Amber Heard DITCHES her PR team over 'bad headlines' days before testimony
Amber Heard, upset over the coverage of the much-talked-about trial, has reportedly fired her PR team and switched to a new one days before her testimony in court. Heard ditched crisis PR firm Precision Strategies last week because she was unhappy about how the trial was being covered.
“She doesn’t like bad headlines,” New York Post quoted a source as saying. According to another source, the 'Aquaman' actress, 36, is “frustrated with her story not being told effectively.” This sudden PR switch came after several days of testimony by Johnny Depp that turned hundreds of social media users against Heard. Heard's new PR team, led by CEO David Shane, has previously worked against Depp to highlight allegations lodged by Depp’s former business managers who alleged that the star was required to hire a shrink for his “compulsive spending” habit of $2 million per month.
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However, ex-Pete Buttigieg campaign maven Lis Smith said of Heard's decision that "it's crazy to change teams in the middle of a trial like this because you don’t like the headlines.” She described the former PR firm Precision Strategies as “one of the best crisis firms”, adding that "they can’t rewrite the history of what’s happened.” The former PR firm was co-founded by ex-Obama adviser and deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter.
In the case's recent developments, Johnny Depp's bodyguard Malcolm Connolly said that he had noticed injuries and marks on the actor's face as his marriage with Amber Heard started getting strained. On Thursday, April 28, Connolly took the stand at the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial, telling the court that he saw Depp go from being happy in love to "quiet" as Heard became more "dominant" and "demanding".
Another update in the case revealed that Amber Heard reportedly sought a payoff from Johnny Depp in exchange for holding off on going public with their life full of scandals. Heard said she would not immediately file an order of protection if her estranged husband gave her access to his SUV and three downtown Los Angeles penthouses at his expense, revealed a 2016 letter presented at the trial.
The letter, dated May 24, 2016, from Heard's attorney Samantha Spector, sought an arrangement to “do everything possible to keep this personal matter out of the media spotlight.” The actress demanded “exclusive use and possession of the black Range Rover, the vehicle she is currently driving, with Johnny to continue to make all payments.” She also requested “exclusive use and possession of 849 S. Broadway, Penthouse Nos. 1, 3 and 5 with Johnny continuing to pay mortgage, utilities, etc.,” and also sought $100,000 in legal fees and $25,000 “for forensic account costs.”
Depp has finished testifying in his $50 million defamation trial against Heard. At the trial, the actor claimed that he was telling the "truth" for his family and children's sake. He also claimed that Heard's allegations against him have ruined his relations in Hollywood. The trial is expected to last at least six weeks. While jurors have heard several contradictory accounts of the relationship between the former pair, Heard's team has portrayed Depp as an abusive partner who was regularly into alcohol and drugs. Depp's team, on the other hand, has labeled Heard's allegations of violence as a "hoax" and claimed that it is a deliberate attempt to destroy Depp's reputation.