.
‘Parties to litigation simply do not have the right to dictate which of their opponents’ attorneys may or may not take their deposition,’ Baldoni attorney Kevin Fritz fired back.
