On March 22, actor Justin Baldoni initiated legal proceedings against his former publicist, Stephanie Jones, accusing her of deliberately leaking text messages that allegedly instigated a legal case involving actress Blake Lively. According to reports from The New York Times, these texts revealed an alleged plot by Baldoni to undermine Lively’s credibility.
In a counter-response, Jones asserted in court documents filed on April 10 that the messages were submitted as part of a court-ordered subpoena. An article in the Mail corroborated that Jones also alleged Baldoni had breached their contractual agreement in her recent filing.
Page Six reported on April 11, 2025, that Jones defended her actions, stating:
“First, there was no leak… Information was produced pursuant to a subpoena. Wayfarer’s willfully avoids this reality to advance its publicity seeking leak narrative but they cannot change the subpoena.”
To provide context, speculations suggest that Jones obtained the disputed messages from the phone of Baldoni’s associate, Jennifer Abel, and forwarded them to the media. This occurred following accusations that Baldoni had intended to damage Lively’s reputation in response to her claims of abuse occurring on the set of the film It Ends With Us.
Legal Entanglements: The Lawsuit Involving Justin Baldoni and Stephanie Jones
Justin Baldoni, alongside his associate Jennifer Abel, is currently pursuing legal action against publicist Stephanie Jones. They claim she played a key role in leaking text messages that are central to the ongoing litigation with Blake Lively.
Reports from The New York Times indicate that the messages were found on a work-issued mobile phone belonging to Jones’s ex-partner, Jennifer Abel. These texts are integral to Lively’s charges of sexual harassment and defamation against Baldoni.
Among the notable messages is one infamous text that states, “We can bury anyone,”which was reportedly sent by Melissa Nathan, a former client of Jones and another publicist for Baldoni. The Mail referred to a copy of the purported subpoena concerning Jones’s actions.
The subpoena specified that Jones could face contempt charges if she failed to provide comprehensive documentation and communications related to Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. The outlet stressed the severe consequences of non-compliance.
In the midst of this unfolding drama, Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, issued a pointed remark:
“Ms. Jones maliciously turned over communications from the phone she wrongfully took from her own partner.”
In defense, Jones’s legal team responded by rejecting Baldoni’s narrative. Her attorney, Maaren Shah, claimed in a statement to the Daily Mail that Baldoni and his associates have disseminated misleading information about her client through the media.
Shah further alleged that Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer, had failed to compensate Jones adequately for her services. She expressed:
“They’ve planted falsehoods in the press to tarnish Ms. Jones’s business, stole confidential documents and clients, and refused to pay Jonesworks what was fairly owed. Those are facts, and smoke and mirrors PR campaigns can’t change them.”
Shah continued with significant claims about the legal obligations that Baldoni and Abel purportedly violated:
“They may wish it weren’t the case, but the fact remains that Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios and Ms. Abel brazenly and repeatedly breached their contractual obligations to Ms. Jones and Jonesworks, shamelessly framing her as the culprit behind the smear campaign they themselves created targeting Ms. Lively…”
As this case gears up for court proceedings expected within the next year, Blake Lively has been recently spotted at the premiere of her latest film, Another Simple Favor.