Justin Baldoni is facing a lawsuit from his former publicist, Steph Jones, amid a growing controversy over allegations of a smear campaign targeting Blake Lively. Jones, the owner of Jonesworks, claims that Baldoni violated their contract by failing to pay her $25,000 per month as agreed. Baldoni ended his relationship with Jonesworks in August, just months into their year-long deal, after Jennifer Abel, a publicist at the firm, left to start her own company.
Jones is also suing Abel and publicist Melissa Nathan, accusing them of orchestrating the alleged smear campaign against Lively behind her back. She claims they are now trying to shift the blame onto her as the scandal unfolds. “Abel and Nathan continue to falsely accuse Jones now that their own misconduct is being exposed, damaging her reputation in the industry,” the lawsuit states.
The legal battle follows a complaint filed by Lively with the California Civil Rights Department on Saturday. In her complaint, Lively alleges that Baldoni and his publicity team spread negative stories about her in retaliation for her claims of sexual harassment on set. Lively accuses Baldoni of making inappropriate comments and engaging in sexually inappropriate behavior during the filming of their 2023 movie It Ends With Us. She says she raised these concerns through her attorneys before the filming resumed earlier this year, after the Hollywood strikes were resolved.
Tensions between Baldoni and Lively had already become apparent during the film’s publicity tour last summer. Baldoni reportedly feared that Lively or her team might publicly accuse him of sexual misconduct. According to the complaint, Baldoni’s publicists discussed strategies to “bury” Lively in private text messages, which Lively’s legal team later obtained through a pre-litigation subpoena sent to Jones.
Abel, Nathan, and Baldoni are all represented by attorney Bryan Freedman. On Monday, Freedman threatened to sue Jones for releasing the contents of Abel’s phone to Lively’s legal team. Freedman, Abel, and Nathan have yet to respond to requests for comment regarding Jones’ lawsuit.
In her legal filing, Jones explains that she “forensically preserved” Abel’s company phone after Abel was fired. According to the lawsuit, the phone revealed the extent of Abel and Nathan’s alleged scheming, including efforts to encourage other Jonesworks clients and employees to leave the firm while Abel was still employed there. Jones claims she discovered evidence that Abel had been planning to leave her company for months, aiming to “steal” clients and damage Jones’s reputation in the industry.
The lawsuit also accuses Nathan of encouraging Abel to leave Jonesworks, as this would give Nathan better access to those same clients. Jones argues that this conspiracy caused significant harm to her business.
The suit includes allegations of breach of contract, interference with contractual relations, breach of fiduciary duty, and defamation. It was filed in state court in New York.
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