Yahoo Lifestyle Amber Heard Calls Alleged Smear Campaign Against Blake Lively 'Horrifying'
Amber Heard just addressed Blake Lively’s allegations against Justin Baldoni, saying she had “firsthand” experience facing the same type of smear tactics during her defamation battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp.
In a complaint to the California Civil Rights Department which came to light on Friday, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and fostering a hostile work environment on the set of their film, “It Ends With Us,” which Baldoni starred in and directed.
Tension between the two was apparent in the time leading up to the film’s August release, during which time Lively and other members of the “It Ends With Us” cast refused to do any press with Baldoni.
The pair’s icy promo tour was followed by rumors that there was major conflict between the actors during the making of the film, an adaptation of a 2016 Colleen Hoover novel about an abusive relationship.
Lively’s complaint claims that Baldoni subsequently enlisted experienced crisis management publicist Melissa Nathan to launch a “retaliatory social manipulation campaign” to “help change narrative” around an apparent clash between the actors.
Lawyers for Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, have called the allegations “categorically false.”
Heard appeared to be all too familiar with tactics levied by Nathan, who also represented Depp during his high-profile defamation suit against his ex-wife and former co-star.
In a statement to NBC News published on Monday, the “Aquaman” actor appeared to hint at the similarities between the two situations.
“Social media is the absolute personification of the classic saying ‘A lie travels halfway around the world before truth can get its boots on,’” she said. “I saw this firsthand and up close. It’s as horrifying as it is destructive.”
Heard was the subject of widespread online harassment from Depp fans during the 2022 legal battle.
In the end, a jury found that she had defamed her ex by describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in a 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post.
Depp was awarded a total of $15 million in punitive and compensatory damages while Heard was granted $2 million in compensatory damages in her counterclaim.
In the wake of the trial, Depp said that the jury’s decision “gave me my life back.”
Heard maintained the verdict set “back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated.” She subsequently relocated to Spain to escape the media scrutiny spurred by the high-profile defamation case.
