Amber Heard Speaks Out Against Justin Baldoni’s Alleged 'Smear Campaign' in Blake Lively Lawsuit

As it turns out, Blake Lively and Amber Heard have more in common than we expected. After all, while Lively’s recent lawsuit against It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni is far different from Heard’s defamation trial with her ex Johnny Depp in 2022, they’ve both experienced what it’s like to have the internet turn on you from one day to the next.

And, knowing that Baldoni hired the same crisis management team as Depp, Heard decided to speak out.

“Social media is the absolute personification of the classic saying ‘A lie travels halfway around the world before truth can get its boots on,'” Heard, who now lives in Spain and away from Hollywood, told NBC News.

“I saw this firsthand and up close,” she continued. “It’s as horrifying as it is destructive.”

As a reminder, Heard was found liable for defaming Depp in the trial, awarding him $5 million in punitive damages and $10 million in compensatory damages. The jury also awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages in her counterclaim but nothing in punitive damages.

Heard’s statement is, of course, in response to Lively’s accusations against Baldoni for conducting “a multi-tiered plan” to ruin her reputation after she accused the Jane the Virgin star of misconduct on set.

“That plan was backed by virtually unlimited resources,” reads the lawsuit in documents obtained by SheKnows. “Wayfarer’s co-founder, co-chairman and leading financier is multi-billionaire Steve Sarowitz, who divulged at the Film’s New York premiere on August 6, 2024, that he was prepared to spend $100 million to ruin the lives of Ms. Lively and her family.”

“With that backing, Mr. Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates embarked on a sophisticated press
and digital plan in retaliation for Ms. Lively exercising her legally protected right to speak up about
their misconduct on the set, with the additional objective of intimidating her and anyone else from
revealing in public what actually occurred,” the accusations continued.

In the lawsuit, in addition to retaliation, the Gossip Girl alum accuses Baldoni of showing nude images and videos of women to her on set, divulging about his former “pornography addiction” to her, discussing Lively’s postpartum weight, sharing intimate details of his sexual life and of barging into her dressing room while she was either naked or undressed.

“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,” Lively said in a statement to the New York Times after filing.

Looks like Lively’s another brave celebrity not afraid to fight for what’s right.

Before you go, click here to see the most important celebrity lawsuits over the past 15 years.