Update: The mud fight between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has ended with a far-reaching victory for the actor. The jury did not believe her accounts of abuse. For defamation, she has to pay Depp over ten million dollars in damages.
After six weeks since the controversial civil trial between actors and ex-spouses Johnny Depp and Amber Heard started, the case has gone to jury deliberation. The jurors are now deliberating on Depp and Heard’s lawsuits, and everybody is waiting for the verdict. While he’s suing his ex-wife for criminal defamation, she’s accusing him of abusing her with alcohol and drugs. This is everything we know about this lawsuit.
- Johnny Depp has brought a civil lawsuit against his ex-wife over an article published in 2018 that described Heard as a victim of domestic violence.
- Although Heard did not mention his name, the actor says that the article has damaged his reputation and career. He is seeking $50 million in damages.
- Heard has denied all accusations.
- Following a statement by Heard’s lawyer that her allegations are false, Amber Heard has filed a lawsuit against Johnny Depp, demanding $100 million in damages.
What did Johnny Depp testify to?
The actor testified for two days. He said that he was in court because of Heard’s “shameful” and “disturbing” accusations because his ex-wife accused him of abusing her. Depp wanted everyone to know that these allegations are “not based on any truth.” While the actor acknowledged arguments between them, he also testified: “I never got to the point where I hit Ms Heard. I’ve never hit any woman in my life.”
Depp testified that Amber seemingly was the “perfect partner” for the first year of their relationship, but things changed after that. According to the actor, there started to be regular arguments between the two. While Depp admitted to alcohol and drug use, he said Heard “blatantly colored” their “abuse.”
Also, Johnny Depp had testified that his ex-wife often nagged him and sometimes used physical violence. A jury saw a photo of the actor with a bruise on his face that his bodyguard supposedly took after Heard hit him. In another photo, scratches were seen on his face, which the actor claimed occurred during another confrontation.
Depp claimed that his reputation was damaged after the article was published in The Washington Post. He lost some contracted roles and was dropped from the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
What happened during Depp’s hearing?
An attorney for Amber Heard, Ben Rottenborn, repeatedly insisted that Depp was specifically suing Heard because of the article and pointed out that Heard never named her ex-husband.
The article did not contain any details about their life together. Using text messages and audio recordings, Rottenborn denied Depp’s version of events. He argued that Depp’s career had broken down due to alcohol and drug abuse.
What did Amber Heard testify to?
It took two days for the actress to be questioned, during which Amber detailed her tumultuous relationship with Depp. Heard testified that she first met Depp while filming the movie “Diary of a Rum Sprinkled” and the affair started during a promotional tour in 2011. “When I was around Johnny, I felt like the most beautiful person in the whole world,” – Heard testified. “It was like a dream. It was absolute magic.”
According to Heard, Johhny Depp relapsed into his previous lifestyle and started abusing alcohol and drugs. In detail, the actress recounted numerous instances of Depp physically and sexually abusing her.
She depicted him as a jealous and controlling man. She said that he would regularly beat her, adding that she also repeatedly feared for her life. In one of the fights, the actor supposedly penetrated her with a liquor bottle. In the end, Amber Heard added that the article she wrote for “The Washington Post” was not about Depp but depicted the actress as a victim of violence.
What happened during Heard’s hearing?
Depp’s attorney, Camille Vasquez, tried to discredit Heard’s testimony. Vasquez highlighted the lack of medical records that would confirm Heard’s testimony, noting that the actress herself had used drugs and alcohol while voicing concern about Depp’s drug abuse.
What is the nature of Johnny Depp’s case?
Depp’s lawyers claim that it was Heard who abused him, not the other way around. They called several witnesses who knew the couple to prove this, and they claimed that they never saw Heard’s injuries.
What they showed was footage of Heard mocking and insulting Depp. According to the actor, when Heard started making her allegations, people in the entertainment industry started to think that he was a “cheater” and that his ex-wife had destroyed his career.
What is the key point in Amber Heard’s case?
Amber claims that Depp was physically and sexually abusive to her, aggravated by his alcohol and drug abuse (mainly cocaine and MDMA). The defense called multiple witnesses who testified that they had seen Depp in various states of intoxication.
Most of them claimed that while they did not see Johnny Depp hit Heard, they had observed him being jealous and irritable. Furthermore, Heard also alleges that she lost career opportunities due to media comments in which Depp’s lawyers claimed that her allegations were false.
What happened to Johnny Depp’s finger?
The actor has provided conflicting information about a particularly violent incident that reportedly occurred in Australia in 2015, in which Depp’s fingertip was cut off. While the actor claims it happened when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him, defense witnesses claim Depp cut off his own finger and then used his own blood to write on the wall of a house.
Internet users’ reactions
Meanwhile, Depp’s fans have been dominating social media. They used specific hashtags to express their support for Depp. Among them, the most popular one, #JusticeforJohnnyDepp, received over 15 billion views on TikTok. Conversely, the corresponding hashtag #JusticeforAmberHeard had just 51 million views.
The majority of the videos that are circulating on social media are clips from the trial that have been edited to make Heard’s allegations appear unfounded. Hashtags became part of the trial when computer programmer and social media expert Ron Schnell gave testimony that more than 2 million negative tweets about Heard had appeared between April 2020 and January 2021.
How did the trial go in court?
A U.S. broadcaster televised the Depp Heard trial. Every day, a crowd of people, mostly Depp fans, assembled in front of the courthouse. Participants hoped to be among the lucky 100 who would receive a wristband authorizing them to enter the courtroom.
Several fans arrived the night before with the hope of getting a good seat. In fact, one fan even managed to bring a pair of alpacas to the court to “brighten” the actor’s day. Supporters also booed Heard as she left the courthouse.
Celebrity witnesses: James Franco, Elon Musk, Marilyn Manson and Kate Moss.
A list of celebrities directly or indirectly related to the trial includes names such as Marilyn Manson and actor Paul Bettany, friends with Depp. As a defense witness, actress Ellen Barkin, Depp’s former girlfriend and partner, also appeared in the video.
She testified that during her relationship with Depp, which occurred in the mid-1990s, the actor “was drunk all the time … very often” drinking red wine; she also told of an incident in which Depp threw a bottle across the room.
The model Kate Moss, who was dating Depp between 1994 and 1998, seemed to invalidate a rumor that Heard mentioned during her testimony. Depp allegedly pushed her down a flight of stairs during a trip to Jamaica.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk, whom Heard was dating after breaking up with Depp, also appeared. Amber Heard testified that Depp was jealous when she took a role in a movie with James Franco and that Franco once asked her about the bruises on her face.
Both Heard’s and Depp’s defense attorneys gave their closing arguments on May 27. Soon enough, we will find out which of the actors will be able to persuade the jury and receive the multi-million dollar damages.
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