Justin Baldoni sued by The New York Times for legal fees after defamation suit over Blake Lively story dismissed

The litigation surrounding It Ends with Us doesn’t appear to have an end in sight. 

In the latest legal salvo linked to the hit 2024 romantic drama – now marked by a toxic relationship between actor/director Justin Baldoni, 41, and star Blake Lively, 38 – The New York Times has sought $150,000 from Baldoni in legal fees it spent on a suit he filed that was later dropped.

The newspaper on Tuesday filed legal papers naming Baldoni‘s production company Wayfarer Productions after a defamation suit he filed against them was dismissed from court by a federal judge this past June.

The New York Times said in legal docs submit Tuesday to New York’s Supreme Court, and reviewed by TheWrap, that it had been entitled it to recoup the fees that paid its lawyers to defend itself in the case. 

The media outlet is asking for compensatory and punitive damages from Baldoni’s company Wayfarer Productions.

Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman told Daily Mail exclusively Thursday of the ongoing legal battle: ‘Win, lose, or draw, we refuse to cave to power brokers even in the face of seemingly impossible odds.’

Freedman added: ‘We continue to stand tall for a reason: the pursuit of truth, in the face of giants.

‘Our unwillingness to compromise our values, no matter the odds or the outcome, reflects a simple conviction that standing up for the truth and what is right matters.’

Freedman told Daily Mail that the case might bring about a sea change in exposing flaws in the contemporary legal system.

‘If the current laws protect legacy media in this manner, perhaps it’s up to us to ignite that change,’ he said.

Baldoni had named the paper in a $400 million suit, saying that it had tried to hurt his reputation with its reporting in a December 2024 story detailing Lively’s complaints about his alleged conduct making It Ends with Us.

The story was titled “We Can Bury Anyone: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine” and published in late December of 2024.

Lawyers for the paper said, ‘The District Court’s opinion makes clear that Wayfarer and its affiliates both commenced and continued the lawsuit against The Times without a substantial basis in fact and law.’

The paper said in a nine-page complaint that ‘any statements in the article and video reporting on the alleged sexual misconduct experienced by Lively were not actionable.’

The rationale lawyer gave on that point was that the statements ‘were based on the CRD complaint and therefore were subject to New York’s fair report privilege and separately were not plausibly made with actual malice.’

Lively claimed Baldoni had sexually harassed her while making It Ends with Us, which was a surprise hit when it arrived in theaters in August of 2024.

The motion picture, based off the 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover, made $148 million in domestic box office, and $350 million globally, but has been overshadowed by the allegations made by its stars throughout 2025. 

In December, Lively named Baldoni in a lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment, retaliatory conduct, and intentional infliction of emotional stress.

In her lawsuit, the Gossip Girl alum accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways – including body shaming her – and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation.  

In her lawsuit, Lively named a number of Baldoni’s collaborators, including his company Wayfarer Studios, the studio’s CEO and financial backer, and PR personnel Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel.  

Baldoni had initially asked for $250 million in damages from the paper, then added it into the $400 million lawsuit he filed this past January.

In the suit, Baldoni named Lively, her spouse Ryan Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane, citing the aforementioned report in legal documents.

All parties have denied all of the allegations against them.