Amber Heard Issued A Statement Following Blake Lively's Lawsuit Against Justin Baldoni, And Here's Why It's Important
Warning: Discussion of sexual abuse and harassment.
This weekend, news emerged that Blake Lively is reportedly suing It Ends with Us costar and director Justin Baldoni for alleged sexual harassment. People began comparing the situation with that of Amber Heard — and the actor herself issued a statement.
Katie Jones / Beauty Inc via Getty Images, Ernesto Ruscio / Getty Images
According to the New York Times, Lively claimed that Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath "had repeatedly violated physical boundaries and made sexual and other inappropriate comments to her." The legal complaint subsequently claimed that, fearing public fallout from the allegations, their PR effort created a smear campaign "to harm Ms. Lively’s reputation instead."
An attorney for Wayfarer, the company cofounded by Baldoni and Heath, denied Lively's claims and told the NYT that neither the studio, its executives, nor its PR representatives did anything "proactive nor retaliated” against her.
In August, speculation was already rife that there had been some kind of on-set rift. Amid this, Baldoni hired crisis public relations expert Melissa Nathan, who was already famed for working with Johnny Depp during his defamation trial with Heard. According to texts seen by the NYT, Nathan texted a publicist working with Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, "You know we can bury anyone."
Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman alleged to the NYT that Lively planted “negative and completely fabricated and false stories with media” against him, sparking the decision to hire a crisis PR expert.
Let's take a moment to remember Depp v. Heard. In 2020, Depp lost his UK defamation trial against the Sun in which the tabloid called him "a wife beater." The judge said that the words were "substantially true," noting, "I have found that the great majority of alleged assaults of Ms Heard by Mr Depp have been proved to the civil standard."
Notably, things fared differently in the US trial, which was in front of a jury. As international media lawyer Mark Stephens told the BBC, "Amber Heard has comprehensively lost in the court of public opinion and in front of the jury." Some experts estimated that more than half of the negative tweets about Heard were from "inauthentic accounts," including bots and trolls.
As the Independent put it, "The truly shocking revelation...is just how vast and complex the disinformation movement against Heard was. This was not one single campaign, but multiple, hybrid attacks."
Perhaps it's no surprise then that Amber herself issued a statement on the It Ends with Us allegations: "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.”
Blake Lively, Amber Heard, Megan Thee Stallion, it goes on. How many more women would you like to keep adding?
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger as a result of domestic violence, call 911. For anonymous, confidential help, you can call the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or chat with an advocate via the website.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 (HOPE), which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.
