(NewsNation) — Actor Justin Baldoni has been hit with a lawsuit accusing him of defamation and breach of contract days after being sued by actress Blake Lively for sexual harassment and launching a covert smear campaign.
Baldoni former publicist Steph Jones sued him, his production company and his current publicists this week.
Jones accuses Baldoni of breaching their contract, which required him to pay her $25,000 per month, and for leaving to work with two former employees, Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, who formed their own rival public relations company, reported Variety.
Jones alleges Nathan and Abel launched Lively’s online teardown behind her back, according to the outlet.
“To this day, Abel and Nathan continue to point the finger falsely at Jones now that their own misconduct is coming to light, and to defame and attack Jones in the industry,” the lawsuit states.
“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,” stated a complaint filed by Jones.
Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the “It Ends with Us” movie and a subsequent effort to “destroy” her reputation in a legal complaint filed last week.
In the complaint, Lively accused Baldoni and the studio of embarking on a “multi-tiered plan” to damage her reputation following a meeting in which she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, addressed “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” by Baldoni and a producer on the movie.
“To safeguard against the risk of Ms. Lively ever revealing the truth about Mr. Baldoni, the BaldoniWayfarer team created, planted, amplified, and boosted content designed to eviscerate Ms. Lively’s credibility,” the complaint states. “They engaged in the same techniques to bolster Mr. Baldoni’s credibility and suppress any negative content about him.”
Bryan Freedman, an attorney representing Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, called the claims “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.”
He pushed back against Lively’s allegations of a coordinated campaign, saying the studio “proactively” hired a crisis manager “due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production.”
Attorney Elaine Bredehoft, who represented actress Amber Heard when she was sued by actor Johnny Depp, said on NewsNation’s “CUOMO” that the “PR team was the same PR team that Depp got back in the Amber Heard v. Depp case.
“Most PR firms, you assume, are supposed to promote their clients. That’s not what this PR firm does, and it’s what is clear in Blake Lively’s complaint. They do exactly the opposite.”
Bredehoft said the team allegedly hired by Baldoni “intentionally fabricates stories” through TikTok and other social media.
“It Ends With Us,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel, was released in August, exceeding box office expectations with a $50 million debut. But the movie’s release was shrouded by speculation over discord between the lead pair.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.