Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard: 5 key moments in defamation trial
Johnny Depp had sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for $50 million, arguing that she defamed him when she called herself "a public figure representing domestic abuse" in a newspaper opinion piece. To this, Amber had filed a countersuit for $100 million, saying he smeared her by calling her a liar.
After weeks of the ongoing televised Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial, the jury on Wednesday sided with the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife. The jury has asked Amber Heared to give 15 million dollars and vindicated Depp's allegations that Heard lied about him abusing her before and during their brief marriage. On the other hand, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depp's lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up the couple's apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded the Aquaman actress $ 2 million.
Johnny Depp had sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for $50 million, arguing that she defamed him when she called herself "a public figure representing domestic abuse" in a newspaper opinion piece. To this, Amber had filed a countersuit for $100 million, saying he smeared her by calling her a liar.
Here are the top five key moments of the case:
Physical abuse incidents
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have accused each other of physical abuse at the time of their marriage. The duo gave differing accounts of an early 2015 argument in Australia - where Depp was filming the fifth in the ‘Pirates of the Carribean' series. Depp told the court that his ex-wife had thrown a vodka bottle at him that severed the top of his right middle finger. Meanwhile, Heard denied it and said that Depp had sexually assaulted her that night by “inserting a liquor bottle” in her private parts.
Later, in one of her testimonies, Heard said that Depp had “broken her nose and ripped out chunks of her hair" during another act of physical abuse. Heard's attorney had also shown photographs of the injuries on the actress inflicted by Depp. Meanwhile, Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez showed images of Heard from public appearances around the time of their fights - that showed no injuries.
Drug abuse stories
Amber Heard testified that Depp was an alcoholic and had a "drug problem". During her first day on the stand in court, Heard had said, "Johnny on speed was different to Johnny on opiates, Johnny on opiates was different to Adderall and cocaine Johnny." Further during her trials, she had claimed that Depp used to "hallucinate after being sober".
Abusive text messages
Throughout the trial, both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's lawyers had read text messages between the two and their friends. Writing to actor Paul Bettany in 2013, Depp had said, "Let's drown her before we burn her ''.
Kate Moss testifying
British model Kate Moss - who had dated Johnny Depp in the 1990s - was called to testify after Heard gave her name while recounting the violent behaviour of her ex-husband. Moss had testified via a video link, where she told the jurors that “Depp was never violent with her”.
The feces incident
Johnny Depp had claimed that Heard had left "feces in their bed" after they had an argument in 2016. However, Amber Heard had denied the claim and stated that the couple’s "teacup Yorkshire terrier was responsible".