In a dramatic escalation of a legal saga involving Hollywood elite, Justin Baldoni has taken legal action against his former publicist, Stephanie Jones, claiming she leaked private messages that exacerbated his ongoing legal troubles with Blake Lively. Filed in a New York federal court on March 21, 2025, the lawsuit underscores the tensions that have unfolded surrounding the production of the film It Ends With Us.
Baldoni, best known for his role in Jane the Virgin, alleges that Jones breached her professional responsibilities by sharing confidential text messages with Lively’s representatives. According to Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's attorney, “It is undeniable that Stephanie Jones initiated this catastrophic sequence of events by violating the most basic of privacy rights,” which has had severe implications for Baldoni's public image and that of his production company, Wayfarer Studios.
The chaotic narrative began to unfurl in the summer of 2024, when reports emerged of a growing rift between Baldoni and Lively. By December of that year, Lively publicly accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and claimed he was engaged in a smear campaign against her. At the heart of the conflict were private communications that became pivotal in Lively’s lawsuit, which was filed shortly thereafter.
According to documents in Baldoni's lawsuit, Jones, who represented Baldoni until her termination, allegedly accessed text messages from Jennifer Abel's phone after taking it from the production company under dubious circumstances. The lawsuit alleges that Jones provided these messages to Lively's publicist without a subpoena, which the complaint argues facilitated the construction of Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni. “Jones turned over the contents of Abel’s phone to Lively and her team — without a subpoena — so they could slice and dice her communications to construct a false narrative about the source of Lively’s bad publicity,” the complaint states.
As reported by The New York Times, after an investigation, thousands of messages and emails were reviewed, all of which were made public through a subpoena, complicating Baldoni's legal standing. This series of events culminated in Baldoni filing a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times itself, alleging libel and privacy invasion related to the reporting of Lively's accusations.
In her defense, Jones has also filed her own lawsuit against Baldoni and Abel, claiming they are attempting to undermine her reputation and business viability. She argues that the public dissemination of these legal matters and the allegations against her represent a calculated effort to distract from their own alleged misconduct.
“For months, this group has gaslit and disparaged Stephanie Jones and her company for financial gain and to distract from their disgraceful conduct,” asserted Jones' attorney, Kristin Tahler, emphasizing the contentious reality of the situation that has spiraled into multiple lawsuits involving high-profile personalities.
In December 2024, before Baldoni’s latest rebuttal, Jones had moved forward with her lawsuit against the actor, claiming he and Abel conspired to malign her professional image. Lively's legal tactics in her own case appear to have relied heavily on the information Jones provided, raising both ethical and legal concerns about the handling of sensitive communications.
Baldoni’s current lawsuit not only marks another chapter in a tumultuous year for him but also signifies an ongoing pattern of legal disputes that paint a dramatic picture of Hollywood's contentious behind-the-scenes dynamics. The anticipated trials have raised the public's interest owing to the complex relationships interweaving casual collaborators into legal defendants.
Amidst this backdrop, the impending trial date for Baldoni and Lively's legal battle has now been tentatively set for March 2026. With several intertwined lawsuits surrounding the production of It Ends With Us, there remains uncertainty about how these conflicts will resolve, although the breadth of cases has already established itself as one of the most complex legal disputes in recent Hollywood history.
Beyond the personal stakes, these legal battles highlight broader industry issues related to privacy rights, the consequences of legal leaks, and the volatile nature of celebrity relationships amid the pressures of public scrutiny. For Baldoni, Lively, and Jones, the outcomes of these trials will not only affect their careers but also set precedents on handling confidential information within the demanding realm of Hollywood.
Ultimately, as the legal drama unfolds, the attention on these lawsuits reflects the ongoing challenges that public figures face in protecting their personal information, especially in an industry where reputations can be made or broken with a simple text message.
