Harvey Weinstein recently made headlines for supporting Justin Baldoni in his legal battle with Blake Lively and The New York Times. The former producer, who is currently in prison, compared Baldoni’s case to his own past media experiences.
Here’s why Weinstein chose to back Baldoni and how it links to the legal fight with Lively.
Why Harvey Weinstein is picking Justin Baldoni over Blake Lively
Speaking from prison, Weinstein told TMZ on April 9, 2025, that The Times “did the same thing” to him that Baldoni alleges they did—“cherry-picked what fit their story and ignored critical context and facts.”
Baldoni has sued The New York Times for $250 million. He claims the publication’s December 2024 article was “rife with inaccuracies.” Weinstein said Baldoni’s lawsuit “hit me hard.” “It brought back everything I experienced when The Times reported on me in 2017,” he added, referring to NYT’s story on sexual harassment allegations against him.
Baldoni has also filed a $400 million defamation and extortion lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. Lively has sued Baldoni for sexual harassment and retaliation, alleging on-set misconduct during It Ends With Us. Her legal team said in a January 2025 statement, “This is not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences’… Wayfarer and its associates engaged in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Ms. Lively” (via Variety). The lawsuits continue, with a trial scheduled for next year.
Weinstein drew parallels between Baldoni’s claims and his own 2017 experience with The Times, stating, “I should have had the courage to speak out against the way the truth was twisted. That failure still haunts me.” Megan Twohey, who reported on Weinstein in 2017, also has a byline on the 2024 Baldoni-Lively article. The Times defended its investigation into Weinstein, stating it “rigorously reported” the story using interviews, settlements, and documents, and added, “None of the facts in our coverage are in dispute.”
Weinstein remains on Rikers Island as he awaits retrial after a court overturned his 2020 conviction in 2024. He also faces a separate 16-year sentence from a California case.
