Although her strawberry blonde hair was one thing I always loved about Julie, that was an awesome Easter Egg.
More specifically, I mean it felt like that just came completely out of left field. Up to that point, there were no indications whatsoever that these characters were even in the same universe.
Regardless of who says what, I will assume all Marvel characters in Marvel-made shows are in the same universe.
The premise of the crossover wasn't really forced considering what Morgan was trying to do. It would definitely screw with Cloak in a huge way.