JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Jennifer Abel Refutes Blake Lively’s Smear Campaign Allegations In Response To Text Messages
In a detailed response to Blake Lively's sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, Jennifer Abel, Baldoni’s publicist, denies the allegations of a smear campaign.
On December 20, Blake Lively filed an 80-page legal complaint against Justin Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliatory behavior, including inappropriate conduct on set.
The complaint also claimed that Baldoni’s team had planned a smear campaign to damage Lively’s reputation after she raised concerns over the filming conditions. Jennifer Abel, Baldoni's publicist, broke her silence on the issue, refuting the allegations with a statement shared on Facebook.
In her statement, Jennifer Abel denied the existence of any smear campaign targeting Blake Lively. Abel stated that, contrary to what was suggested, there was no plan to tarnish Lively’s reputation. She said, "What the cherry-picked messages don't include, although not shockingly as it doesn't fit the narrative, is that there was no 'smear' implemented."
Abel went on to clarify that no negative press was created and no social combat plan was ever carried out. However, she noted that they were prepared for any scenario as part of their crisis management role.
Abel also addressed the text message exchanges between herself, Baldoni, and Melissa Nathans, a crisis management expert, which were included in Lively’s legal complaint. These texts were seen as evidence of an alleged plan to damage Lively’s image, which Abel described as part of their social strategy.
She defended her team's actions by saying, “The narrative online is so freaking good and fans are still sticking up for Justin... you did such amazing work.” Abel admitted that the team had worked with their social media team to monitor the situation and keep a positive narrative for Baldoni.
Abel further explained that her comments in the texts were meant to highlight the public’s positive response to Justin Baldoni's work and not to attack Lively.
She said, "We rejoiced and joked in the fact that fans were recognizing our client's heart and work without us having to do anything but keep our heads down and focus on positive interviews for our client." Abel clarified that these were private jokes about how the internet reacted to Lively’s team causing difficulties for Baldoni.
Jennifer also pointed out that her team was aware of an opposing campaign designed to target Baldoni’s reputation. According to Abel, negative stories about Baldoni were planned as a failsafe if he did not comply with the marketing demands for the film.
She stated that this led to the hiring of the PR crisis management team to manage the situation effectively. “My sole job was to put together interviews, screening opportunities and speaking opportunities for my client in support of the film, a standard scope of work. I did my job,” Abel concluded.
ALSO READ: Rihanna Gets Support From Boyfriend ASAP Rocky For Her New Ad Campaign; Deets
Latest Articles
