A former publicist for actor Justin Baldoni, Stephanie Jones, has filed a lawsuit against Baldoni’s current publicist, Jennifer Abel, accusing her of breaching contractual terms and defaming Jones. The lawsuit alleges that Abel conspired with Baldoni to harm Jones and her agency, Jonesworks, and steal clients. The lawsuit also claims that Abel and crisis communications representative Melissa Nathan, in conjunction with Baldoni, engaged in a smear campaign against Baldoni’s co-star Blake Lively. Lively had previously filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation facilitated by Abel and Nathan.
The lawsuit revealed text messages allegedly obtained from Abel’s work phone, in which she criticized Baldoni and expressed negativity towards him. Jones alleges that Abel and Nathan launched a smear campaign against her and Lively while planning to establish their own competing PR business.
Following Lively’s complaint, support for her has been widespread in Hollywood, with organizations like SAG-AFTRA and Sony Pictures Entertainment backing her. Baldoni has been dropped by his talent agency, WME, and has not publicly addressed Lively’s complaint or Jones’ lawsuit. Jones is seeking a jury trial to put an end to the alleged misconduct and seek compensation for the damage inflicted on her and her agency by the defendants’ actions.
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