'I saw this firsthand': Amber Heard comes out in support of Blake Lively in sexual harassment case against Justin Baldoni

Amber Heard

Blake Lively shook the entertainment world earlier this week by filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against her 'It Ends With Us' co-star and director Justin Baldoni. Now, actress Amber Heard who was in the center of a very public trial with ex-spouse Johnny Depp has come in support of Lively. In her complaint, Lively accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her during the making of the film and for orchestrating a smear campaign against her to tarnish her reputation in public. Heard's reaction comes after it was noted that Baldoni hired the same crisis PR team as Johnny Depp.

In a statement given to NBC News, Amber Heard 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 the defamation trial fought between Heard and Depp, the former lost the case. Depp won the case and was awarded $5 million in punitive damages and $10 million in compensatory damages. Heard, who was awarded 2 million dollars in compensatory damages, now lives in Spain and has almost broken all ties with Hollywood.

Blake Lively's complaint against Justin Baldoni

The lawsuit, cited by TMZ, says there was a meeting held by the team to address Blake Lively's demands to work in the movie. This meeting was also attended by Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds. Some of the demands that were addressed, according to the lawsuit, included "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."

"No more adding of sex scenes, oral sex, or on-camera climaxing by BL outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project" were also the demands mentioned in the lawsuit filed by Blake Lively. The lawsuit confirms that Sony, who produced the movie, agreed to the demand, but Justin Baldoni soon became part of a "social manipulation" campaign to "destroy" her reputation soon after.

Justin Baldoni's rep reacts to Amber Heard's statement

Bryan Freedman who is representing Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios called Lively's complaint categorically false accusation. Responding to Heard with a statement provided to Variety, Freedman said, "TAG PR operated as any other crisis management firm would when hired by a client experiencing threats by two extremely powerful people with unlimited resources. The standard scenario planning TAG PR drafted proved unnecessary as audiences found Lively's own actions, interviews and marketing during the promotional tour distasteful, and responded organically to that which the media themselves picked up on. It's ironic that the New York Times, through their effort to "uncover" an insidious PR effort, played directly into the hands of Lively's own dubious PR tactics by publishing leaked personal text exchanges that lack critical context - the very same tactics she's accusing the firm of implementing."

Women come in support of Lively

'It Ends With Us' author Colleen Hoover also spoke in support of Lively. "You have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met," Hoover wrote, sharing a picture of her and Lively hugging. "Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt," she noted.

Lively's 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' co-stars America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel issued a statement extending their support: "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. Most upsetting is the unabashed exploitation of domestic violence survivors' stories to silence a woman who asked for safety. The hypocrisy is astounding."