Justin Baldoni has reportedly uncovered new evidence that could strengthen his case against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds in their ongoing legal battle. The It Ends With Us star and director is now accusing the Hollywood power couple of conspiring against him months before Lively’s unexpected lawsuit was filed on Christmas Day.
According to fresh legal documents obtained by TMZ, Baldoni claims that a calculated effort to defame him began as early as October 31. His legal team points to metadata from a New York Times article covering Lively’s lawsuit, arguing that it provides critical proof of an orchestrated smear campaign. The metadata reportedly references a “message-embed-generator” timestamped to late October—long before Lively’s accusations were made public.
Baldoni’s attorneys assert that this discovery is a game-changer, as it challenges the legal protections Lively, The New York Times, and other involved parties have relied on in their defense. If proven, this would suggest that the article was being prepared well in advance of the lawsuit’s announcement, undermining the narrative that the claims against Baldoni emerged organically.
As a result, Baldoni is expanding his legal action. He has already filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds for defamation and extortion. Now, he is also suing The New York Times for $250 million, arguing that the publication was complicit in spreading false information about him.
His attorney, Bryan Freedman, defended the decision to escalate the case, stating that the newly uncovered evidence aligns with their long-standing suspicion—that Lively and her team deliberately worked behind the scenes for months to destroy Baldoni’s reputation. He further accused Lively of spearheading a coordinated attack against Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, purely for self-serving reasons.
Freedman insisted that this latest revelation provides undeniable proof that Lively and her associates were not simply reacting to events as they unfolded but were actively engaged in a premeditated effort to discredit Baldoni long before the lawsuit became public knowledge.