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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...

Justin Baldoni’s former publicist, Stephanie Jones, sued the “It Ends With Us” actor and director Tuesday for breach of contract amid the unraveling scandal around Baldoni’s alleged smear campaign against Blake Lively.

The actor-filmmaker’s production company Wayfarer Studios and his current PR team — Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan — are also named in Jones’ Christmas Eve filing in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, which has been obtained and reviewed by TheWrap.

The suit also cites tortious interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty and defamation from Abel and a number of John Does.

The suit claims Abel and Nathan “secretly coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to implement an aggressive media smear campaign against Baldoni’s film co-star, and then used the crisis as an opportunity to drive a wedge between Jones and Baldoni, and to publicly pin blame for this smear campaign on Jones...