Amber Heard is weighing in on Blake Energetic’s sexual harassment criticism in opposition to Justin Baldoni.
Energetic, 37, filed a criticism in opposition to Baldoni, 40, on Friday and claimed he orchestrated a smear marketing campaign in opposition to her when “It Ends With Us” got here out over the summer season.
The criticism states that Baldoni employed PR disaster supervisor Melissa Nathan — who labored with Johnny Depp throughout his defamation trial in opposition to Heard, 38 — in his efforts to allegedly “destroy” Energetic’s fame.
Heard, who misplaced the defamation case in opposition to Depp, 61, in 2022, reacted to Energetic’s accusations in opposition to Baldoni in an announcement to NBC Information on Monday.
“Social media is the absolute personification of the classic saying ‘A lie travels halfway around the world before truth can get its boots on,’” stated Heard, who now lives in Spain and is anticipating her second little one.
“I saw this firsthand and up close. It’s as horrifying as it is destructive,” the “Aquaman” actress added.
Within the Heard-Depp case, the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor was awarded $10.35 million in damages after a jury declared Heard defamed Depp with allegations of home violence and sexual assault.
Heard received $2 million in her countersuit.
“The Rum Diary” actress filed to enchantment the decision within the case, however she later withdrew and then settled. She agreed to pay her ex-husband $1 million.
After the trial, Heard’s lawyer blamed the result partly on the wild social media frenzy that surrounded the case.
“How can you not? They went home every night. They have families. The families are on social media. We had a 10-day break in the middle because of the judicial conference. There’s no way they couldn’t have been influenced by it,” Elaine Bredehoft stated on “Today” in June 2022.
Heard, in the meantime, stated the jury’s resolution “sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated.”
In her criticism, Energetic accused Baldoni and his allies — together with Nathan — of launching a “retaliatory social manipulation campaign” in opposition to the actress, and included damning texts as proof.
Among the messages from September confirmed Nathan and PR exec Jennifer Abel celebrating the unfavorable press about Energetic amid the rumors about her feud with Baldoni.
“ALL press is so overwhelming we’ve confused people so much mixed messaging. it’s actually really funny if you think about it,” Nathan stated in a single message.
Abel wrote again to Nathan, “The narrative online is so freaking good and fans are still sticking up for Justin. I see this as a total success, as does Justin. You did such amazing work.”
Energetic claimed in her criticism that the smear marketing campaign precipitated her “emotional distress” and impacted a few of her skilled commitments, together with her plans to host the “Saturday Night Live” Season 50 premiere.
The mother of 4 additionally accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the movie.
Baldoni, who directed the flick primarily based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling e-book, has denied all claims in Energetic’s lawsuit.
In an announcement to the New York Instances, Energetic stated, “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.”
