After weeks of having her dirty laundry aired out to the public including, but not limited to: pooping on Johnny Depp’s bed, cutting off his finger, handing Depp a wine bill worth $160,000 after only 15 months of marriage, and failing to pay a donation pledge of $3.5 million, Amber Heard has fired her public relations firm, Precision Strategies.
In the case of Depp v Heard, actor Johnny Depp, 58, is clearing his name after being labeled a “wife beater” by the British tabloid The Sun. He is suing his ex-wife, Amber Heard for $50 million after being defamed following an op-ed that Heard, 36, outsourced to an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) staffer that painted Heard as a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her ex-husband Depp.
Depp has brought Heard to court to say that’s not the case, rather, he allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of Heard. The case has dug into the personal past and present of both Depp and Heard, and with every second of the trial being broadcast to the public (to Heard's objection), there is no magazine article, no op-ed piece, nor movie role for either celebrity to hide behind. The public is seeing the bare underbelly of two— well, one A-list star— and his B-list ex-wife.
While fans have been charmed by Depp’s calm demeanor and his ability to laugh at awkward situations during the trial, contempt for Heard has grown after hearing witness after witness (including a psychiatrist who examined Heard, as well as her former assistant) testify to her rage, emotional outbursts, inclination towards cruelty, and superficial concern for image.
Apparently frustrated with “bad headlines”, on Thursday the “Aquaman” actress fired her public relations firm Precision Strategies in a desperate attempt to turn the tides of public opinion. The decision has left several PR specialists— including those who have worked in political campaigns— baffled.
“It’s crazy to change teams in the middle of a trial like this because you don’t like the headlines,” said Lis Smith, the American political strategist who most recently worked as the senior communications director for Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign.
Smith added that the PR team which Heard fired, is “one of the best crisis firms”, adding “but they can’t rewrite the history of what’s happened.”
A PR insider expanded on Smith’s comment, saying, “After years of narrative building, you can’t change the public’s opinion in the three weeks when someone is suing you in a case.”
Sources allegedly told the Post that Heard replaced her PR team with the corporate communications group Shane Communications, which has previously represented Depp’s former business managers during a 2017 lawsuit in which Depp sued them for $25 million in fraud.
After the trial first began on April 11, Heard who has countersued Depp for $100 million, may take the stand as soon as Monday, May 2.