Amber Heard Speaks Out on Blake Lively’s Sexual Harassment Complaint Against Justin Baldoni: 'I Saw This Firsthand'

Heard addressed Lively's complaint in a new statement after Baldoni hired the same PR manager as her ex-husband Johnny Depp in their 2022 defamation trial

Amber Heard says she's all too familiar with the conditions surrounding Blake Lively’s sexual harassment complaint against Justin Baldoni. 

The actress, 38, called the case in which Lively, 37, has accused her It Ends With Us director and costar Baldoni, 40, of harassment while making the movie followed by a subsequent smear campaign, a “horrifying” reminder of her experience in her defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp in a statement to NBC News. 

“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 told the outlet. “I saw this firsthand and up close. It’s as horrifying as it is destructive.”

Heard’s comments come in response to Baldoni hiring the same PR crisis manager as Depp, 61, did during the pair’s 2022 defamation lawsuit which he won, as stated in the complaint filed by Lively. 

Lively is suing Baldoni, who directed and starred alongside her in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel, for sexual harassment and a retaliatory campaign to "destroy" her reputation. She also alleges that other production team members were involved in the alleged smear campaign and is seeking unspecified damages.

Related: Where Is Amber Heard Now? All About Her Private Life in Spain After Johnny Depp Defamation Trial

Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's lawyer, denied the allegations to PEOPLE in a statement on Dec. 21, saying that Lively's complaint was to "fix her negative reputation,” while accusing her of causing issues on set. Baldoni has since been dropped by his talent agency WME, according to multiple reports.

A source previously shared with PEOPLE that Baldoni hired Depp's former PR manager Melissa Nathan of The Agency Group amid reports of tension between himself and the It Ends With Us cast, including Lively, in August. 

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Related: Everything Blake Lively Claims in Complaint Against Justin Baldoni: Unwanted Kissing, Watching Her Naked and Smear Campaign

Heard accused Depp of sexual assault during his $50 million defamation lawsuit against her in 2022. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor sued Heard over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post about surviving domestic violence. 

A spokesperson for Depp denied the allegations to PEOPLE, stating, "These fictitious claims were never made at the onset of Amber's allegations in 2016, and only advantageously surfaced years later once she was sued for defamation.”

Depp eventually won the defamation lawsuit in April 2022 and was awarded $15 million in damages, while Heard was ordered to pay $10.35 million. 

Heard filed for divorce from Depp in May 2016 after being married for one year. She also filed for a restraining order against the actor as she accused him of abuse, which he vehemently denied, and he agreed to a $7 million divorce settlement. 

Heard has since moved on and is expecting her second child, PEOPLE confirmed on Dec. 5. The Aquaman actress currently lives in Spain, with her 3-year-old daughter Oonagh Paige, whom she welcomed on April 8, 2021.