Justin Baldoni’s Publicist Said He Was ‘Pompous’ and Needed to Be ‘Humbled’ in Leaked Texts

Justin Baldoni’s publicist Jennifer Abel allegedly described the actor as “pompous,” and claimed he “needs to be humbled” in text messages revealed in a new lawsuit against her.

Abel, who was sued by her former boss Stephanie Jones for breach of contract, ripped into the It Ends With Us actor at the same time as she was allegedly working on a smear campaign against his co-star Blake Lively to improve Baldoni’s image, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

“I can’t stand [Baldoni]. He’s so pompous. A men’s retreat during release, is he crazy?,” Abel wrote in one text message sent on Jan. 14, 2024, according to the suit.

“And being off the grid for the summer because he’s just so overworked… like calm down. You’re not that important and nobody gives a s--t how hard your life is.”

In another message sent on the same day, she allegedly continued: “He doesn’t need a retreat. He needs to be humbled. When this movie flops, he’s going to try to blame every person around him for it.”

“He may fire us because even if we put together an amazing campaign, it’s not going to change the fact that he’s so unlikable and unrealistic as a leading man,” Abel allegedly wrote in another text message. “There’s no chemistry with him and Blake, you and I both know that she will be resistant to promote this movie, and press will be reluctant to do anything with Justin without Blake being part of it. So there. Those are my thoughts.”

The messages were part of a trove of communications included in the suit filed Tuesday by Jones, who is the CEO of Joneswork and Abel’s former boss.

The suit alleges that Abel stole documents from Jonesworks to start her own public relations company. It also claims that Jones, who was also Baldoni’s former publicist, was ousted from representing him and his film studio Wayfarer during It Ends with Us’ campaign, and that Abel, with the help of crisis expert Melissa Nathan, “secretly coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to implement an aggressive media smear campaign against Baldoni’s film co-star [Blake Lively],” behind her back.

Jones alleges that Abel and Nathan were motivated to carry out the alleged smear campaign by “avarice” and “not any sincere appreciation for Baldoni,” adding that Abel’s text messages show her disdain toward her client.

In another series of text messages exchanged between Abel and an anonymous person on Jan. 13, 2024, the flack described a kissing scene between Baldoni and Lively in the film as “so cringey.” When the recipient replied back with, “Blake was probably grossed out too,” Abel allegedly responded: “Yeah and filed a cease and desist.”

Abel’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment on the newly filed lawsuit.

Earlier this week, Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni accusing him of sexual harassment, and his public relations team (i.e. Abel and Nathan) for engineering a smear campaign against her.

Baldoni, Abel, and Nathan’s lawyer, Freedman categorically denied the allegations in Lively’s suit, writing in a statement that the suit is “completely false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious.” He also described it as “yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ [Lively’s] negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film.”

In another statement Monday to the Hollywood Reporter, Freedman also addressed leaked text messages included in Lively’s complaint that showed Abel and Nathan allegedly celebrating the negative press surrounding Lively during It Ends with Us’ promotional run.

“Jonesworks was the PR company contractually responsible to promote and protect Wayfarer and Justin. Our investigation has determined that on August 21st, Jonesworks utilized a lawyer and security guard to take possession of Wayfarers confidential information through confiscation of Jen Abel’s phone,” Freedman said.

“We are continuing to investigate the use of that confidential information but demands are being made to Stephanie Jones and Leslie Sloan and once we obtain the evidence, anyone actively involved in any possible connection with this abhorrent conduct will be sued into oblivion.”