Amber Heard has said misinformation spread online is “as horrifying as it is destructive” in response to the revelation that It Ends With Us director and star Justin Baldoni hired the same PR crisis manager that Heard’s ex-husband Johnny Depp used during their high-profile defamation trial in 2022.
Baldoni is being sued by co-star Blake Lively who is accusing him of sexual harassment and alleging that he hired the PR manager, Melissa Nathan, in order to orchestrate a “smear campaign” against her on social media.
In a statement to NBC News, Heard 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.”
Lively’s complaint states that Baldoni hired the crisis communications team to launch a “retaliatory social manipulation campaign” against her during the promotion of their film, with the aim of destroying her reputation.
The Independent has contacted Nathan’s agency for comment.
The lawsuit goes on to claim that Nathan delivered a plan to Baldoni that consisted of “social media mitigation,” which included “proactive fan posting” and “social manipulations” to “help change narrative” during the promotion of It Ends With Us.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman has called the allegations in Lively’s complaint “categorically false.”
Freedman says Wayfarer Studios, who produced the film, hired the crisis communications team because Lively had allegedly threatened not to show up to set during filming or to promote the film.
Hours after the lawsuit was filed, Baldoni was reportedly dropped by his management team at the WME agency, who also represent Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
The lawsuit states that after Lively first raised her claims during production, a meeting was held that was attended by individuals including Lively, Reynolds, Baldoni and their lawyers.
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Lively had a number requirements in order for her to work on the film that – according to the lawsuit – included “no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s dead father.”
Additional requirements included: “No more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project.”
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.”
