Reviled actress accused of defaming ex-lover Johnny Depp was ‘frustrated with her story not being told effectively’

Andrew Stiles • May 2, 2022 1:00 pm

Embattled actress Amber Heard fired her public relations team last week after complaining that her story was “not being told effectively,” according to the New York Post. 

Heard, who is being sued by ex-husband Johnny Depp for defamation, cut ties with Precision Strategies, the PR firm founded by three veterans of former president Barack Obama’s reelection campaign—Stephanie Cutter, Jen O’Malley Dillon, and Teddy Goff.

Cutter, who served as deputy campaign manager for Obama’s 2012 campaign, has also worked with President Joe Biden as chief program executive of the 2020 Democratic National Convention and as executive producer of the 2021 presidential inauguration. Goff served as digital director on Obama’s reelection campaign and stayed on as a member of the presidential transition team before cofounding Precision Strategies. Dillon, another Obama alum, left the firm to manage Biden’s campaign in 2020, and currently serves as White House deputy chief of staff.

Heard’s decision to fire the firm for its inability to thwart “bad headlines” is merely the most recent consequence of Obama’s failed presidency. It is also the most recent example of Democratic strategists advising dubious characters. Biden adviser Anita Dunn, who also worked for Obama, provided “damage control” advice to Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood rapist. Lis Smith, who served as communications director for Pete Buttigieg in 2020, advised disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo (D., N.Y.) and his staff regarding allegations of sexual assault against the one-time Democratic superstar.

Depp’s defamation suit concerns a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which Heard claimed to have been a victim of domestic violence. It was recently revealed that communications strategists at the ACLU, a left-wing activist group, were heavily involved in drafting the op-ed on Heard’s behalf.