The explosive legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni allegedly began after text messages were revealed by the director’s former publicist.
Now, Baldoni has filed another lawsuit in the ongoing dispute, suing the publicist for initiating the “catastrophic” drama and worsening the situation for him and his It Ends With Us co-star.
The Private Messages That Reportedly Escalated Lively and Baldoni's Legal Conflict
The rift between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, which began in 2024, created significant problems for both actors. However, according to the 41-year-old director, leaked messages between them made matters worse.
Baldoni, along with his publicist Jennifer Abel, countersued Stephanie Jones and her company, Joneswork, for breach of contract on March 21.
Jones, Baldoni’s former publicist, had previously sued the Jane the Virgin actor, Abel, and Melissa Nathan—another counterclaimant—in December 2024, alleging they orchestrated a smear campaign against Lively.
These “thousands of pages” of released private messages, considered key evidence in the lawsuit, were reportedly obtained through a subpoena sent to Joneswork, according to Lively’s lawyers.
One of these texts, which appeared to have come from Abel’s phone in May 2024, allegedly showed the publicist urging Baldoni to come up with a plan to "shut down Lively's claims" after finding out that an unnamed person had blocked him. The person is rumored to be Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds.
As per the lawsuit, the messages from Abel, Nathan, and Baldoni showed them strategizing to expose Lively as “horrible to work with” through a publication involving The Daily Mail.
Following these allegations, Baldoni filed a $400 million defamation case against Lively and Ryan Reynolds on January 16.
Stephanie Jones ‘Maliciously’ Leaked Private Information To Stir Up ‘Unnecessary Drama,’ According To Justin Baldoni
Baldoni stated in his complaint filed in New York federal court that Jones was “seemingly in the midst of a downward spiral” and had stirred up drama for “self-interested reasons.”
Abel, who previously worked at Joneswork, claimed in the lawsuit that Jones allegedly threatened to seize her phone, review her messages, and use them to make it seem like Baldoni’s team was trying to damage Lively’s reputation.
Baldoni stated that Jones provoked “unnecessary drama and discord” after learning that Abel was leaving Joneswork in the summer of 2024, fearing that the publicist would take the PR head’s clients.
The complaint read, “As Jones tried to stir up drama and undermine Abel’s authority, Wayfarer and Baldoni were focused solely on managing the crisis in front of them,” referring to the PR fallout between Baldoni and Lively. The two had reportedly reached a truce at the time, but the release of negative stories about Baldoni’s side disrupted it.
Byran Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, told Us Weekly, “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.”
Baldoni’s latest lawsuit against Jones marks the sixth lawsuit connected to the It Ends With Us movie. His trial with Lively is scheduled to begin on March 9, 2026.