Amber Heard has spoken out on Blake Lively’s sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.
As widely reported, 37-year-old Lively has taken legal action against her It Ends With Us co-star and director.
In the bombshell complaint, Lively has accused the 40-year-old Jane The Virgin star of creating a “hostile work environment” that caused her to suffer “severe emotional distress”.
It also states that her concerns about Baldoni predated the filming of the movie, which began in May 2023.
She has claimed that he added “gratuitous” nudity and sex scenes without her consent, asked “intrusive” questions about her and her husband Ryan Reynolds’ sex life, criticized her body and weight, improvised kiss scenes, and displayed a lack of boundaries.
The Gossip Girl star expressed her worries in an “all hands” meeting held on January 4, which was after a filming hiatus caused by the writers’ strike. It was attended by her husband, Baldoni, and his Wayfarer studio.
Lively’s attorneys said the star had made certain requests during the film, which included “no more improvising of kissing” and “no more personal, physical touching of, or sexual comments by, Mr. Baldoni or Mr. Heath to be tolerated by [Blake Lively] and/or any of her employees, as well as any female cast or crew without their express consent”.
Although the actress’ requests were reportedly agreed to, the lawsuit claims the actor and his production company orchestrated a smear campaign to destroy Lively’s reputation after filming had concluded.
In his statement, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman argued that Wayfarer hired a crisis communications team, which included Melissa Nathan – the same woman Johnny Depp hired during his high profile trial defamation trial against Amber Heard – because Lively allegedly threatened not to show up to set and film promotions.
“The representatives of Wayfarer Studios still did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity,” he added, per NBC News.
Freedman also slammed the legal move as “another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation,” per PEOPLE.
Amber Heard, who was at the center of a ferocious social media campaign during her trial against her ex-husband, has now weighed in on Lively’s lawsuit.
Speaking to NBC News, the 38-year-old actress 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.”
In Heard’s case, a jury unanimously awarded the 61-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean star $5 million in punitive damages and $10 million in compensatory damages.
Depp applauded the outcome, while Heard said the decision “sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated”.
Lively shared a statement to The New York Times after filing her lawsuit, which read: “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.”
You can read everything the actress has sued Baldoni for here.
Blake Lively’s co-stars issue joint statement amid sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni
Blake Lively’s co-stars have voiced their support for the actress after she filed a lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni.
The 37-year-old Gossip Girl star starred in the Colleen Hoover film adaptation, which centers around Lily Bloom, a woman who moves to a new city and falls in love with a man named Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni) – who becomes abusive.
The movie’s press tour was overshadowed by rumors of a feud between Lively and Baldoni, fueled by the leading stars’ lack of interactions at the premieres.
However, Lively’s lawsuit reveals that her concerns about the director predated filming, which began in May 2023.
She has accused him of several issues, including sexual harassment, adding “gratuitous” nudity and sex scenes in the film, criticizing her body and weight, and causing “severe emotional distress”.
According to the complaint, a meeting was held to address the mother-of-four’s demands regarding her involvement in the film. Her husband, Ryan Reynolds, was among those in attendance.
She set several expectations for Baldoni, which were: “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.”
He was also allegedly asked to stop adding “sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL [Blake Lively] outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project”.
Wayfarer approved of the actress’ requests, stating: “Regarding your outlined requests, we find most of them not only reasonable but also essential for the benefit of all parties involved.”
The Age of Adaline star has also accused Baldoni – who has since been dropped by his agency, WME – of orchestrating a smear campaign to destroy Lively’s reputation after filming had concluded.
The New York Times published a legal document containing alleged text messages exchanged between Baldoni, Jennifer Abel, of PR firm RWA Communications, and Melissa Nathan, of The Agency Group PR, which reportedly show the “multi-tiered” plan.
In his statement, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman argued that Wayfarer hired a crisis communications team because Lively allegedly threatened not to show up to set and film promotions.
“The representatives of Wayfarer Studios still did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity,” he added, per NBC News.
In the wake of the revelations against Baldoni, Lively has received an outpouring of support from her friends in the film industry.
America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Bledel, who starred in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with Lively – took to Instagram to issue a joint statement.
The cast of the 2005 coming-of-age comedy-drama penned that they “stand with” Lively “in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation”.
“Throughout the filming of It Ends With Us, we saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace for herself and colleagues on set, and we are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice,” they wrote.
“Most upsetting is the unabashed exploitation of domestic violence survivors’ stories to silence a woman who asked for safety. The hypocrisy is astounding,” they added.
Read the statement below:
Ferrera, Tamblyn, and Bledel said that they are “struck by the reality that even if a woman is as strong, celebrated, and resourced as our friend Blake, she can face forceful retaliation for daring to ask for a safe working environment”.
“We are inspired by our sister’s courage to stand up for herself and others,” they continued, before concluding with a call to look up the full complaint which was signed by the actresses.
ared her support for Lively on Instagram. Credit: Colleen Hoover/Instagram
The author of It Ends With Us, has also supported Lively amid the claims against Baldoni.
In a post to her Instagram stories, Hoover wrote: “@blakelively you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
She also linked A New York Times article titled ‘We Can Bury Anyone: Inside A Hollywood Smear Machine’.
The publication shared a statement from Lively after she filed a complaint, which read: “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.”
You can read everything the actress has sued Baldoni for in the bombshell lawsuit here.
Journalist who shared ‘rude’ Blake Lively interview speaks about amid claims of a ‘smear campaign’ against the actress
A journalist who went viral after sharing her “rude” interview with Blake Lively has publicly commented following the recent bombshell lawsuit filed by the actress.
As widely reported, the 37-year-old star has taken legal action against Jason Baldoni for sexual harassment and alleged he tried to destroy her reputation with a smear campaign.
When It Ends With Us was released in theatres in August, the film was marred by rumors of a feud between its two leading stars.
The feud speculations started after social media sleuths noticed that Lively doesn’t follow Baldoni, 40, on Instagram, nor does anyone else in the cast.
This was then intensified after the two stars failed to make any joint public appearances, and the actor alluded to “friction” between him and Lively on set in an interview cited by PEOPLE.
The alleged rift between co-stars brought renewed attention to past controversies involving Lively, including an uncomfortable 2016 interview she did with Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa.
Watch the interview below:The 51-year-old reporter sat down with Lively and then-co-star Parker Posey at the time for Cafe Society, opening the conversation by congratulating the then-28-year-old on her “little bump”.
The Age of Adaline star, who just announced her second pregnancy with husband Ryan Reynolds, sarcastically responded: “Congrats on your little bump.”
The viral interview, largely forgotten, resurfaced in August when the journalist unexpectedly uploaded it to YouTube eight years after the initial encounter.
She titled the clip “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job,” and told Daily Mail at the time that she released it so “that people behaving badly in Hollywood, or anywhere else for that matter, get called out for it”.
There is new speculation about why the journalist uploaded the video years later after it was alleged in Lively’s lawsuit that Baldoni orchestrated what was described as a “social manipulation” campaign to tarnish the actress’ reputation.
This was documented through emails and text messages – reportedly obtained via subpoena – allegedly between Baldoni, his publicist, and his crisis management team.
The New York Times shared a report that suggested a possible connection between Flaa’s release of the interview and the alleged campaign.
“It wasn’t the first time she had posted a video aligned with a client of Ms. Nathan. In 2022, in the midst of Mr. Depp’s legal battle with Ms. Heard, Ms. Flaa posted clips of her interviews with the actor, tagged #JusticeForJohnnyDepp,” the article read.
But the reporter is fighting back against these theories in a video posted on Instagram, which was captioned: “I have nothing to do with Justin Baldoni and his smear campaign against Blake Lively that was reported on by The New York Times today.”
Flaa also shared in the clip that she was just as “shocked and appalled” as everyone when she read the lawsuit. “I would never take part in anything like that. That’s such an insult to me,” she added.
The reporter said in another video uploaded on YouTube that she had “never met” Baldoni and “actually didn’t know he existed” before this film.
Lively also filed a complaint against Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, its co-founder Steve Sarowitz, and the film’s lead producer, Jamey Heath.
She also filed against Jed Wallace, Melissa Nathan, and Jennifer Abel, all accused of being involved in a smear campaign.
The mom-of-four said in a statement to The New York Times that she hopes her 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”.
Meanwhile, Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s lawyer, hit back and told PEOPLE that the actress’ lawsuit was to “fix her negative reputation,” and blasted her allegations as “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt”.
The attorney added that Lively caused problems on the set of the film, which is currently streaming, “threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release”.
