‘It Ends With Us’ legal saga continues, this time, with director Justin Baldoni and his colleague Jennifer Abel filing a lawsuit against his publicist Stephanie Jones.
The suit, filed in New York federal court on Friday, accuses Jones of “maliciously” leaking private text messages that allegedly ignited the highly-publicized lawsuit with actress Blake Lively.
According to a report on Variety, Jones represented Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, during the summer of 2023 when reports of a conflict between the director and Lively first emerged. Abel, who was Jones’ partner at Joneswork PR, was the primary contact for Baldoni as speculation grew about why Lively and several cast members had unfollowed the director on Instagram.
Allegations of Privacy Violations
Baldoni’s legal team is accusing Jones of breaching client confidentiality and unlawfully sharing private communications. In a statement to Variety, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said, “It is undeniable that Stephanie Jones initiated this catastrophic sequence of events by violating the most basic of privacy rights, as well as any remaining trust her clients held.”
He further alleged that Jones shared the texts with Lively’s personal publicist, Leslie Sloane, after her termination from Wayfarer Studios. “No stranger to stirring up crisis scenarios for departing clients, Ms. Jones maliciously turned over communications from the phone she wrongfully took from her own partner to her cohort, [Lively’s publicist] Leslie Sloane, immediately after Jones was terminated for cause by Wayfarer due to her own wrongful behavior,” Freedman added.
The lawsuit against Jones is now the sixth filing from the controversy involving It Ends With Us cast and production members.
Lawsuits and Countersuits
The legal battle first sparked off in December 2024 when Lively filed a letter with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment during the film’s production. She also alleged that the actor and director orchestrated a ‘smear campaign’ against her in 2024 following the movie’s release.
In response, on New Year’s Eve, Baldoni—along with nine others, including crisis publicist Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel—filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the publication of defamation over its reporting on the conflict. He then went on to file a $400 million lawsuit against Blake and her husband Ryan Reynolds, accusing the couple of civil extortion, defamation, and other claims.
