Importance Score: 65 / 100 🔴
Legal Action: Prominent Figures and Firms Take New York Times to Court
January 1, 2025: A coalition of significant individuals and organizations, including Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWW Communications, Wallace, and Street Relations, initiated legal proceedings against The New York Times on December 31.
As revealed by this action, the plaintiffs made several serious accusations against The New York Times. These include defamation, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract. The allegations stem from a published reports detailing accusations of a retaliatory smear campaign allegedly orchestrated by the plaintiffs against Lively. These actions were said to have occurred after Lively and others raised concerns about alleged misconduct on set.
Allegations and Denials Filings
Plaintiffs’ Arguments
The plaintiffs assert that the report is unfounded and based solely on Lively’s CRD complaint this includes citations from which must be placed into true context. They maintain that the communications referenced in the article and the complaint have been misinterpreted.
The legal filing states, “Despite its claim to have ‘reviewed these along with other documents[,]’ the Times 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 and exposed her true motives.”
The lawsuit further alleges that “it was Lively, not the Plaintiffs, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign.” She has refuted this particular accusation.
The New York Times Response
The renowned publication has pledged to “forcefully defend against the lawsuit” stating that “the role of an independent news establishment is to follow the facts where they lead.”
“Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.”