Justin Baldoni now claims to have irrefutable proof that Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds had been targeting him months before she filed her surprise Christmas lawsuit against him. As a result, Baldoni is amending his legal complaint against them.
Baldoni Uncovers Key Metadata Evidence
According to newly filed documents obtained by TMZ, Baldoni alleges that the “malicious and reckless” defamation campaign against him began as early as October 31, 2024. His team points to metadata embedded within a New York Times article about Lively’s lawsuit, which allegedly proves the defamatory article was in development months before its publication.
Baldoni’s legal team claims that observers found HTML source code within the article, referencing a “message-embed-generator” with the date “2024-10-31.” According to the lawsuit, this indicates that The New York Times had been preparing the story—and developing tools to display text messages—long before the lawsuit went public.
A Legal Battle Intensifies
Baldoni’s legal team asserts that this discovery removes any legal protections Blake Lively, The New York Times, and others involved may have relied on for their alleged acts of defamation.
Previously, Baldoni had already filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times for allegedly cherry-picking and manipulating text messages in their reporting. In addition, he is separately suing Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for $400 million, claiming they conspired to tarnish his reputation.
Attorney Speaks Out
Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, tells TMZ that amending the lawsuit was the “logical next step” due to the overwhelming new evidence that has surfaced.
“This fresh evidence corroborates what we knew all along—that Ms. Lively and her entire team colluded for months to destroy reputations through a complex web of lies, false accusations, and the manipulation of illicitly received communications,” Freedman states.
He further asserts that public interest in the case has only reinforced their claims, shedding light on “how deeply Ms. Lively and her representatives were involved in the smear campaign against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their teams.”
A Timeline of Alleged Collusion
The amended lawsuit now includes a meticulously detailed 150-page timeline that tracks Lively’s alleged campaign against Baldoni. It dates back to January 1, 2019, when Baldoni first emailed Colleen Hoover, the author of It Ends With Us, and follows the conflict step by step through January 29, 2025.
As of now, Lively’s camp has yet to respond publicly, but given the ongoing high-profile nature of the case, a statement is expected soon. The legal drama continues to unfold, with both sides entrenched in a heated battle for justice and reputation.
