Justin Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios ordered to pay New York Times $171K after defamation lawsuit

Wayfarer Studios has been ordered to pay The New York Times more than $171,000 after defamation lawsuit was dismissed

Justin Baldoni's Wayfarer Studios has been ordered to pay The New York Times more than $171,000 in damages after a New York judge dismissed the company's defamation lawsuit over the newspaper's reporting on Blake Lively's allegations connected to It Ends With Us.

According to court documents reviewed by Entertainment Weekly, New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits awarded The New York Times $171,616.20 after granting summary judgment in the publication's favour.

The legal dispute stemmed from a December 2024 investigation by The New York Times, which reported on Lively's original sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni.

The report was based on a pre-lawsuit filing submitted to the California Civil Rights Department concerning allegations related to the production of It Ends With Us.

In response to the article, Baldoni and nine other plaintiffs, including publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, filed a lawsuit against the newspaper.

The plaintiffs alleged libel, false light invasion of privacy and other claims, seeking $250 million in damages. The lawsuit was later dismissed.

Following that ruling, The New York Times filed a separate action in New York seeking to recover more than $150,000 in legal costs under the state's anti-SLAPP law, which is designed to protect against lawsuits intended to discourage public participation or reporting on matters of public interest.

A spokesperson for The New York Times welcomed the latest ruling, saying: "We're delighted by the court's decision. The anti-SLAPP statute is designed to combat exactly these kinds of meritless suits brought to silence the press."