After two long years, the defamation trial Johnny Depp filed against Amber Heard in 2019 is in its final stages. This lawsuit was filed after Heard claimed to be abused by Depp and wrote about her experience in an abusive relationship. The article, published in the Washington Post, was Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change. After the article was published in 2018, Depp was released from all of the major companies he worked for except for Dior. The biggest hit for Depp took place when Disney released him from his well known role as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. After more than a year of legal sparring, Heard countersued Depp, claiming that he defamed her when his lawyer released statements saying her abuse allegations were lies. Both Heard and Depp have accused each other of physical violence, and both have continuously denied the other’s claims.
Heard claimed that Depp abused her multiple times and sent texts threatening her life. Heard’s lawyers defended her case by bringing up text messages Depp sent to friends, in which he refers to drug and alcohol use as well as discussing potential acts of violence against Heard. In one text he referred to her as a “rotting corpse.” However, Depp stated they were simply a reflection of his dark humor, and not meant to be threatening.. Heard also claimed that after Depp hit her, she covered up the bruises with the Milani color correcting and concealer palette. She stated that she used that exact palette throughout her entire relationship, however there are holes in her story. The alleged abuse was from 2014-2016, but the palette she was referring to was released in December 2017, which is after Heard and Depp broke up. Another major hole in her story is recently discovered photo evidence days after she claimed Depp hit her. Heard appears uninjured in the photo, and there are also no hospital records of her being admitted for abuse.
Heard’s lawyers tried to claim that she had post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a result of being in an abusive relationship. The psychiatrist who evaluated Heard, Dr. Shannon Gray was then brought to the stand. After her time with Heard, Fray concluded that Heard does not suffer from PTSD, but has Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). In the trial Depps lawyers made claims that Heard had abused Depp, causing the tip of his finger to get chopped off. Medical records and video evidence show that Heard threw a vodka bottle at him during a fight, slicing off the tip of his finger. There is photo evidence of Depps finger being injured, as he volunteered at a children’s hospital while it was still wrapped up. When the children asked what happened, Depp made jokes about the scenario in efforts to protect Heard. Coincidentally, Depp volunteered at the same children’s hospital that Heard had promised to give a fraction of her divorce settlement to. However, she never donated the money, nor did she respond to the hospital when they followed up about the donation. Depp’s lawyers showed the court photo evidence of Depp with black eyes and bruises, while in the same photo Heard’s knuckles are red. This major piece of evidence will most certainly be brought back up in the cross examination of Heard’s testimonies.
Most recently, Depp’s lawyers have been doing a cross examination of Heard’s testimonies. One of the more prevailing pieces of evidence brought to the stand was something that Heard said in January of 2016. She stated, “You can please tell people it was a fair fight and see what the jury and the judge think. Tell the word Johnny. Tell them Johnny Depp, I Johnny Depp a man, a victim too of domestic violence.” To which Heard responded, “ I was saying it to the man who beat me up, yes.” However, Johnny’s lawyers interpreted this as a form of Heard admitting to domestic violence. In another piece of cross examination the color pallette was brought back to the stand, and Heard was questioned about it. When questioned again about the palette, she referred to an entirely different makeup brand than the previously stated She also called this palette her “Bruise kit,” after she called it this she quickly changed her wording to “What I used to cover my bruises.” She claimed to use foundation, then concealer, then the purple shade on the color correcting kit. Depp’s lawyer quickly questioned why Heard would need the purple shade of a color correction palette to cover a bruise to which Heard has no response.
This trial quickly became popular on tiktok with clips and edits being shared. The conduct of Heard’s lawyers were the main target of social media heckling. Heards team repeatedly objected to anything said, even accidentally objecting to a statement of a witness on Heards side.Her lawyers constantly said, “Objection. Hearsay.” almost every time Depp spoke and he soon began to reply with humor, after being interrupted as he answered questions. It soon became a trend on tiktok to make video edits of Heards lawyers asking Depp trivial questions. For example, Heards team repeatedly asked Depp “Is this your signature?” in an attempt to stall the court. When Depp tried to respond to this question the lawyers objected. Another viral moment that sprouted from the trial was calling Amber Heard, Amber turd, after it was brought to light that Heard defecated on the bed. This eye-catching trial has brought national attention to the case, and continues to go viral on multiple social media apps. Stay tuned for trial updates and new trends.
Masuk Free Press 