The New York Times is asking a federal judge to dismiss Justin Baldoni's defamation suit against the paper for its role in publishing a bombshell report that ignited his legal battle with Blake Lively.

The New York Times said that Justin Baldoni's defamation suit over a December article is "insufficient" and should be dismissed.

The New York Times, which had a hand in igniting the public war of words between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni by publishing a story over alleged misconduct in the filming of It Ends With Us, has moved to dismiss a defamation lawsuit accusing it conspiring with the actress’ public relations team to advance a distorted narrative.