A federal judge has ruled that Wayfarer Studios, the production company co-founded by Justin Baldoni, can move forward with its defamation claims against former publicist Stephanie Jones.
The decision marks a key development in an ongoing legal dispute tied to the 2024 film "It Ends With Us."
According to court documents, Judge Lewis J. Liman of the Southern District of New York denied Jones' request to dismiss the claims. The ruling allows Wayfarer to continue pursuing allegations that Jones made false and harmful statements about the company.
Wayfarer claims Jones told several individuals, including actress Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and publicist Leslie Sloane, that the company retaliated against Lively and others who reported alleged misconduct.
The statements also accused Wayfarer of organizing a "smear campaign" to damage Lively's reputation, TMZ reported.
Exclusive: The legal battle between Justin Baldoni’s team and his former publicist Stephanie Jones is heating up, with a federal judge ruling Baldoni's production company's claim of defamation can move forward
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 27, 2026
Details: https://t.co/9HmdkVnZOv pic.twitter.com/TVcEaHwEpV
Court Denies Stephanie Jones' Attempt
The company strongly denies those claims, stating they were false and damaging. In its filings, Wayfarer argued Jones had access to internal communications and would have known the allegations were untrue.
According to Yahoo, the judge agreed there was enough evidence at this stage to let the case proceed, noting Jones "was in a position to know the veracity of her statements."
In a statement following the ruling, a spokesperson for Wayfarer said, "We're pleased with the Court's decision to deny Stephanie Jones' attempt to dismiss Wayfarer's lawsuit and to allow our core claims, including defamation and bad faith conduct, to move forward."
The spokesperson added that Jones allegedly turned against the company after being informed her contract would end.
"This is not a minor dispute," the statement said, accusing her of sharing internal communications and pushing "false allegations" about a smear campaign.
The legal battle began in December 2024, when Jones filed a lawsuit against Wayfarer and publicist Jennifer Abel, citing breach of contract.
Abel previously worked under Jones and managed Baldoni's account. In response, Wayfarer and Abel filed counterclaims in March 2025, accusing Jones of defamation and violating client confidentiality.
Originally published on Enstarz
