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Amber Heard accused of 'last-ditch PR push' after speaking out ahead of defamation trial

Depp has already taken a hit after a judge ruled in favor of Heard being able to use a specific Virginia law in her counterclaim for defamation

Amber Heard has faced pushback after speaking out ahead of her defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp.

Depp and Heard will face each other in a Virginia court on Monday, April 11 over a defamation lawsuit brought on by the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star against his ex-wife over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she allegedly implied that he physically and sexually abused her during their marriage. It's worth noting that Depp has already taken a hit after a judge ruled in favor of Heard being able to use a specific Virginia law in her counterclaim for defamation. The 'Aquaman' actress has since taken to social media to speak out one last time ahead of the hotly-anticipated trial.

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Taking to Instagram, Heard told her fans that she's "going to go offline for the next several weeks" as she'll be in Virginia amid court proceedings. "Johnny is suing me for an op-ed I wrote in the Washington Post, in which I recounted my experience of violence and domestic abuse," Heard wrote. "I never named him, rather I wrote about the price women pay for speaking out against men in power. I continue to pay that price, but hopefully, when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny. I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world." The actress said she recognized "the ongoing support" from her fans over the years. "In these coming weeks I will be leaning on it more than ever," she added, before signing off, "With love always, A."

Heard's message, however, did not go down well with her critics on social media, with some branding the move a "last-ditch PR push."

"She's the one that needs to move on?" one tweeted.

"Oh, she'll move on into obscurity," another wrote. "She's only ever going to be known as the woman who abused a famous actor and lied saying he abused her. She will be hated by all those who believed her and she will be a nobody with no money who I also hope spends some time in jail," they added.

"An abuser is desperate for PR attention," someone else declared, adding, "Did she move on when she wanted to keep the penthouse and falsely accused him of domestic violence? When she cut his finger off? When she texted happy birthday? Op-ed was only retaliated because of his GQ interview #AmberHeardIsAnAbuser."

"One last-ditch PR push for the road!" a user offered. "I know it must be hard your ex-husband doesn’t just fancy moving on after falsely being smeared as a wifebeater and rapist but that’s life hun! The actual audacity of this vile creature! Narcissist. Abuser. Liar," they added.

"I just hope he takes every last penny she has," another chimed in.
 

Depp's lawyer has argued that while Heard did not name his client in the WaPo piece, it was published during the couple's highly publicized split and thus "falsely implied" Depp to be the abuser. Meanwhile, Heard's legal team has claimed the article doesn't mention Depp but speaks out against domestic violence as a public concern. Penney Azcarate, the judge presiding over the trial, has ruled that Heard will be able to use Virginia's anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, enabling her representation to argue that she deserves immunity for what she wrote.

Depp, who is suing Heard for $50 million, has maintained that his ex-wife's opinion piece damaged his career. That said, the witness list for the trial features a number of popular figures, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and actors James Franco and Paul Bettany.