3-1-26 Bonus Ep! Justin Baldoni Plans To Appeal New York Times Judgement! Big Updates From Case & My Unfiltered Thoughts On War With Iran!

The Rush Hour With Dave Neal

Dave Neal

Society & Culture, Relationships

4.5 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 March 2026

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Bonus Episode: Baldoni & Wayfarer Strike Back

Sponsored by Wayfair. Get organized, refreshed, and back on track this new year for WAY less. Shop all things home at Wayfair.com

Go to rushhourwithdave.com for tickets to my upcoming Asheville NC, Stamford CT and Boston shows!

On this bonus episode of The Rush Hour, we dive deep into the escalating legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni — and the stunning next move from Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios.

After a major decision involving The New York Times, Baldoni and Wayfarer are preparing to appeal — signaling they're not backing down from the narrative that's taken over headlines. What exactly are they challenging? What does an appeal mean procedurally? And how could this reshape the public (and legal) fight between the two camps?

We break down:

Why Baldoni and Wayfarer believe the ruling deserves another look
The legal strategy behind appealing a decision tied to The New York Times
What this means for Blake Lively's position moving forward
The PR chess match unfolding in real time

This story isn't cooling off — it's entering a new phase. If you've been following every twist, this is the update you need.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Rush Hour, your daily dose of pop culture for your rush hour ride.
0:07.7	Buckle up and enjoy the drive with your host, stand-up comedian Dave Neal.
0:13.3	Hey folks, it's Dave Neal here with a special bonus episode of the Rush Hour podcast with an update regarding Justin Baldoni versus Blake lively, new information
0:23.2	coming out that Justin Baldoni and his team at Wayfair parties plan to appeal the judgment
0:29.6	that was against them in the New York Times case. I'm going to share exactly what this means,
0:34.6	and really the question becomes, why is this such a big cultural moment?
0:38.7	And if I could put my finger on the sort of the pulse of this pop culture story, I would say it has
0:45.2	a lot to do with people wanting a fighter. We live in a time right now where we're sick and tired
0:50.9	of being sort of railroaded by the man, big corporation. In this case, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, the power they have at the talent agencies. And, you know, you kind of see Baldoni as this underdog story. A lot of people are following. I think that is what has led this to be such a cultural moment. What makes it big for you? Leave a note in the
1:10.9	comment section. Either way, I'm going to share this. And listen, I'd be remiss if I wasn't discussing
1:16.1	what the hell is happening in the Middle East right now. And trust me when I say,
1:20.2	I understand if you don't want to come to me a bloke on YouTube to get all your news. That's
1:26.2	totally fine. I see myself mainly as a commentary
1:29.5	channel. Now every once in a while I break a story, but with the case of the Baldoni saga or
1:34.6	other stories I cover, I'm really just a guy sitting next to you at the bus stop telling you
1:39.5	what I think about things. I don't always get it right, but I'm not bought by anybody,
1:44.9	and I'm going to give you my honest opinion. That's the best I can do. So we'll dive into the Blake stuff. If you don't want to stick around, you can exit the train car at any time. Just pull the little bell there. We'll ding it and we'll let you off, right? I'm just, I'm driving the train or bus, whatever the hell it is. All right. So our good pal, Katie, from Without a Crystal Ball, said this.
2:03.3	I was told today by a source. I'm driving the train or bus, whatever the hell it is. All right. So our good pal, Katie, from Without a Crystal Ball, said this.
2:03.6	I was told today by a source that Wayfair intends to appeal the entire dismissal of their case.
2:09.2	While some creators are saying this is only for New York Times,
2:11.6	there is no way to simply appeal New York Times and not everyone involved because the ruling
2:16.9	overlapped all of the parties
	...

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