Justin Baldoni is probably going to have an even worse Christmas than expected, and things are already pretty bad amid claims of sexual harassment, retaliation, and a Seraph of the End smear campaign from Blake Lively It looked like.
Once a feminist ally, Lively’s claims portraying her as misogynistic, narrow-minded, and dim-witted have led her to be heavily criticized and increasingly shunned by Hollywood establishment figures, podcast co-hosts, and nonprofit organizations. Baldoni has just faced his first formal lawsuit. A growing scandal. Now Stephanie Jones, the Jane the Virgin veteran’s former PR company founder, is suing him, Wayfarer Studios, and publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel for defamation, breach of contract, and more. I am doing it.
“Defendants Abel and Nathan secretly conspired for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and Jones Works, and to compromise multiple contracts,” the eight-count indictment filed by Quinn Emanuel, director of public relations, states. “Incited breaches and breaches of contract, and stole customers and business prospects.” This Christmas Eve.
“Behind Jones’ back, they secretly worked with Baldoni and Wayfarer to conduct an aggressive media smear campaign against Baldoni’s film co-stars, and then used this crisis as an opportunity to drive a wedge between Jones and Baldoni. The jury trial application filed in New York state court added that the smear campaign against Jones was carried out without Jones’ knowledge or involvement. There is.
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While the entire BTS IEWU was in turmoil both on and off the set, Abel left Jones Works in early July and established his own PR company, RWA Communications.
Jones’ lawsuit depicts this as a sudden departure from the jump in an apparently despicable manner. Still, Abel claimed in a now-deleted Facebook post that Jones was fully aware of the astroturfing campaign that was planned against Lively, Baldoni, Wayfarer, and several other clients. I moved to a new company with my girlfriend. Mr Jones is seeking various unspecified damages and court orders against the defendants, although Mr Abel appears to have continued to have a professional relationship with Nathan Crisis public relations firm TAG until recently.
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“To this day, Abel and Nathan continue to falsely accuse Jones and continue to slander and attack Jones within the industry, even as their own misconduct has come to light,” Jones and Jonesworks’ complaint states. ” and denies any involvement or involvement. Knowledge of what’s going on.
Of course, this is pretty standard in these PR breakups, along with claims that company documents and client documents were downloaded and stolen. But in what could become the new norm, Jones’ filing, like Lively’s filing late last week with the California Department of Civil Rights, marks the first look between the defendants. It’s chock-full of incriminating sentences.
In this case, after seeing his mediation efforts rejected, Jones himself drops a bombshell that could detonate the relationship between former employee Abel and former client Baldoni. For example: “I can’t stand him. He’s so arrogant,” reads an email about Baldoni that Abel sent to an unknown recipient earlier this year. Plus, “You’re not that important and no one cares how difficult your life is.”
In another email, Abel appears to be badmouthing his friend Nathan, with whom he is said to be working, calling her “a piece of shit.”
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(LR) Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni “It Ends with Us”
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Baldoni and Wayfarer had just re-contacted Jones Works for a monthly fee of $25,000 from May 2024 to May 2025. “This has had a material adverse effect on the company’s operations,” Jones claims. and Jones Works’ business and reputation. Abel, Nathan, and their mutual attorney Brian Friedman have not responded to Deadline’s requests for comment about Jones’ claims or legal action, but this post will be updated if they respond.
Mr. Baldoni also did not speak.
Although briefly spotted around town this week, the actor and producer was fired by Lively and Reynold’s former mutual agency, WME, on Dec. 21. As a result, while Lively is accepted by big stars, co-stars, and SAG, he suffers rejection from the streets. – Awarded by AFTRA and others for her “courage” in speaking out about harassment allegations and media and online efforts to “ruin” her. But Jones’ actions today are a sign that some people are calling it an “it” move, as this is undoubtedly the first of many lawsuits to come in the next two weeks, including one from Lively herself.・It is seen as an attempt to distance himself from the turmoil of “End with Us” and take revenge on himself. For Abel’s resignation.
Sources familiar with Abel’s departure from Jones Works also say it wasn’t as rough as Jones is making it out to be. Although Abel announced her resignation from JonesWork after four years on July 10, Flack actually remained with the company for several more weeks, during which Jones unsuccessfully tried to get her to stay. Her husband, WME agent Jason Hodes, was also involved. At some point.
Jones’ lawsuit is both a defense and an attack on Adel’s emails and other communications, in which Adele (a.k.a. “Guess what I’m going to do from there,” after a Facebook post from last weekend was deleted) Lively’s legal department. Teams will use it as part of their CCRD submission.
Mr. Jones’ filing states:
When it comes to information and belief, since being fired from Jones Works, Abel has continued to attack Jones within the industry, using a tried-and-true strategy to debunk any and all sources that might reveal her own wrongdoing. Trust was preemptively denied. Abel falsely stated to other participants in the public relations industry that Jones was attempting to distribute doctored text messages purporting to be from Abel in retaliation for Abel’s resignation. She also tried again to blame Jones, using her role in the campaign against Lively’s publication as cover. However, Mr. Jones has never tampered with text messages and has no reason to do so. Abel’s text messages were forensically extracted directly from the company phone he used while working at Jones Works, and upon his departure in the presence of his employment attorney, Jones Works chief of staff, and an IT expert. It was voluntarily returned to Jones Works for storage. original condition. And as it has clearly become clear, the text messages themselves are enough to incriminate Abel and Nathan, without even needing to be doctored.
This echoes what Lively’s own legal team told Deadline on December 23rd.
“The subpoenas disclosed and referenced in the complaint were served on Jones Works LLC,” Lively’s Manatt Phelps & Phillips and members of Willkie Farr & Gallagher Law Guard told Deadline on Monday. “The internal documents referenced in the complaint were produced pursuant to that subpoena. We expect further details regarding the subpoena process to be disclosed during discovery.”
You’ve heard by now, this is really just the beginning.
