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The conflict surrounding "It Ends with Us" has reignited, becoming a public focal point after months of relative quiet. Blake Lively, the film's star, recently accused director and co-star Justin Baldoni (pictured right) of sexual harassment and conspiring with a public relations firm to manipulate media narratives and damage her image. The latest development reveals that not only is Lively suing Baldoni, but the PR firm Baldoni hired has also filed a lawsuit against him.
Stephanie Jones (pictured below), founder of the PR firm Joneswork, recently sued Baldoni for breach of contract. Their agreement stipulated Baldoni would pay Jones $25,000 per month for a year, but he allegedly terminated the partnership unilaterally in August, just a few months after signing the contract.
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Jones has also filed suit against her former employees, Jennifer Abel (pictured below) and Melissa Nathan, alleging that they conspired with Baldoni to launch a smear campaign against Lively without her authorization and are now attempting to shift all responsibility onto her.
However, Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, is not backing down. He recently announced plans to sue Jones for allegedly leaking private messages—which purportedly contain evidence of Nathan, Abel, and Baldoni's conspiracy—to Lively. Jones, in turn, asserts that she legally obtained the messages from Abel's company-issued phone before Abel's recent departure. Lively's legal team stated they acquired the text message conversations by issuing a subpoena to Joneswork.
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Beyond the escalating legal battle between Baldoni and Lively, a separate front has opened between Jones and Abel. While retrieving evidence from Abel's company phone, Jones reportedly discovered that Nathan and Abel, who had plans to launch their own firm, were secretly encouraging other Joneswork employees and celebrity clients to leave and join their new venture. Abel is accused of covertly "stealing" Jones's clients for months and actively disparaging Jones's reputation within the industry, using platforms like "Business Insider" to disseminate negative reports about her.
Over the past year, high-profile clients such as Dwayne Johnson and Jeff Bezos have departed Jones's firm. "Business Insider" has also reported that Jones is known for making it difficult for employees to leave, implying retaliatory actions.
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Jones herself has another connection to Lively: her husband, Jason Hodes, is a senior partner at WME, one of Hollywood's largest talent agencies. Baldoni, Lively, and her husband Ryan Reynolds were all WME clients. However, following Lively's lawsuit, WME quickly terminated its representation of Baldoni. Even Sony Pictures, the distributor of "It Ends with Us," issued a statement publicly supporting Lively and condemning any smear tactics.