Justin Baldoni sued by former publicist over alleged Blake Lively smear campaign
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Justin Baldoni is being sued by his former publicist, Stephanie Jones, amid his legal woes against It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively. Jones is the founder of Jonesworks - which describes itself as a "strategy-driven communications & marketing agency representing an elite roster of athletes, talent & brands." One of her former employees, Jennifer Abel, had been assigned to handle Baldoni for his PR needs.
However, Jones has alleged that Abel planned to steal vital documents from her company in order to set up a firm of her own - and that it was Abel's idea to hire Melissa Nathan as Baldoni's crisis management PR. Jones claims she uncovered damning text messages between Abel and Nathan when she fired her employee and reviewed information on her company devices.
Jones has alleged she has suffered damage to her business and reputation and is now suing Baldoni, Abel, Jones and Baldoni's company, Wayfarer Studios, for defamation, breach of contract and more. She is reportedly seeking unspecified damages she believes her company has suffered.
In the document, seen by The Mirror, Jones said: "Defendants Abel and Nathan secretly conspired for months to publicly andprivately attack Jones and Jonesworks, to breach multiple contracts and induce contractual breaches, and to steal clients and business prospects. Behind Jones’s back, they secretly coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to implement an aggressive media smear campaign against Baldoni’s film co-star.".
Lawyer Kristin Tahler spoke to TMZ on behalf of Jones and said: "For months, this group has gaslit and disparaged Stephanie Jones and her company for financial gain, to settle personal scores and most recently to distract from their disgraceful smearing of Blake Lively." She added that Jones decided to take action in order to: "Recover the reputation she has worked decades to establish.".
