Justin Baldoni’s Crisis PR Team Faces Lawsuit From Ex-Publicist

Justin Baldoni's former publicist is making one thing crystal clear: she had no involvement in the alleged smear campaign against Blake Lively. In fact, she's now taking legal action against the two women Lively accused, claiming they also worked to damage her reputation.

According to the legal documents, Jones explains that her former employee, Jennifer Abel, was assigned to handle Baldoni's publicity. When tensions surrounding the "It Ends With Us" production began to escalate, Abel brought in crisis PR expert Melissa Nathan to manage the fallout. As a reminder, Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan are the two publicists named in Blake Lively's accusations of orchestrating a smear campaign.

Stephanie Jones is a high-profile celebrity publicist representing stars like Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, Venus Williams, and, most recently, Justin Baldoni.

Stephanie Jones filed a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, Jennifer Abel, Melissa Nathan, and Baldoni's production company, Wayfarer Studios, citing defamation, breach of contract, and additional claims. In her legal filing, Jones is seeking unspecified damages, arguing that her company has suffered significant harm as a result of their alleged actions.

In the court filings obtained by TMZ, Jones alleges that Jennifer and Melissa's real objective was "tearing down Jones' reputation to take her clients and enrich themselves upon Abel's planned departure from" Jones' PR firm.

The lawsuit reportedly includes text messages between Abel and Nathan. In one message, Nathan allegedly tells Abel, "I know. And once you are gone — we will be on accounts together and make really good money and be happy." Other texts reportedly discuss Abel’s plan to leave Jones' firm and take Baldoni with her as a client.

Perhaps most strikingly, Jones claims that Abel didn’t even like Baldoni. In one alleged text, Abel reportedly said, "I can't stand him. He's so pompous. ... you're not that important and nobody gives a sh-t how hard your life is."

But that's not all, because more explosive allegations have surfaced in Stephanie Jones' lawsuit against her former employee, Jennifer Abel, and crisis PR specialist Melissa Nathan.

According to TMZ, the legal documents claim Jennifer allegedly sent messages suggesting that Justin Baldoni needed to be “taken down a notch.” In one text, she reportedly speculated that the movie might underperform at the box office, writing, "He needs to be humbled. When this movie flops, he's going to try to blame every person around him for it."

But the alleged scheming didn’t stop there. Stephanie claims that Jennifer and Melissa also turned their focus on her, actively working with media contacts to plant damaging stories about her reputation. One example cited in the suit references an article titled, "Who's Afraid of Stephanie Jones?"

The lawsuit also points to additional texts that paint a clear picture of Jennifer and Melissa’s alleged intentions. In one message, Jennifer reportedly texted Melissa, "We are going to war ... I feel so alive hahahahah." Melissa allegedly replied with equal enthusiasm, telling Jennifer she planned to leave Stephanie’s firm "with a BANG."

Her lawyer, Kristin Tahler, told TMZ, "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," adding that Jones is suing "recover the reputation she has worked decades to establish."

This latest lawsuit comes after news broke that Blake Lively had filed a legal complaint against her "It Ends with Us" co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment during the film's production and alleging he later orchestrated a targeted "smear campaign" against her.

The complaint, filed with the California Civil Rights Department as a required step before initiating a formal lawsuit, sheds light on long-standing speculation about reported tensions between Baldoni, the film's director, and other members of the cast.

Blake Lively's 80-page legal complaint includes excerpts from thousands of text messages and emails exchanged among Justin Baldoni, public relations executive Jennifer Abel, and crisis management specialist Melissa Nathan.

As the legal battle unfolds, it’s clear that the fallout from the "It Ends With Us" controversy has extended far beyond the initial allegations, with reputations, careers, and relationships hanging in the balance.