Justin Baldoni gets sued by his former publicist amid Blake Lively controversy

Justin Baldoni and his PR team are being sued by Steph Jones, his former publicist, for breach of contract and defamation amid his controversy with It Ends with Us co-star Blake Lively.

International outlets like Forbes and Variety reported that Jones, owner of Jonesworks, has filed a lawsuit against the actor, his company Wayfarer Studios, and his publicity team Jennifer Abel and crisis PR manager Melissa Nathan for breach of contract and defamation.

Detailing the case, Jones alleged that Abel, who previously worked for her firm, was the one who pushed Baldoni to drop her company in August. She also claimed that when Abel was still with them, she made false accusations about Jones and “actively encouraged other Jonesworks clients and employees to leave Jonesworks,” which was discovered on Abel’s company phone after she was fired. She was allegedly joined by Nathan in the act. 

“This scheme ultimately inflicted serious damage on Jones and Jonesworks,” according to the lawsuit obtained by Variety. 

Jones also accused Nathan of encouraging Abel to leave her company to conspire with the latter “to steal Baldoni and Wayfarer as clients from Jonesworks, and to smear Jones and Jonesworks in the press.” The lawsuit also stated that Jones did not want to work with Nathan because she had seen her “do work for a client that went ‘far over the line,’” but Baldoni hired her anyway, per a Forbes report.

Jones likewise claimed in her lawsuit that the two launched a smear campaign against Lively without her knowledge, stressing that such works do not “appropriately reflect [Jonesworks’] integrity and ethos,” which the two allegedly used to taint her image in the industry. 

“To this day, Abel and Nathan continue to point the finger falsely at Jones now that their own misconduct is coming to light, and to defame and attack Jones in the industry,” the lawsuit stated. 

Abel and 10 others were also accused of defamation after they allegedly made websites intended to harm Jones’ reputation by making false and planting negative stories about her in the media.