As Blake Lively's allegations against her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni continue to resonate in Hollywood, a new lawsuit has raised the stakes even further.
Stephanie Jones, Baldoni's former publicist, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in New York Supreme Court, accusing the actor's crisis public relations team of making a concerted effort to undermine her and deflect blame for what she calls a campaign of retaliatory defamation directed at Lively.
The new lawsuit adds to the growing fallout from Lively's lawsuit filed last week in California. In it, the actor accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her on the set of the romantic drama and orchestrating a campaign to discredit her after she raised concerns about a “hostile work environment.” Her complaint details allegations of “improvised physical intimacy” during scenes, pressure from Baldoni to perform greater nudity than originally agreed upon, and a calculated effort to spread damaging stories about her in the press.
Jones alleges that Jennifer Abel, a former senior figure at her public relations firm Jonesworks, collaborated with crisis manager Melissa Nathan on a “no holds barred strategy” to protect Baldoni from Lively's misconduct allegations while also undermine Jones' own reputation. 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 leveraging 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 will implement an aggressive media smear campaign against the film’s co-star Baldoni,” the lawsuit states.
Jones, who represented Baldoni and Wayfarer from 2017 until his firing in August 2024, claims the alleged scheme destroyed his professional relationship with the actor and director. Abel is accused of using confidential company information to recruit clients and lay the groundwork for a competing public relations 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 customers and business prospects” while blaming Jones herself for the smear campaign.
The filing includes excerpts from thousands of pages of text messages and emails that Jones says were taken from Abel's company-issued phone after his dismissal from Jonesworks in August, shortly before the company's relationship with him ended. Baldoni and Wayfarer. In one exchange, Abel allegedly described Baldoni as “pompous” and mocked his decision to attend a men's retreat during the film's premiere, writing: “He doesn't need a retreat. He needs to be humiliated.”
Jones accuses Abel and Nathan of using the controversy as a weapon 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 put an end to their continued misconduct and compensate Jones and Jonesworks for the harm that Defendants' conduct and scheme have inflicted,” the filing reads.
Bryan Freedman, an attorney representing Baldoni and the other defendants, could not immediately be reached for comment, but he previously dismissed Lively's claims against her clients as “false, scandalous and intentionally lewd.”
As Lively and Jones' lawsuits play out in the courts and in the public eye, the controversy has shone a spotlight on Hollywood's public relations playbook, exposing the darkest corners of reputation management in an industry facing calls for greater transparency and accountability.
The accusations 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 rescinded an award honoring him as an advocate for women's empowerment. In a statement, the organization said Baldoni's alleged “abhorrent conduct” detailed in Lively's lawsuit was “contrary to the values of Vital Voices and the spirit of the Award.”
Author Colleen Hoover, on whose 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' has been nothing short of inspiring.” .
