As Blake Lively’s allegations against It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni continue to reverberate across Hollywood, a new lawsuit raises the stakes even further.
Stephanie Jones, Ms. Baldoni’s former publicist, filed a complaint in New York Supreme Court on Tuesday, alleging that Ms. Baldoni’s crisis communications team undermined her and led a retaliatory smear campaign targeting Ms. Lively. They accused him of making a concerted effort to deflect the criticism he was facing.
The new lawsuit adds to the fallout from Lively’s legal complaint filed last week in California. The lawsuit accuses Baldoni of sexually harassing her on the set of a romantic drama and orchestrating a campaign to discredit her after she raised concerns about a “hostile working environment.” did. Her complaint includes “impromptu physical intimacy” on set, pressure from Baldoni to perform greater nudity than originally agreed, and attempts to spread harmful stories about her in the press. It detailed the calculated efforts made to do so.
Mr. Jones said Jennifer Abel, a former executive at public relations firm JonesWorks, worked with crisis manager Melissa Nathan to protect Mr. Baldoni from Mr. Lively’s fraud allegations while also protecting Mr. Jones’ own reputation. He claims that he has devised a “no strategy” to harm the government. Her complaint alleges the scheme involved planting negative stories about Ms. Lively in the media, creating fake social media accounts to amplify the attacks, and exploiting Ms. Baldoni’s public image as a feminist ally. It is said that this included trying to destroy her credibility by doing so.
“Behind Jones’ back,[Abel and Nathan]secretly worked with Baldoni and[his studio]Wayfarer to conduct an aggressive media smear campaign against Baldoni’s film co-stars,” the complaint states. There is.
Jones, who represented Baldoni and Wayfarer from 2017 until he was fired in August 2024, claims the alleged conspiracy destroyed his professional relationship with the actor-director. Abel is accused of using confidential business information to poach clients and entice rival PR firms.
“Defendants Abel and Nathan secretly conspired for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and[her PR firm]Jonesworks,” the complaint alleges, while placing the blame for the smear campaign on Jones herself. It describes efforts to “steal customers and business prospects.”
The filing includes excerpts from thousands of pages of text messages and emails that Mr. Jones said were between the company, Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Wayfarer after Mr. Abel was fired from Jones Works in August. The documents were reportedly extracted from a company-issued mobile phone shortly before the end of the relationship. In one exchange, Abel described Baldoni as “arrogant” and ridiculed Baldoni’s decision to attend a men’s training camp during the film’s release, saying, “He doesn’t need a training camp. He’s humble. It is necessary to become
Jones accused Abel and Nathan of using the controversy to “drive a wedge” between him and Baldoni, isolating him within the industry and damaging his career. Her lawsuit seeks damages and a court order to stop what she says is ongoing harassment and professional interference. “This lawsuit seeks to finally halt the continued illegal conduct of Jones Company and Jones Works, and to provide restitution for the harm caused by Defendants’ actions and plans,” the filing says. .
Brian Friedman, the attorney representing Mr. Baldoni and the other defendants, could not be reached for comment, but he previously called Mr. Lively’s claims against his clients “false, outrageous, and intentionally despicable.” was rejected.
As the Lively and Jones cases play out in court and in the public eye, the controversy has put a harsh spotlight on Hollywood’s PR strategies, an industry in need of greater transparency and accountability. exposes the dark side of reputation management.
The allegations have already affected Mr. Baldoni professionally. Earlier this week, his talent agency WME removed him as a client and the nonprofit organization Vital Voices Global Partnership rescinded an award honoring him as an advocate of women’s empowerment. The group said in a statement that Baldoni’s “abhorrent conduct” detailed in Lively’s lawsuit “is contrary to Vital Voices’ values and the spirit of the award.”
Author Colleen Hoover, whose best-selling novel The End of Us is based on, also expressed support for Lively, writing on Instagram, “Blake’s ability to refuse to sit back and ‘bury’ is nothing short of inspiring.” writes.
