Don Lemon Says Justin Baldoni New York Times Lawsuit Should Spark Change

For Don Lemon, the most interesting part of the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni beef is Justin's defamation lawsuit against the New York Times ... and he hopes it sparks change.

We got Don in NYC and our photog asked him about the story that's all the rage in Hollywood ... Blake vs. Baldoni.

Don tells us his East Coast bias kept him from giving the "It Ends With Us" drama much thought until he got to Hollywood ... but he says the part that's really fascinating is Justin's defamation claim against The Gray Lady.

The former CNN host says he's long thought celebrities should have more tools to punch back against hit pieces ... and he's glad Justin is standing his ground here.

Don says journalists, especially at the NYT, should be a lot more careful about what they write about celebrities -- the Baldoni article was the first to raise Blake's sexual harassment claims -- and he says media should be held more accountable when they print something false.

Don's not saying Justin has a slam-dunk case, but he wants to see how things play out ... but he explains why celebs usually have to shut up and take it when they are faced with bad publicity.

There's a landmark SCOTUS case Don cites here -- look it up, folks -- and he hopes the Baldoni lawsuit changes the way media operates in this country.