Amber Heard is weighing in on Blake Lively’s sexual harassment complaint against Justin Baldoni.
Lively, 37, filed a complaint against Baldoni, 40, on Friday and claimed he orchestrated a smear campaign against her when “It Ends With Us” came out over the summer.
The complaint states that Baldoni hired PR crisis manager Melissa Nathan — who worked with Johnny Depp during his defamation trial against Heard, 38 — in his efforts to allegedly “destroy” Lively’s reputation.
Amber Heard during the Johnny Depp trial in May 2022. POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesHeard, who lost the defamation case against Depp, 61, in 2022, reacted to Lively’s accusations against Baldoni in a statement to NBC News on Monday.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in “It Ends With Us.” ©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection“Social media is the absolute personification of the classic saying ‘A lie travels halfway around the world before truth can get its boots on,'” said Heard, who now lives in Spain and is expecting her second child.
“I saw this firsthand and up close. It’s as horrifying as it is destructive,” the “Aquaman” actress added.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, responded to Heard’s comments in a statement to The Post.
“TAG PR must be the most powerful group of publicists the world has ever seen for it to be able to completely change the perception of both Amber Heard and Blake Lively,” said Freedman. “The only correlation between both individuals was that for decades every move they have made has been out there for everyone to see, widely filmed and documented for the public to make up their own minds – which they did, organically.”
Amber Heard leaving the Virginia courthouse during her trial on June 1, 2022. Getty ImagesFreedman added, “All you have to do is watch the interviews that still remain if they have not already been scrubbed by their crisis PR Teams (which is apparently their crisis teams next move since that’s what crisis teams do, they protect their clients).”
In the Heard-Depp case, the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor was awarded $10.35 million in damages after a jury declared Heard defamed Depp with allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Heard won $2 million in her countersuit.
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp at “The Danish Girl” premiere at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival. Getty Images“The Rum Diary” actress filed to appeal the verdict in the case, but she later withdrew and then settled. She agreed to pay her ex-husband $1 million.
After the trial, Heard’s lawyer blamed the outcome in part on the wild social media frenzy that surrounded the case.
“How can you not? They went home every night. They have families. The families are on social media. We had a 10-day break in the middle because of the judicial conference. There’s no way they couldn’t have been influenced by it,” Elaine Bredehoft said on “Today” in June 2022.
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp during their defamation trial. POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesHeard, meanwhile, said the jury’s decision “sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated.”
In her complaint, Lively accused Baldoni and his allies — including Nathan — of launching a “retaliatory social manipulation campaign” against the actress, and included damning texts as evidence.
Blake Lively at the “It Ends With Us” premiere in New York on Aug. 6. Erik Pendzich/ShutterstockSome of the messages from September showed Nathan and PR exec Jennifer Abel celebrating the negative press about Lively amid the rumors about her feud with Baldoni.
“ALL press is so overwhelming we’ve confused people so much mixed messaging. it’s actually really funny if you think about it,” Nathan said in one message.
Abel wrote back to Nathan, “The narrative online is so freaking good and fans are still sticking up for Justin. I see this as a total success, as does Justin. You did such amazing work.”
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively filming “It Ends With Us” in New Jersey. GC ImagesLively claimed in her complaint that the smear campaign caused her “emotional distress” and impacted some of her professional commitments, including her plans to host the “Saturday Night Live” Season 50 premiere.
The mom of four also accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the film.
Blake Lively at the “It Ends With Us” photo call in London. Getty Images for Sony PicturesBaldoni, who directed the flick based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling book, has denied all claims in Lively’s lawsuit.
In a statement to the New York Times, Lively said, “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”






