Harvey Weinstein reacted to Justin Baldoni’s ongoing defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.
“Watching Justin Baldoni take legal action against The New York Times and its reporters — accusing them of manipulating communications and ignoring evidence that countered Ms. Lively’s claims — hit me hard,” Weinstein, 73, told TMZ in a Wednesday, April 9, statement. “It brought back everything I experienced when The Times reported on me in 2017. They did the same thing: cherry-picked what fit their story and ignored critical context and facts that could have challenged the narrative.”
Baldoni, 41, sued The Times in January, claiming that the outlet helped spread his It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively’s sexual harassment accusations before she formally filed court documents. (Lively, 37, claimed Baldoni fostered a hostile work environment and tried to ruin her reputation when they filmed It Ends With Us in 2024. He denied the allegations.)
The Times, meanwhile, refuted Baldoni’s claims of defamation.
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Vital Voices Global Partnership The New York Times has officially filed a motion to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s $250 million lawsuit. According to Deadline, the outlet filed a motion in a New York federal court on Friday, February 28, defending its reporting of Blake Lively’s accusations against Baldoni, 40, on the set […]
“The Baldoni/Wayfarer legal filings are rife with inaccuracies about The New York Times, including, for example, the bogus claim that The Times had early access to Ms. Lively’s state civil rights complaint,” a spokesperson for the newspaper told Us Weekly in February. “Mr. Baldoni’s lawyers base their erroneous claim on postings by amateur internet sleuths, who, not surprisingly, are wrong.”
The newspaper ultimately filed to dismiss Baldoni’s lawsuit in March, stating that its reporting was fair and accurate.
Harvey Weinstein. Jefferson Siegel / POOL / AFP
“A pietistic bastion of the media establishment, the NYT has long presumed itself beyond accountability. Not here,” Baldoni responded in a court filing last month. “The fair report privilege the NYT seeks to hide behind does not protect it from liability for maliciously colluding with Lively and her cohort to publish a false and defamatory hit piece about the Wayfarer Parties, wrongly casting them as villains and making them scapegoats for Lively’s well-publicized media missteps.”
A judge has granted to pause Justin Baldoni’s $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times. Judge Lewis J. Liman granted The New York Times’ request to stay discovery on Tuesday, March 4, according to documents. During this period, the judge will review the newspaper’s motion to be dismissed from the lawsuit. “The Wayfarer Parties […]
Disgraced movie producer Weinstein was accused of harassment, abuse and rape beginning in 2017. He was found guilty of rape and sexual assault charges in 2020 and was sentenced to 23 years in prison. After standing trial for other misconduct claims, Weinstein was found guilty in 2022 and sentenced to 16 additional years in jail.
“I should have stood up and fought back then. I should have had the courage to speak out against the way the truth was twisted,” Weinstein added to TMZ. “That failure still haunts me. I’ll be watching this case closely — it matters to anyone who’s ever been on the receiving end of a media takedown, and even more to someone who’s had to pay a high legal price.”
In a statement to Us, The Times reacted to Weinstein’s comments.
“Our comprehensive investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against Mr. Weinstein was rigorously reported over many months and based on on-the-record interviews, legal settlements paid to accusers and other documents,” a spokesperson for The Times said. “None of the facts in our coverage are in dispute. Mr. Weinstein acknowledged his misconduct in a statement that was published in full in The Times. He’s since been criminally convicted of rape and sexual assault.”
Baldoni has not publicly responded to Weinstein’s remarks. Us has reached out for comment.
