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Amber Heard said the misinformation being spread on the Internet is “as horrific 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 as Herd’s ex-husband Johnny Depp used during their high-profile libel trial in 2022.
Baldonia is being sued by a fellow actor Blake Lively who is accusing him of sexual harassment and states that he hired a PR manager, Melissa Nathan, in order to organize “smear campaigns” against her on social networks.
In a statement for NBC NewsHeard said: “Social media is the absolute personification of the classic saying, ‘A lie travels halfway around the world before the truth can wear itself.’ I have seen this first hand and up close. It is as horrific as it is destructive.”
Lively’s complaint alleges that Baldoni hired a crisis communications team to launch a “campaign of social manipulation” against her during the promotion of their film, with the goal of destroying her reputation.
The Independent has contacted Nathan’s agency for comment.
The lawsuit further alleges that Nathan delivered to Baldoni a plan consisting of “social media mitigation,” which included “proactive fan posting” and “social manipulation” to “help change the narrative” during the promotion It ends with us.
Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, called the allegations in Lively’s lawsuit “categorically false.”
Freedman says Wayfarer Studios, which produced the film, hired a crisis communications team because Lively allegedly threatened not to appear on set during filming or promote the film.
A few hours after the lawsuit was filed, Baldonia has reportedly left his management team at WME agencywhich also features Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
The lawsuit alleges that after Lively first made her demands during production, a meeting was held attended by individuals including Lively, Reynolds, Baldoni and their attorneys.
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Lively had a series of demands to work on the film which – according to the lawsuit – include “no more showing Blake nude videos or images of women, no more mentioning Baldoni’s alleged past ‘pornography addiction’, no more discussing sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further references to the cast and crew’s genitalia, no more questions about Blake’s weight, and no further references to Blake’s dead father.”
Additional demands included: “No further additions of sex, oral sex, or on-camera climax scenes by BL outside the scope of the script approved by BL when the project was signed.”
In a statement for The New York Timessaid Lively, “I hope my legal action will help pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and help protect others who may be targeted.”