Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively: Inside the $400 Million Storm—and the Fallout He Can’t Ignore

Justin Baldoni just picked up another legal headache. The New York Times is now suing his production company, Wayfarer Productions, to claw back the money it spent defending itself in Baldoni's defamation case against the paper. Yes, this saga is still escalating.

The Times files its own suit

On September 30, the Times filed a nine-page complaint in New York Supreme Court seeking compensatory and punitive damages from Wayfarer. The gist: after beating Baldoni's claims in federal court, the paper wants its costs covered.

'The District Court's opinion makes clear that Wayfarer and its affiliates both commenced and continued the lawsuit against The Times without a substantial basis in fact and law.'

The filing also argues the Times article at issue was 'not actionable because they were based on the CRD complaint and therefore were subject to New York's fair report privilege and separately were not plausibly made with actual malice.'

No word yet on how Baldoni, Wayfarer, or his lawyers plan to respond to the Times' new move.

How we got here

• Baldoni first sued the Times for $250 million over its story titled 'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine, which covered Blake Lively's allegations against him (per The Wrap).
• He then folded the Times into an amended countersuit targeting Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Lively's publicist Lesli Sloane, bumping the ask to $400 million.
• U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Baldoni's suit against the Times.
• On September 30, the Times fired back with its own complaint against Wayfarer to recoup defense costs.
• Meanwhile, the broader Lively vs. Baldoni case is set for trial in March 2026 and keeps sprouting side plots.
• One of those side plots: on September 15, a man was arrested outside the home of Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift's fiancé, after allegedly trying to serve Swift with deposition papers in this case (per E! News).
• Baldoni's team told the court Swift was willing to be deposed but not before October 20 due to work commitments; they asked to push it to late October. Judge Liman denied the request, writing: 'The only justification they have provided for the extension is their assertion that Swift's preexisting professional obligations now prevent her from appearing for a deposition prior to October 20, 2025' (per CNN). The judge also noted Baldoni's lawyers waited until the last minute to ask.
• It remains unlikely Swift is deposed, but if that changes, her lawyers say her schedule will have to be accommodated. Also, Baldoni has added high-profile criminal defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro to his team; she has represented Diddy and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

The Swift-Kelce twist, explained

Yes, that really happened. A process server allegedly went to Kelce's place before dawn to serve Swift in a case between Baldoni and Lively. If it feels like the Hollywood-PR-media Venn diagram is turning into a circle, you're not wrong. This is one of those inside-baseball moments where a defamation fight brushes up against NFL news and pop stardom because of a deposition clock.

Where Baldoni's head is at

Despite the setbacks, Baldoni sounded upbeat when TMZ caught him at LAX. He said he's 'very grateful,' 'very positive,' and feeling 'a lot of love.' On taking the high road, he added: 'That's what we always try to do.' He declined to say more about the case but, per TMZ, seemed focused on staying positive and leaning on friends and family.

Bottom line: the Times wants its legal bills paid after getting Baldoni's suit tossed, the court calendar is ticking toward March 2026, and the sideshow keeps getting weirder. Stay tuned.