Lively Sued Baldoni; He Countersued NYT For $250M
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- Blake Lively filed a 10-claim sexual harassment complaint against Justin Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department on Dec. 20, 2024, alleging a hostile work environment and a coordinated "astroturfing" campaign to destroy her reputation.
- The 80-page filing included text messages between Baldoni and Melissa Nathan of The Agency Group PR LLC, who the complaint says orchestrated a "sophisticated press and digital plan" to retaliate against Lively for raising concerns on set.
- WME dropped Baldoni on Dec. 21, 2024, the same day the New York Times published its "We Can Bury Anyone" exposé; Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman called the allegations "completely false."
- Stephanie Jones and Jonesworks filed a defamation and breach-of-contract suit against Baldoni's publicists Nathan and Jennifer Abel on Dec. 24, 2024, alleging they conspired to attack Jones and steal clients.
- Lively filed a 13-claim civil lawsuit against Baldoni and his PR team on Dec. 31, 2024, alleging a "carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced retaliatory scheme" to silence her and others.
- Baldoni and his publicists countersued The New York Times for $250 million in an 87-page libel complaint filed Dec. 31, 2024 in LA Superior Court, accusing the paper of cherry-picking and altering text messages stripped of context.
- Sony condemned "any reputational attacks" on Lively, while supporters included Gwyneth Paltrow, Amy Schumer, Brandon Sklenar, Jenny Slate, and Amber Heard.
Why it matters: The feud has produced at least four overlapping lawsuits in roughly six weeks — Lively's complaint against Baldoni, Baldoni's $250 million libel action against the NYT, Jonesworks' suit against Baldoni's publicists, and the eventual consolidation of claims into Baldoni's larger litigation — making it one of the most expensive and legally tangled celebrity disputes in recent memory, with a PR firm (TAG) that also represented Johnny Depp now at the center.
