Infighting between Justin Baldoni’s publicity team continued full steam ahead Tuesday as, following a breach of contract and defamation lawsuit filed in New York that morning, text messages obtained by TheWrap indicate RWA Communications founder and CEO Jennifer Abel (formerly partner at Jonesworks) resigned last summer from Stephanie Jones’ firm over its founder’s “bullying” of colleagues amid the high-profile smear campaign against “It Ends With Us” star Blake Lively.
The text messages and July 10 resignation letter reviewed by TheWrap, all of which can be read below, appear to counter claims within Tuesday’s lawsuit that Abel was fired while conspiring to “steal” Jones’ clients and trash her reputation.
Abel exited the company in July before announcing the launch of RWA Communications four months ago. In Tuesday’s lawsuit, which names defendants Abel, crisis communications manager Melissa Nathan, Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios production company, Jones claims Abel was stealing “documents and client information while also secretly contacting Jonesworks’ clients to pave the way for her departure.” Abel’s phone was returned voluntarily “in the presence of an employment lawyer,” according to the suit, which adds that messages highlighting the smear campaign in question were “forensically extracted directly from that company phone” and “have been preserved in their original state.”
Jones’ suit additionally claimed that “since being terminated from Jonesworks, Abel has continued attacking Jones within the industry, using her tried-and-true playbook to preemptively discredit any sources that might shed light on her own misdeeds.”
“Abel has falsely stated to other participants in the public relations industry that Jones was attempting to distribute doctored text messages purporting to be from Abel as retaliation for Abel’s departure,” the suit read. “She has also tried again to point the finger at Jones as cover for her own role in the campaign against Lively becoming public. But Jones has never doctored any text messages, and has no reason to do so.”
Abel maintains that her exit from the company was a voluntary resignation on July 10, according to an individual with knowledge of her thinking. She quit over what she categorized as “bullying” behavior from Jones towards colleague Matthew Mitchell, her partner on accounts for Wayfarer Studios, Baldoni and the “majority of other clients which she also references in her texts” after her exit, the individual told TheWrap.
An individual close to Jones with knowledge of the timeline, however, told TheWrap that Abel’s last day after resigning on July 10 was set for Aug. 23, two weeks after the release of “It Ends With Us.” Jones then terminated Abel on Aug. 21 after learning of her alleged efforts to poach clients.
“Jennifer tendered her resignation in July and had agreed to stay on until Aug. 23. She was terminated early after Jonesworks discovered that she had stolen over 70 documents,” the individual said.
In a Monday statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Abel’s lawyer Bryan Freedman, whose client list also includes Penske Media, acknowledged Aug. 21 was his client’s last day at Jonesworks: “Our investigation has determined that on Aug. 21, Jonesworks utilized a lawyer and security guard to take possession of Wayfarers confidential information through confiscation of Jen Abel’s phone. We are continuing to investigate the use of that confidential information.”
Apparent text correspondence between Abel and Jones and, separately, Abel’s fiancé and Jones’ husband discussing Abel’s resignation can be viewed below:
The individual close to Abel told TheWrap Tuesday that that morning’s defamation lawsuit was “retaliatory behavior” because clients Wayfarer and Baldoni left Jonesworks for Abel’s venture — “They were not ‘stolen,’ nor were any other clients.” Other clients who left with Abel, the individual added, were longtime clients from her years prior to joining Jonesworks and one Abel “had personally signed while at Jonesworks who had no relationship with Stephanie Jones.”
In email correspondence obtained by TheWrap that appears to be Abel’s resignation letter to Jones, the former Jonesworks partner describes an atmosphere where “things continue to escalate between the two of us” and that she “was constantly feeling like I was letting you down.”
“I take full responsibility for my part in all of this. I’m not proud of how emotional I get in these situations, or the way I choose to step away when I feel like we are not making progress in our conversations,” Abel wrote. “I know I have things to work on as well with my communication, and this whole situation has been a good learning moment for me on the ways I need to improve how I get my point across.”
It’s unclear what high intensity work circumstances Abel’s letter was addressing, but the resignation, dated one month ahead of the Aug. 9 Sony Pictures release of “It Ends With Us,” aligns with the wider timeline of mounting tensions and what at the time were being categorized as “creative differences” between Baldoni and Lively.
Read Abel’s resignation letter in full below:
Hi Steph—
First of all, I wanted to say thank you for the call we had a couple days ago. I know it wasn’t easy, and I’m so appreciative that you trust me enough to be vulnerable, honest and for us to have a real conversation about our working relationship. I know you are currently going through a lot with work, personal life and your health and the last thing I want to do is to add to that— I hope you know me well enough by now that no matter how dramatic I can be (😉) I really do strive to make work life easier on you and take as much as possible off of your plate.
Since I resigned, I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I want with my career. I may have quit under unforeseen circumstances, but these past two weeks I have really taken a step back to reevaluate what I want for next steps. I really do believe that everything happens for a reason, and I wanted to really reflect on why things continue to escalate between the two of us and why I was constantly feeling like I was letting you down. I take full responsibility for my part in all of this. I’m not proud of how emotional I get in these situations, or the way I choose to step away when I feel like we are not making progress in our conversations. I know I have things to work on as well with my communication, and this whole situation has been a good learning moment for me on the ways I need to improve how I get my point across.
With all of this said, the facts remain—I respect you immensely. I feel so grateful for the opportunities you have given me with your premiere clients and how you have lifted me up as your partner. I would not have had the opportunity to be in many of the rooms that I have been in without you opening the door. This company you have built is exceptional, and I hold our teams with the highest regard. I know I didn’t do it by myself, but I do take pride in what I have contributed to your LA office and the team I have been building and managing over the past four years, along with the new clients and opportunities I have procured.
I do feel it’s necessary at this point that I continue to move forward with my resignation. I say this with heavy heart, yet with the excitement that I can take everything that I have learned from you as I start on this new path with my own business. I know this path won’t be easy, but I hope I can keep you in my life as a mentor, a friend and a close confidant because I truly view you as family and would be lost without your support. I want to assure you however I can, that unlike those who have burned you in the past, that there is not one ounce of ill will here. I have left a company before with grace and with my relationships intact, and that’s what I fully plan on, and hope for. In order to plan, I will need to stick with my previously communicated end date of August 23rd which I hope is plenty of time to ensure a smooth transition for all.
I thank you again for the most amazing time here at JW and I look forward to our relationship continuing in this new capacity.
Thank you again for understanding and for your support— With LOVE!
