Blake Lively’s claims co-star launched smear campaign gets support in publicist lawsuit

NEW YORK (AP) — Blake Lively’s claims that “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni launched a smear campaign against her have gained support in a new lawsuit filed by Baldoni’s former publicist against him.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in New York state court in Manhattan by Stephanie Jones, who began representing Baldoni in 2017. The actor and his film production company, Wayfarer, were said to have extended their contract into 2020, agreeing to pay a monthly fee of $25,000.

The suit alleged that Baldoni, 40, and Wayfarer last August, when the film was released, teamed up with publicists to try to “bury” and “destroy” Lively, amid fears that allegations of misogynistic and toxic behavior on the set of the romantic drama. was made could damage his reputation and career.

Jones is seeking unspecified damages from the defendants, including Jennifer Abel, a former employee who she says ran the campaign to harm Lively and tarnish Jones’ reputation.

The suit alleges that Abel was fired after Jones learned on August 21 that Abel had “stole over 70 confidential and sensitive business documents and additional leads” from Jonesworks as Abel prepared to leave the firm to- and set up his own advertising company, taking with him. Baldoni and Wayfarer as clients.

The suit also alleges that Abel teamed up with Melissa Nathan, a crisis management expert who previously represented actor Johnny Depp, in an attempt to influence and control media content damaging to Lively and Jones.

Numerous text messages included in the lawsuit were pulled from the company phone that Abel returned to Jonesworks when she was fired, the lawsuit states.

In response to a request for comment Wednesday, Abel sent an email that included screenshots of text messages between her and Jones, along with a July 26 email she sent to Jones, two weeks after announced his plans during a Zoom call to leave the company. August 23.

In the email, she wrote, in part: “I know this path will not be easy, but I hope I can keep you in my life as a mentor, friend and close confidant because I truly see you as family and be lost without your support I want to assure you, however I can, that unlike those who have burned you in the past, there is not an ounce of ill will here.”

She added: “I’ve left a company before with grace and with my relationships intact and that’s what I fully plan and hope for.”

Nathan did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Last week, Lively filed a complaint with the California Department of Civil Rights, a step that often precedes filing a lawsuit, alleging that Baldoni tried to damage her reputation after Lively, 37, and her husband Ryan Reynolds addressed “repeated sexual harassment” by Baldoni and a producer of the film.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney representing Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, called the claims in Lively’s filing “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.”

He dismissed Lively’s allegations of a coordinated campaign, saying the studio had “proactively” hired a crisis manager “due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production.”

A message left to Freedman Wednesday seeking comment on the lawsuit filed by Jones was not immediately returned.

“It Ends With Us,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling 2016 novel, opened in August, beating box office expectations with a $50 million debut and sales approaching the the latter of 350 million dollars.

Baldoni starred in the soap opera “Jane the Virgin,” directed “Five Feet Apart” and wrote “Man Enough,” a book that challenges traditional notions of masculinity.