Former publicist Justin Baldoni is suing Blake Lively for alleged defamation

That Blake Lively’s allegations against her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni continues to do so reverberates through Hollywooda new trial raised the stakes even higher.

Stephanie Jones, Baldoni’s former publicist, filed a complaint in New York Supreme Court on Tuesday, accusing the actor’s crisis relations team of a coordinated effort to undermine her and deflect blame for what she calls a smear campaign. of revenge against Lively.

The new process is added to increasing precipitation from Lively’s legal complaint filed last week in California. In it, the actor accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her on the set of the romantic drama and of orchestrating a campaign to discredit her after she raised concerns about a “hostile work environment”. Her complaint detailed allegations of “improvised physical intimacy” during scenes, pressure from Baldoni to achieve greater nudity than originally agreed upon, and a calculated effort to spread damaging stories about her in the media.

Jones alleges that Jennifer Abel, a former senior at her PR firm Jonesworks, worked with crisis manager Melissa Nathan on a “no-holds-barred strategy” to protect Baldoni from Lively’s misconduct allegations while undermining her own reputation of Jones. According to her lawsuit, the plan involved planting negative stories about Lively in the media, creating fake social media accounts to amplify the attacks and using Baldoni’s public image as a feminist ally to discredit her.

“Behind Jones’ back, (Abel and Nathan) secretly coordinated with Baldoni and (his studio) Wayfarer to implement an aggressive media smear campaign against Baldoni’s fellow filmmaker,” the lawsuit states.

Jones, who represented Baldoni and Wayfarer from 2017 until her termination in August 2024, claims the alleged scheme destroyed her professional relationship with the actor-director. Abel is accused of using confidential company information to poach clients and set up a competing PR firm.

“Defendants Abel and Nathan secretly conspired for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and (her PR firm) Jonesworks,” the lawsuit alleges, describing efforts to “steal clients and business prospects” while which blame for the smear campaign lies with Jones herself.

The filing includes excerpts from thousands of pages of text messages and emails that Jones says were pulled from Abel’s company-issued phone after she was fired from Jonesworks in August, shortly before the company’s relationship with Baldoni and Wayfarer to end. In one exchange, Abel described Baldoni as “pomp” and mocked his decision to attend a men’s retreat during the film’s release, writing: “He doesn’t need a retreat. He must be humbled.”

Jones accuses Abel and Nathan of using the controversy to “drive a wedge” between her and Baldoni, isolating her in the industry and damaging her career. Her lawsuit seeks damages and an injunction to stop what she describes as ongoing harassment and professional sabotage. “This lawsuit seeks to finally end their misconduct and to compensate Jones and Jonesworks for harm caused by the defendants’ conduct and scheme,” the filing states.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney representing Baldoni and the other defendants, could not immediately be reached for comment, but previously dismissed Lively’s claims against his clients as “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.”

As the Lively and Jones trials play out in the courts and in the public eye, the controversy has cast a sharp spotlight on the Hollywood PR playbook, exposing the darker corners of reputation management in an industry facing demands for a greater transparency and accountability.

The allegations have already had professional repercussions for Baldoni. Earlier this week, his talent agency WME dropped him as a client, and the nonprofit Vital Voices Global Partnership canceled an award honoring him as an advocate for women’s empowerment. In a statement, the organization said Baldoni’s alleged “disgusting behavior” detailed in Lively’s lawsuit is “contrary to the values ​​of Vital Voices and the spirit of the Award.”

Author Colleen Hoover, on whom the best-selling novel It Ends With Us was based, also expressed her support for Lively, writing on Instagram: “Blake’s ability to refuse to sit down and ‘be buried” was nothing short of inspiring.”