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Blake Lively filed an 80-page legal complaint against her It Ends With Us co-star, Justin Baldoni, on December 20, 2024. In the lawsuit, she accused him of s*xual harassment and claimed that Baldoni initiated a smear campaign against her. The documents also allegedly contain screenshots of private messages shared by Justin Baldoni with his PR team, including Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan.
In the screenshots, Baldoni is allegedly seen instructing his PR team to spread hateful posts on social media about Blake Lively. The 40-year-old asks his PR team to focus on "Reddit, TikTok and IG [Instagram]." Furthermore, it also shows them discussing a plan regarding the way to "bury" Lively.
As per a recent report by Variety, Blake's lawyers revealed on Monday, December 23, 2024, that they had obtained the screenshots via a subpoena to Jonesworks LLC. Stephanie Jones is the founder of Jonesworks LLC. Jones is a high-profile celebrity publicist who has worked for clients like Russell Wilson, Venus Williams, Tom Brady, and many others.
Interestingly, Jennifer Abel had been working for Stephanie Jones' company until recently. On August 21, 2024, Jones called Abel to her office and asked her to submit her company phone and sign some paperwork, as per the outlet. The former had allegedly discovered Jennifer Abel trying to start her firm.
Four months later, Jennifer Abel's chats with Justin Baldoni were leaked by a New York Times story and became part of Blake Lively's lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star.
Exploring the life of Stephanie Jones, who allegedly leaked Justin Baldoni's chats to Blake Lively
Originally from Arkansas, Stephanie Jones started her professional career in 2001 as a data management employee at Deutsch's advertising firm before transitioning to public relations.
After nearly a decade, she started Jonesworks. The PR agency grew in leaps and bounds, quickly gaining high-profile clients like Dream Works, Kendra Scott, and Randi Zuckerberg. Jones eventually grew her company into a 42-person system with offices in Los Angeles and New York City. She amassed a high-profile clientele, including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Tom Brady, and Scooter Braun.
However, her management style eventually started being questioned by employees. They allegedly lived in constant fear of getting reprimanded and troubled with legal action even after quitting. In a December 2023 incident, Jones was accused of harassing a DJ at a popular Brooklyn bar when she didn't play a song requested by Jonesworks' CEO.
Her agency has also faced a barrage of challenges in recent years, with big clients like Dwayne Johnson, Jeff Bezos, and many others bidding adieu. Additionally, Stephanie Jones has faced criticism for over-exercising control over other clients' brands, such as Tom Brady's.
As per Business Insider, an early Joneswork client revealed that she charged "exceptionally high" fees at around $10,000 a month and frequently switched publicists.
"She is effective, but she's a nightmare," the client allegedly said.
The client revealed that Stephanie Jones would yell at her, her employees, and her husband. She concluded by saying that the behavior is "less tolerated" at present.
Justin Baldoni's lawyer has commented on Blake Lively's team getting hold of the alleged text messages
Bryan Freedman, the attorney who represents Justin Baldoni, Jennifer Abel Melissa Nathan, Baldoni's Wayfarer Studios, and other parties involved in the case against Blake Lively, opined that his clients never subpoenaed over the matter. He said (via Hindustan Times):
“If all of the text messages were produced in that ‘subpoena,’ then Lively’s team knows the true facts of what actually happened and did not happen. The truth is completely different than what has been portrayed in the complaint and they know that.”
Meanwhile, Stephanie Jones' lawyer, Kristin Tahler, responded by countering that she was being made a 'scapegoat' for simply responding to a subpoena. He said:
“Desperate to shift attention away from their disgraceful sliming of Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni’s team is doubling down on their smears by going after someone who had nothing whatsoever to do with this ugly campaign.”
This is a developing story. Keep following for more updates.
