Blake Lively‘s scathing complaint against Justin Baldoni has Amber Heard reflecting on her infamous battle with Johnny Depp. The Aquaman actress fell from grace after her ex-husband won a highly-publicized defamation trial against her. She became the internet’s punching bag, getting turned into hilarious memes and jokes for her actions.
The jury unanimously found her guilty of defaming Depp with her abuse allegations; however, she stood by her innocence. Heard doubled down on her situation being blown out of proportion by social media users using Lively’s recent lawsuit. She compared her experience to the Gossip Girl star, noting a lie could become the truth online. In her words:
“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.”
The camaraderie Heard felt for Lively might also be linked to the PR crisis manager named in the complaint. According to the allegations, Baldoni retained Melissa Nathan — the same woman Depp hired during his defamation trial against Heard. The actress accused her It Ends With Us co-star of running a smear campaign to destroy her image.
Lively claimed his team launched a “retaliatory social manipulation campaign” during the movie’s promotion. Her allegations continued with claims that Nathan had created a “social media mitigation” plan for Baldoni. The scheme consisted of “proactive fan posting” and “social manipulations” to “help change the narrative” during the film’s promotion, per NBC News.
Justin Baldoni Rep Slams Amber Heard’s Take On Blake Lively’s Situation
While Lively painted Baldoni as the problem, the entertainer’s rep begged to differ. Bryan Freedman, who represents Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and all its representatives, slammed the actress’s allegations as “categorically false.” He argued that the PR crisis manager came into the picture because of Lively’s poor conduct on set. Freedman explained that Wayfarer Studios hired a crisis communications team because Lively allegedly threatened not to show up during filming.
That wasn’t all; she also threatened not to promote the movie. As for Heard’s comments about the internet turning a lie into the truth, Baldoni’s rep found it ridiculous. Freedman implied that Heard and Lively should not blame the PR team for the world’s perception of their image. Additionally, the rep did not believe their cases should be compared, claiming the only correlation between them was that:
“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.”
We covered that Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, accusing him of being sexually inappropriate during filming. She alleged his behavior was so bad they needed an “all hands” meeting to keep him in check. In a separate statement, the actress noted she filed her lawsuit to expose the “retaliatory tactics” against people who speak up about misconduct.
Will Blake Lively’s lawsuit have a similar outcome to Amber Heard’s infamous trial?
