Harvey Weinstein backs Justin Baldoni in Blake Lively legal battle
Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein says he will “be watching closely” the ongoing legal battle between co-stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively as he revealed who he is backing.
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Harvey Weinstein has weighed in on the ongoing legal battle between Justin Baldoni and his co-star Blake Lively.
The convicted rapist — who is serving over a decade in prison for multiple sex crimes — said that he believes he and the “It Ends With Us” director were unjustly targeted by the New York Times.
In December 2024, the news outlet published an article titled, “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” which included partial texts from Baldoni’s PR teams claiming they could “bury anyone” — including Lively — in an apparent attempt to launch a smear campaign against her.
The “Jane the Virgin” alum and his publicists have since claimed in a bombshell $US250 million libel lawsuit against the NYT that the messages were taken out of context, “cherry-picked” and altered to tell a false narrative.
“Watching Justin Baldoni take legal action against the New York Times and its reporters — accusing them of manipulating communications and ignoring evidence that countered Ms. Lively’s claims — hit me hard,” Weinstein, 73, told TMZ.
He then claimed, “It brought back everything I experienced when the Times reported on me in 2017. They did the same thing: cherry-picked what fit their story and ignored critical context and facts that could have challenged the narrative.”
In 2017, the NYT published a scathing exposé about the disgraced Hollywood producer, with multiple women accusing Weinstein of sexual abuse spanning three decades for the piece.
The investigation — led by journalists Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Ronan Farrow — helped kickstart the #MeToo movement and won the outlet the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Danielle Rhoades, spokesperson for the New York Times, told Page Six in response to Weinstein’s remarks, “Our comprehensive investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against Mr. Weinstein was rigorously reported over many months and based on on-the-record interviews, legal settlements paid to accusers and other documents.
“None of the facts in our coverage are in dispute. Mr Weinstein acknowledged his misconduct in a statement that was published in full in The Times. He’s since been criminally convicted of rape and sexual assault.”
Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in a New York prison in 2020 for rape and sexual abuse, though that conviction was overturned by the New York Court of Appeals in 2024. He is looking to be found not guilty in a new New York trial set to begin April 15.
He was also hit with a separate 16-year sentence in 2023 for forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object after a California trial but appealed that decision, as well.
The former filmmaker added to TMZ Wednesday, “I should have stood up and fought back then. I should have had the courage to speak out against the way the truth was twisted. That failure still haunts me.”
Weinstein also noted that he will be watching Baldoni and Lively’s case “closely,” stating, “It matters to anyone who’s ever been on the receiving end of a media take-down, and even more to someone who’s had to pay a high legal price.”
Reps for Lively did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.
‘IT ENDS WITH US’ CO-STAR TURNS ON LIVELY
One of Blake Lively’s ‘It Ends With Us’ co stars has torn apart her claim about a nearly nude birth scene, revealing what really happened behind the scenes.
Adam Mondschein, who played obstetrician Dr Dunbar in the scene, said the movie star mischaracterised their scene and was “surprised” by her recollection of events.
“I’m not going to speculate as to Ms. Lively’s motivations for mentioning me in the complaint. Needless to say, my experience working with her is very different than the one she described in her lawsuit,” he told the New York Post’s Page Six.
“I was surprised to read her description of the scene.”
Lively alleged director Justin Baldoni hired his best friend to play the doctor, stating in her complaint that it was a “violative birthing scene” and that “the selection of Mr. Baldoni’s friend for this intimate role, in which the actor’s face and hands were in close proximity to her nearly nude genitalia for a birth scene, was invasive and humiliating”.
She alleged Baldoni failed to close the set while she was partially nude, with her legs spread wide in stirrups and only a small piece of fabric covering her genitalia.
Mondschein stated everything that occurred while filming was above board.
“Her costume included a full hospital gown, black shorts and torso-covering prosthetic to make her appear pregnant in addition to whatever personal garments she chose,” he said.
He also stated she never complained or expressed any discomfort “because nothing unusual or improper occurred – it was entirely professional”.
It comes a day after Lively apologised to Taylor Swift for dragging the pop star into her ongoing legal battle with Baldoni, a source exclusively tells Page Six.
“It was important to Blake to be on good terms again with Taylor. It was never her intention to hurt Taylor or cause any harm to their friendship,” an insider explains.
“Blake missed their friendship and she hopes they can put this whole thing behind them.”
The source says that Swift “appreciated” Lively’s apology and “felt it was genuine and heartfelt.”
“[Taylor] has no hard feelings and is ready to move forward,” the insider adds.
Reps for Swift, 35, and Lively, 37, weren’t immediately available to Page Six for comment.
The 14-time Grammy winner was named in the “It Ends With Us” co-stars’ legal dispute after Baldoni claimed in his USD$400 million lawsuit that Lively tried to use Swift’s influence as leverage to gain creative control of the film.
The “Jane the Virgin” star alleged he was at one point invited to Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds’ NYC penthouse, where a “famously close” friend was also present.
Baldoni claimed Reynolds and the “friend” — allegedly Swift — gushed over the “Gossip Girl” alum’s script rewrites for a scene in the domestic violence drama based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel.
Following the alleged meeting, Baldoni allegedly texted Lively about her revisions.
“I really love what you did. It really does help a lot,” he texted. “Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan or Taylor).”
The “Another Simple Favor” actress then allegedly responded by referring to Swift and Reynolds as “absolute titans” in the industry and the “dragons” who protected her, like Khaleesi in “Game of Thrones.”
Baldoni “felt obliged to text Lively to say that he had liked her pages and hadn’t needed Reynolds and her mega celebrity friend to pressure him,” per his lawsuit.
“The message could not have been clearer,” the lawsuit reads. “Baldoni was not just dealing with Lively. He was also facing Lively’s ‘dragons,’ two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who were not afraid to make things very difficult for him.”
In February, the actor’s lawyer Bryan Freedman hinted Swift could be called for deposition to “provide evidence” in the case, which is scheduled to go to trial in March 2026.
“I think that that’s going to be probably a game-time decision. … But I can tell you this, anyone that reasonably has information that can provide evidence in this case is going to be deposed,” Freedman said.
That same month, Page Six learned that the “Cruel Summer” songstress felt “used” by Lively and “doesn’t appreciate being referred to as one of Blake’s dragons.”
According to the source, “Taylor really wishes Blake hadn’t dragged her into this whole situation.”
However, another insider told us Swift is “not afraid” of potentially being deposed and has nothing to hide.
This story originally appeared in The New York Post and Page Six.
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Originally published as Harvey Weinstein backs Justin Baldoni in Blake Lively legal battle
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