EXCLUSIVE: The filings are flying fast and furious again in the battle between Black Lively and Justin Baldoni over the actress’ claims of sexual harassment and an online smear campaign.
However, while Baldoni is expected to go after Lively directly following hitting the New York Times with a $250 million libel complaint on New Year’s Eve, the latest filings are from neither of the It Ends With Us stars, but from the PR Chief who has become a pivotal figure in this sordid saga.
Three weeks after Stephanie Jones sued Baldoni, Crisis PR boss Melissa Nathan, Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios and flack Jennifer Abel for defamation and breach of contract, the Jonesworks founder is going after half a dozen tech companies for more info on how said what about what to whom, I’ve learned.
In practical terms, that’s third-party subpoenas being served on the corporate entities of WhatsApp, Signal, website hosts Hostinger and Name Cheap, digital publishing platform AnyFlip, and chatbot company Gab AI. The subpoenas to WhatsApp and Signal are focused to gather information on who was behind anonymous websites and posts, as are the subpoenas to website hosting services and social media handles.
“Disclosure is being sought because, upon information and belief, You possess documents and communications material and necessary to the prosecution or defense of this Action, including (but not limited to) information related to the allegations in the Complaint in the above-captioned action,” all the subpoena filings in New York state court say.
As Hollywood has overwhelming sided with Lively, and Baldoni has been dumped by their mutual agency WME, seen IEWU distributor Sony back Lively in broad strokes, had podcast co-hosts quit on him and feminist ally awards taken back, the whole affair the gulf between private and public personas
In her Christmas Eve action, Jones’ eight-claim complaint filed by her Quinn Emanuel lawyers turned an even brighter spotlight on her fellow publicists and Jane the Virgin vet Baldoni after Lively’s explosive December 20 complaint to the California Civil Rights department pulled back the veil on the way the Hollywood messaging sausage is made. “Defendants Abel and Nathan secretly conspired for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and Jonesworks, to breach multiple contracts and induce contractual breaches, and to steal clients and business prospects,” said Jones’ 52-page text message illustrated paperwork.
Accusing Abel and others of late night document downloads galore in anticipation of corporate exits, Jones insists she had no idea of what was going on with Baldoni and Lively on IEWU, the friction and the Initiative to drag Gossip Girl alum through the digital dirt if dirty laundry came out on then Jonesworks client Baldoni.
On the other side, the Bryan Freedman represented Abel has said repeatedly, in deleted Facebook posts and elsewhere, that Jones was fully read in on what was going on.
She has contended that while conversations of a “sophomorically” nature were had, the anti-Lively campaign was never executed because “we didn’t have to implement anything, because the internet was doing the work for us.” Now running her own PR firm RWA Communications, Abel also has made it clear she thinks Jones handed over to Lively’s lawyers the “cherry picked” text messages and other communications that make up the guts of the actress’ A-lister supported CRD complaint and her subsequent December 24 lawsuit against Baldoni, Nathan, Abel and others
Jones has said in her own complaint that the text messages and other internal communications Lively got were provided from Abel’s phone, email, etc in compliance with not any resentment about Abel leaving Joneswork — though Abel taking clients like Baldoni with her makes up a not-insignificant portion of Jones’ suot.
Appearing on the likes of The Megyn Kelly Show and Chris Cuomo’s NewsNation show in the last two weeks, the savvy Freedman has promised that he intends to sue Lively “Into oblivion” for Baldoni, Abel, Nathan and others. Freedman even threw down the legal gauntlet on Lively’s blockbuster billionaire spouse, who has had cameos in almost all the flings form all sides so far. “There’s a number of different defendants here… Ryan Reynolds for sure, the attorney earlier this month told Kelly, who he scored a more than $25 million payoff from NBC for back in 2019.
With all that, Jones’ lawyers basic flex is bring it on.
“We know that Mr. Freedman would far prefer to try this case on television shows hosted by his own clients than in a courtroom,” Maaren Shah said to Deadline this evening. “However, that doesn’t give him the right to wantonly disparage our client with wild claims that have nothing to do with the case he is allegedly defending,” the Quinn Emanuel partner went on to say. “We understand it’s hard to follow given how many defendants he is representing in various suits, but to remind him, one or more of his clients stole Steph’s confidential documents, breached her contract and plotted to sabotage and end her business. W
“We plan to argue that case, in court, in front of a judge and jury whether or not television cameras are allowed.”
With that and more to come, let’s not pretend this isn’t a trial by media from all sides as much as it is on the docket and eventually in court – that’s just good PR.
