Amber Heard's new PR rep David Shane accused of sexual harassment: report
Shane's camp is slamming the explosive allegations through his lawyer
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Amber Heard's new head of PR has a checkered past and left two jobs after sexual harassment claims were leveled against him, according to a new report.
Angered over a slew of negative headlines, Heard abruptly fired her PR team mid-trial and replaced them with David Shane, 49, of Shane Communications to push a narrative of ex-husband Johnny Depp as an alleged drug-addled wife-beater.
JOHNNY DEPP V. AMBER HEARD DEFAMATION TRIAL: LIVE UPDATES
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But Shane, it turns out, has been dogged by impropriety allegations, according to an exclusive report from the DailyMail.
His alleged misconduct is such common knowledge that he's been nicknamed "Hurricane Shane" and "the walking #MeToo case of the PR world," industry insiders told the newspaper.
A photo combination of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. (Steven Helber/pool via Reuters)
HR departments at both Hewlett-Packard and Juniper investigated him for sexual harassment, according to a former colleague.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He served as vice president of communications at Hewlett-Packard from 2008 to 2010 and had the same role at Juniper from 2010 to 2012, the report says.
It's unclear if he left the prior companies due to the allegations. He has denied all wrongdoing through his lawyers and said the allegations are a distraction from the trial.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Depp, 58, is suing Heard, 36, for $50 million over an op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post calling herself a victim of domestic abuse. Heard is countersuing for $100 million, accusing Depp of conspiring with his attorney to defame her by branding her allegations a "hoax."
(AP)
As the two sides duke it out in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia, their respective PR teams have been in high gear trying to control the narrative.
But now Shane has to spin his own. A former model, Hollie Doker, 32, told the newspaper that in late 2018 Shane took her out on two dates after the pair met on the dating app Raya.
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After the second date, they went back to his West Hollywood condo and he allegedly tried to force her to give him oral sex, Doker said.
Actress Amber Heard testifies in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, U.S., May 16, 2022. (Steven Helber/pool via Reuters)
"At that point he started getting super aggressive and he pushed my head down, towards that [his crotch]. I told him no and I got up. He got angry and was like, 'I’ll call you a f***ing Uber.’"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Doker said she filed a complaint with Raya and the company deleted Shane’s account. Raya declined to comment to the DailyMail.
"David Shane adamantly denies Hollie Doker’s allegation, which dramatically conflicts with Ms. Doker’s original account that she posted over three years ago," Shane's attorney Rebecca Kaufman told Fox News Digital.
"David Shane adamantly denies Hollie Doker’s allegation, which dramatically conflicts with Ms. Doker’s original account that she posted over three years ago."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Two former colleagues at the Silicon Valley tech firm Juniper said he left the company after numerous complaints – including paying "provocatively" dressed women to attend a 2011 conference to improve the gender balance, according to the outlet.
Shane was also charged with a DUI in 2010 and a second in 2012, according to the newspaper.