Actor Justin Baldoni sued over alleged smear campaign against Blake Lively amid sexual harassment claims
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According to Page Six, former publicist Stephanie Jones, has also filed legal action against his production company Wayfarer Studios, and his crisis PR team.
Jones, who runs the PR firm Jonesworks, alleges that Baldoni and his crisis management team orchestrated a campaign to smear actress Blake Lively, who has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and inappropriate on-set behaviour. According to Jones, this campaign was not only an attempt to damage Lively’s reputation but also to distance Baldoni from Jones herself.
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Hide AdJones claims her former employee, Jennifer Abel, worked with "crisis fixer" Melissa Nathan to coordinate this campaign. Court documents obtained by Page Six allege that Abel and Nathan “coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to implement an aggressive media smear campaign” targeting Lively. Jones further alleges that the actions were part of an effort to "drive a wedge" between her and Baldoni.
Abel, who now represents Baldoni independently after leaving Jonesworks, is accused of attempting to steal company documents to poach clients and start her own business. Jones shared subpoenaed text messages in her lawsuit that she claims show Abel criticising Baldoni. In one message, Abel allegedly referred to Baldoni as “pompous” and stated: “When this movie flops, he’s going to try to blame every person around him for it.” Another text reportedly included a remark that Blake Lively was “probably grossed out too.”
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Abel, however, has denied the allegations, claiming she resigned amicably from Jonesworks. Documents provided to Page Six appear to show she left the firm on good terms, with a source calling Jones’ lawsuit “retaliatory.”
Lively has accused Baldoni of inappropriate behaviour on the set of It Ends With Us, which he directed and co-starred alongside her. She alleges he improvised during intimate scenes, made inappropriate comments about his past porn addiction, and used a “digital army” to promote negative content about her.
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Hide Ad“Lively claimed Baldoni used ‘a digital army … to create, seed, and promote content’ portraying her in a negative light,” according to Page Six.
Baldoni has denied the allegations, calling them “fabricated” and “salacious” through his attorney Bryan Freedman, who described the PR team’s actions as “standard scenario planning” rather than a malicious effort. The allegations have drawn support for Lively from her co-stars Jenny Slate and Brandon Sklenar.
Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, has not directly addressed the controversy but shared a cryptic Instagram post referencing a challenging time. Reynolds reportedly blocked Baldoni on social media before the film’s release and was present at a prior meeting addressing Baldoni’s alleged on-set behaviour.
Reports of Baldoni’s alleged on-set behaviour surfaced earlier this year when The Daily Mail published claims describing the actor and director as "chauvinistic" and "borderline abusive" during the production of It Ends With Us. The same day, Page Six reported that Baldoni created an “extremely difficult” atmosphere for the entire cast behind the scenes.
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Hide AdSpeculation about a rift between Baldoni and his co-star Lively grew during the film's press tour. Baldoni conducted most of his promotional appearances alone and avoided posing for photos with the cast at the movie's New York premiere.
Fans further noticed that Lively, author Colleen Hoover, and co-star Jenny Slate did not follow Baldoni on Instagram, fuelling rumours of discord among the team.
Amid the controversy, co-star Brandon Sklenar publicly defended the women involved in the film. In an Instagram post on August 20, he wrote: "Colleen and the women of this cast stand for hope, perseverance, and for women choosing a better life for themselves. Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about. It is, in fact, the opposite of the point."
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