Justin Baldoni’s publicist left his PR firm due to toxic work environment

Last update:December 26, 2024, 4:47 PM IST

Stephanie Jones has accused actor Justin Baldoni’s publicist, Jennifer Abel, of stealing documents and poaching clients.

It Ends With Us was released in August. (Photo credits: YouTube)

All is not well between the It Ends With Us co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Blake filed a lawsuit in California accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment. In the midst of this, a report claimed that Baldoni’s publicist, Jennifer Abel, had left her previous position following the assault allegations. His former publicist, Stephanie Jones, founder of PR firm Jonesworks, filed a defamation lawsuit against Jennifer Abel, accusing her of breach of contract. The lawsuit also names Baldoni’s crisis manager, Melissa Nathan, and his production company, Wayfarer Studios.

Stephanie Jones’ lawsuit centers on allegations of client poaching, document theft and a smear campaign against actress Blake Lively. She alleged that Jennifer Abel’s actions were part of a larger scheme to smear her reputation and secure high-profile clients, including Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios.

TheWrap cited a source close to Jennifer Abel who said she left Jonesworks because of the toxic environment. The insider said the former PR firm employee decided to quit because of Jones’ “bullying” behavior towards her colleague Matthew Mitchell. The latter was Abel’s partner in accounts for Wayfarer Studios, Baldoni and “most other clients, including her. references in her texts” after her exit.

Jennifer Abel, after resigning from Jonesworks on July 10, opened her own PR firm, RWA Communications. The last working day was scheduled for August 23. However, she was fired from the company two days earlier, on August 21, after allegations emerged that she tried to obtain customer information and some documents.

Speaking of Wayfarer Studio and Baldoni leaving Jonesworks, the source said, “They weren’t ‘stolen’ and neither were any other clients,” adding that the others who left the PR firm were Abel’s longtime clients from her years before join Jonesworks. the client left Jonesworks because Abel “had personally signed while at Jonesworks, who had no relationship with Stephanie Jones.”

In her lawsuit filed Tuesday, Dec. 24, Stephanie Jones alleged that Jennifer Abel and crisis manager Melissa Nathan, along with Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, implemented an aggressive media smear campaign against Blake Lively. In court documents, she also noted that Abel stole 70 confidential documents, encouraged his clients to leave his firm and spread false rumors against Jones.