Amber Heard Fires PR Team Days Before She Takes To Stand

Amber Heard has ditched her old PR firm and hired a new one just days before she’s set to take the stand in her defamation lawsuit. 

The 36-year-old is expected to testify on Wednesday, 4 May, in the defamation case brought by her ex-husband Johnny Depp.

Ahead of her taking to the stand, the actor has dropped PR firm Precision Strategies and acquired the services of The Management Group, NBC reports. 

Heard hired Precision Strategies, which is co-founded by Stephanie Cutter – former deputy campaign manager for Barack Obama – earlier this year, but has since dropped the firm in favour of The Management Group, which has experience with Hollywood stars. 

Alamy

According to the New York Post, Heard decided to ditch the firm after becoming ‘frustrated’ with coverage of the case so far. 

A source told the outlet that Heard is ‘frustrated with her story not being told effectively’. 

The former couple are currently embroiled in the $50 million defamation case that centres on domestic abuse claims she made in an article in The Washington Post in 2018.

Although the piece doesn’t mention Depp by name, he claims the article falsely implies Heard was physically and sexually abused by him when they were married.

He says the accusations have made it difficult for him to get the sorts of roles he used to, and launched the $50 million (£38.2 million) lawsuit in 2019.

Depp’s lawyers’ claim the actor’s reputation has been left in tatters following Heard’s allegations of abuse. They say his reputation has been ‘forever changed’, as ‘a false allegation can devastate a career’. 

Alamy

During the opening statements, Benjamin Chew, representing Depp, said: “Some of you might recognise Johnny Depp from his portrayal of such characters as Edward Scissorhands and Captain Jack Sparrow.

“For over 30 years he has built a career as one of the most talented actors in Hollywood.

“Today his name is associated with a lie. A false statement uttered by his former wife, Amber Heard.”

Heard is fighting the case, and filed her own $100 million countersuit. Heard's lawyer told the court Depp's career is in ‘free fall’ due to ‘problems he created’. 

Speaking during the opening arguments, Heard’s lawyer Ben Rottenborn said: “Make no mistake, Johnny Depp's reputation is in tatters. 

“His career is in a free fall. But it's because of problems that he created... It's not Amber's fault. It's because of the choices he made.”