Actor Justin Baldoni files $250 million defamation suit against New York Times

Lively previously filed a lawsuit against Baldoni for sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and more. Lively also claims that Baldoni executed and participated in a "social manipulation" campaign to destroy her career and reputation. 

However, Baldoni and other plaintiffs, including Hollywood public relations gurus, assert that the Times article "deliberately omitted portions of text exchanges and other information that contradicted the actress's version of events." They claim the Times defamed them in the process, leaving out critical context from communications that dispute many of Lively's claims.

"The article's central thesis, encapsulated in a defamatory headline designed to immediately mislead the reader, is that plaintiffs orchestrated a retaliatory public relations campaign against Lively for speaking out about sexual harassment - a premise that is categorically false and easily disproven," the 87-page lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by attorney Bryan Freedman, claims. 

"The Times story 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 suit continues.

The Times stands by its reporting. 

The lawsuit also claims the Times published its report before the deadline that was given to Baldoni's reps to respond in order to "pay lip service to journalistic ethics and fundamental fairness" but "never intended-or wanted-for Plaintiffs to respond." 

Talent agency William Morris Endeavor dropped Baldoni as a client on the heels of the Times piece, according to the paper. 

Freedman did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment about Baldoni's claims about the Times. He previously told The Times that Lively's initial claims were "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media."

Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz and Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.