Amber Heard is weighing in on Blake Lively’s sexual harassment complaint against Justin Baldoni.
Last week, Lively, 37, accused her It Ends With Us director and co-star Baldoni, 40, of harassment during the making the movie, which adapted Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel and explores themes of domestic violence and emotional abuse.
In the complaint, which was obtained by the Associated Press and the New York Times, Lively alleged that Baldoni and his production company embarked on a “multi-tiered plan” to damage her reputation after a meeting in which she and her husband Ryan Reynolds addressed “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour” during the making of the film.
Baldoni has denied the claims and hired the same crisis manager Heard’s ex-husband, Johnny Depp, did during the former couple’s highly publicized 2022 defamation lawsuit, which he won.
But Heard said Baldoni’s hiring of Depp’s former PR representative Melissa Nathan of The Agency Group reminds her of her own legal battle against her ex that played out in a Virginia courtroom more than two years ago.
In an exclusive statement shared with NBC News, Heard, who moved to Spain following the trial, said: “Social media is the absolute personification of the classic saying ‘A lie travels halfway around the world before truth can get its boots on.’ I saw this firsthand and up close. It’s as horrifying as it is destructive.”
According to the Washington Post, Lively’s complaint alleges that Baldoni “flouted intimacy protocols on set, improvising kisses in scenes without an intimacy coordinator present and trying to add sexual or nude scenes she found unnecessary.”
When they weren’t shooting, the complaint goes on to add that Baldoni “made sexual comments objectifying her and other actresses on set, and entered her trailer while she was undressed.”
The complaint goes on to accuse Baldoni of orchestrating a campaign to discredit her during the film’s rocky promotional tour this past summer, which included trying to drum up headlines to push the narrative that Lively had a “less than favourable reputation.”
Anticipating that Lively might go public with her complaints when the film was in theatres, Baldoni’s personal publicist allegedly texted Nathan to ask that she ramp up an online campaign to discredit Lively. “I think you guys need to be tough and show the strength of what you guys can do in these scenarios,” the Post quotes his publicist as texting to Nathan. “He wants to feel like she can be buried.”
According to the Post, Lively accuses Nathan’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, of working with a subcontractor and his “digital army” to help “create and sustain a negative news cycle and social media algorithm” about her. “The Baldoni-Wayfarer team would then feed pieces of this manufactured content to unwitting reporters, making content go viral in order to influence public opinion and thereby cause an organic pile-on,” Lively’s complaint alleges.
“The effects on Ms. Lively’s professional life were immediate and substantial,” the complaint reads. “Given the ongoing nature of the campaign and the associated negative public sentiment, Ms. Lively did not believe she could proceed with public appearances or events without being forced to openly discuss what happened on set.”
While Lively plugged the film as a romantic drama, the complaint says Baldoni “used domestic violence ‘survivor content’ to protect his public image.”
The press tour for the film, which was a summertime box office hit, was plagued by rumours of infighting between Baldoni and the rest of the cast. At various red carpet events promoting its release, Baldoni and Lively weren’t photographed together.
On the red carpet with E! News, Lively said that Reynolds was very involved in It Ends With Us, and adapted a pivotal moment in the film. “The iconic rooftop scene in this movie, my husband wrote it. Nobody knows that,” she said.
The film’s credited screenwriter, Christy Hall, told PEOPLE that she thought the actors were improvising.
Additionally, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Lively sought to have her own edit of the movie, which was overseen by Shane Reid, who also worked on her Reynolds’ Deadpool & Wolverine.
But Lively’s promotion of the movie hit a sour note with some moviegoers after she appeared on the official It Ends With Us TikTok page, touting the film in a lighthearted manner. “Grab your friends, wear your florals and head out to see it,” she said.
Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa fanned more backlash when she reshared an old interview with Lively that went viral, which she titled: “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job.”
Flaa called Lively’s “dismissive” demeanor during their 2016 sit-down was “the most uncomfortable interview situation I have ever experienced.”
“There are conspiracy theories out there accusing me of being paid by his PR team to help with their smear campaign. None of this is true,” Flaa said in an Instagram post.
Meanwhile, Baldoni – who has been dropped by his talent agency, WME in the wake of the claims – promoted the project by highlighting his commitment to raising awareness about domestic violence.
“If a Lily Bloom in real life can sit in this theater, and make a different choice for herself than the one that was made for her, maybe she sees herself on that screen and chooses something different for herself,” Baldoni said in a red carpet interview with Entertainment Tonight.
On Monday, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman addressed Lively’s claims that his client’s publicity team wrecked havoc with her career and damaged her reputation.
“TAG PR operated as any other crisis management firm would when hired by a client experiencing threats by two extremely powerful people with unlimited resources,” Freedman told PEOPLE.
Freedman went on to add that audiences ended up concluding that “Lively’s own actions, interviews and marketing during the promotional tour (were) distasteful, and responded organically to that.”
But Lively has been supported by Hoover, who took to her Instagram Story praise the actress as “nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met.”
Lively’s A Simple Favor director Paul Feig has also publicly backed her. “I’ve now made two movies with Blake and all I can say is she’s one of the most professional, creative, collaborative, talented and kind people I’ve ever worked with,” Feig shared on X.
Sony Pictures, which released It Ends With Us, has also sided with Lively. “We have previously expressed our support for Blake in connection with her work on and for the film. We fully and firmly reiterate that support today,” they said in a statement to Variety.