The issues of lawsuits, employment-related accusations, and misconduct against Justin Baldoni and his publicist Jennifer Abel are very contentious. Actress Blake Lively, known for her role in It Ends With Us, is suing Baldoni at the moment, accusing him of sexual harassment and launching a smear campaign because of his alleged inappropriate behaviour on set. These allegations are brought amid an ongoing legal dispute between Abel and Jonesworks, her former company, that raises the drama.
In July, Jennifer Abel quit as a former partner of Jonesworks, citing “bullying” at work, targeting her co-worker Matthew Mitchell. Abel had indicated she would leave on or before August 23 but was fired early on the morning of August 21 by Jonesworks, which she had solicited clients to and stolen more than 70 documents. Since then, the PR business run by Stephanie Jones has filed a lawsuit of defamation and breach of contract against Abel, arguing that she used private information to help her establish a new venture, RWA Communications.
Abel’s team has denied such claims, saying the lawsuit is a retaliatory action after Baldoni and other clients switched to her new firm. In a resignation letter The Wrap obtained, Abel admitted to having handled the case too emotionally but denied any misconduct in connection with the stolen data or solicitation of clients.
The legal issues do not end there. Abel and the crisis management team of Baldoni, which includes Wayfarer Studios and crisis manager Melissa Nathan, is being sued by his former publicist. The schism within Baldoni’s professional circle is further compounded with this complaint, alleging slander and violation of contract.
In fact, tensions between Baldoni and Blake Lively were said to have heightened during It Ends With Us advertisement earlier this year. Ever since that incident, Lively has begun to file her complaint indicating that Baldoni had meant to tarnish her repute in revenge for publicly disclosing acts of misbehaviours she was accused of exposing. The New York Times expose also detailed allegations of Baloni’s misconduct and the smear campaign afterwards. However, there was a flat denial over every accusation by Baldoni.
With reputations and careers on the line, the intersecting disputes will reveal a maze of both legal issues and professional conflicts.
